Liguori: Dramatic Finish Will Dominate Memories Of 2015 U.S. Open
By Ann Liguori
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It was a most dramatic championship in many ways. Chambers Bay provided a most scenic setting under bright sunlight with considerable elevation changes and sweeping views of the Puget Sound. Even though the course became the most controversial one in memory, the ending is what most golf fans will remember.
It is, after all, the ultimate test of a player's abilities. And if many of the golfers complained about the inconsistencies and bounciness of the greens, in the end, every golfer faced the same conditions and one of the best putters in the game prevailed, even if the Golf Gods were in control.
Jordan Spieth became the sixth player in history to win the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year. After sinking a birdie on the 18th that gave him a one-shot lead, Spieth watched from the scorer's booth as Dustin Johnson missed a short birdie putt which would have tied Spieth and force a Monday playoff. Instead, the victory was Spieth's!
Spieth won it with a 5-under par 275, one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuzen and Dustin Johnson. Oosthuzen birdied six of the last seven holes, carded a 3-under 67 in the final round to close to within one. Dustin finished with an even par 70, a tie for second place and another heartbreaker.
"Yeah, I didn't enjoy not being able to control it," said Spieth. "Sitting with Michael (Greller, his caddie) watching -- I was in the scorer's tent and watched DJ's second shot from there funnel up there. And, gosh, give me a break, you know, like DJ finds that -- he has to split the small fairway and he is just pounding his driver all week, he has mid iron into the green and he hits it right up onto the shelf. I'm thinking maybe I'll catch a break and it will be below the ridge and he's got a two-putt and we can go to tomorrow. And instead he just hit two phenomenal golf shots. It was tough watching him.
"Jason was finishing and I was like, 'Michael, when is DJ going to hit this putt? Hurry up, I'm getting anxious here.' Watching, just it building up. I was probably more nervous then, than I was on the course at any point."
"But he hit the putt and with about three feet to go in the putt I knew it was going to slide by," he added. "I just figured that it would slide a foot or two by like Jason's (Day), but it just kept moving. I don't really know what to say on the second one. It looked like he hit a decent putt. It's all kind of a blur.
"I very much feel for him. He's a great champion. He's certainly proven that he closes tournaments out. This was just an odd deal, very odd. I very much feel for Dustin. He deserves to be holding the trophy just as much as I do, I think, this week."
A lot will be said of Johnson not being able to close out another major, his fourth missed opportunity. But he drove the ball longer and more consistently than anyone on the planet for four days and will hopefully learn from this experience. He's too good of a player not to win a major.
Johnson skipped the trophy presentation and didn't talk to the media afterward.
But the week belonged to Spieth and his caddie, Michael Greller, who taught in the Seattle area, caddied on Chambers Bay and even got married on the course.
Another dramatic ending to a major championship!
Bring on the British Open at St Andrews! Jordan Spieth makes an excellent champion, on and off the course.