The final day at the 2010 US Open brought many surprises as expected, but the biggest surprise was the man lifting the trophy after the end of a gruelling day. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

The Ulsterman started the day three shots behind America’s big-hitting Dustin Johnson; however, this was soon reversed after Johnson made a bogey, double bogey and a triple bogey -before he’d reached the fifth hole, finally finishing with a lack lustre 82 to leave him in 8^th place.

McDowell continued with his steady play throughout Sunday, which put him in position after the first three rounds. He eventually carded a 74 to finish, on even par for the week and became the first European winner of the US Open for 40 years.

Many expected challenges from the big three on the final day -Woods, Els and Mickelson, who were all in striking distance. However, the tough conditions on Sunday saw them all struggle. A pair of 73s for Els and Mickelson and a 75 for Woods saw them all come a few shots shy of McDowell’s impressive even par total.

The second place finisher was an even bigger surprise than the winner. France’s little-known Gregory Havret displayed impressive golf all week to put himself as one of the few in the final group with Tiger Woods on Sunday. With the added pressure of the massive crowds watching, the Frenchman excelled, simply outplaying Woods to eventually fire a 72 to finish +1 for the championship. Not bad – considering he started the week as the world’s 391^st ranked golfer.

After a long hard week, it was great to see a European lift the trophy. McDowell did nothing fancy – just what was required, leaving the world’s finest in his wake. The win just goes to show how strong European golf is at present. Names such as Poulter, Casey, Donald, Mcllroy, Westwood, Kaymer, Karlsson seem to be in contention globally each week. With form like this, you have to believe that the European team will be firm favourites for the Ryder Cup which will be held later this year at Celtic Manor in Wales. I for one would like to think so, as I would hate to see the Ryder cup go back on the American plane!

Let me know what your views are, post a comment.

Author: Thomas Marsh

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm and is filed under GOLF NEWS, IN THE NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.