Father's Day at Pinehurst
Campbell won, Woods showed up, and Goosen unraveled
Coming into the day it looked as though Retief Goosen would claim his third U.S. Open Championship in five years. The analyst knew he would win, his opponents knew he would win, and even the quiet reserved Goosen admitted it would be hard for him not to win. But not win is exactly what he did. Goosen’s cool demeanor was reduced to a silly grin as he unraveled from within. And just as quickly as Goosen gave the tournament away Michael Campbell was willing to take it from him. Campbell played the course like a champion. It was as if he bottled that one miraculous up and down from the ’95 British Open into a whole round. In a week where up and downs were few and far between Campbell made all the big ones. Not only did Campbell make all the big shots on Sunday he made them with Tiger Woods chasing him down. With roars on 10, 11, 15, and 18 Campbell knew that Tiger was not going to lie down. However, Campbell was able to do what Goosen could not, keep his cool. And so with another major Sunday in the books we are left trying to answer all sorts of questions.
Was Sunday’s push by Tiger a sign of things to come? With St. Andrews lurking can Tiger get his putter working just enough to win by 15?
Will Goosen ever be the same again? Will we always remember Retief for his two U.S. Open titles, or for his U.S. Open meltdown?
Will we ever hear from Jason Gore again?
And lest we forget the guy who actually won, what will this do for Michael Campbell’s career?
These are all the things that my Father and I talked about as we watched the tournament unfold in front of us. We had the family around, and a pot of coffee to watch the end of the tournament. Without Dad golf would be boring weekend TV. But thanks to Dad I can appreciate the skill it takes to play in the U.S. Open.
For us the tournament was as much about Father's day as it was about Golf.
Coming into the day it looked as though Retief Goosen would claim his third U.S. Open Championship in five years. The analyst knew he would win, his opponents knew he would win, and even the quiet reserved Goosen admitted it would be hard for him not to win. But not win is exactly what he did. Goosen’s cool demeanor was reduced to a silly grin as he unraveled from within. And just as quickly as Goosen gave the tournament away Michael Campbell was willing to take it from him. Campbell played the course like a champion. It was as if he bottled that one miraculous up and down from the ’95 British Open into a whole round. In a week where up and downs were few and far between Campbell made all the big ones. Not only did Campbell make all the big shots on Sunday he made them with Tiger Woods chasing him down. With roars on 10, 11, 15, and 18 Campbell knew that Tiger was not going to lie down. However, Campbell was able to do what Goosen could not, keep his cool. And so with another major Sunday in the books we are left trying to answer all sorts of questions.
Was Sunday’s push by Tiger a sign of things to come? With St. Andrews lurking can Tiger get his putter working just enough to win by 15?
Will Goosen ever be the same again? Will we always remember Retief for his two U.S. Open titles, or for his U.S. Open meltdown?
Will we ever hear from Jason Gore again?
And lest we forget the guy who actually won, what will this do for Michael Campbell’s career?
These are all the things that my Father and I talked about as we watched the tournament unfold in front of us. We had the family around, and a pot of coffee to watch the end of the tournament. Without Dad golf would be boring weekend TV. But thanks to Dad I can appreciate the skill it takes to play in the U.S. Open.
For us the tournament was as much about Father's day as it was about Golf.
posted by Paul at 8:27 AM
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