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The 2010 U S Open Championship

                                                           June 17 – 20

Regarded by so many as one of the best golf courses in the world, the magnificent Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula in California, hosts this years US Open, for the fifth time.

It is actually a public course – anyone can play it – but you do need very deep pockets.  I’m told there’s very little change from $500!!

Jack Nicklaus is quoted as saying “If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach.  I’ve loved this course from the first time I saw it.  It’s possibly the best in the world.”

Set up for this year’s Championship, the course measures 7040 yards and is a par 71.  The shortest hole is the 7^th at 109 yards and it is also quite probably the most photographed with its beautiful ocean backdrop.  If the Championship is to be decided on the last hole, then the 18^th at Pebble Beach is a daunting finish.  At 543 yards alongside the ocean, a too ambitious drive, cutting the corner, could end up in the drink and if not, the green looks mighty small from a long way off, so it should make for a thrilling finish.

Day 1 and top of the leaderboard on 69 are Paul Casey (England), Shaun Micheel (USA) and Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe).  

One shot more, at 1 under, are a group of 6 players from Spain, Germany, Korea, Japan, England and Canada in the form of Cabrera Bello, Cejka, Choi, Ishikawa, Poulter and Weir.

Tied 10^th at level par 71 comes Graeme McDowell (N.Ireland), Luke Donald (England) and the two Americans Dustin Johnson and David Toms.

So where are the big names?  At +1 Jim Furyk (USA), +2 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Ernie Els (S.Africa) and Padraig Harrington (Eire), +3 Lee Westwood (England) and Tiger Woods (USA) and Phil Mickelson is tied 66^th at +4.

Day 2 and the biggest movers are Mickelson who had a superb 66 to tie J2^nd on 141 and McDowell who added an excellent 68 to his opening 71, putting him 2 shots clear at the halfway stage on 139.  Also on 141 with Mickelson are Els (68), Dustin Johnson (70) and Ishikawa (71).  The 1^st day leaders all dropped back – Casey and De Jorge with 73’s on 142 and Micheel, a disastrous 77, dropping right back to 146.  Woods improved by 2 on the previous day with a 72 and was also on 146.  Poor Mike Weir also hit disaster this time with a 79 and just made it through the cut to the next day.  Westwood (71), Cejka (72), were just keeping in touch but Choi (73) and Poulter (73) were beginning to slip but not as bad as Cabrera Bello, Donald and Furyk who all had 75’s. 

Day 3 and two more rounds of 66 came in, one from Johnson which put him into a clear 3 shot lead on 210 at 3 under par for the championship and the other from none other than Tiger Woods, putting him at 1 under on 212.  A 71 from Graeme McDowell slipped him back to 2^nd on 210 and Els with a 72 was on level par 213.  A great 69 from the Frenchman Gregory Havret pulled him back to level also on 213, one shot ahead of Mickelson who had a 73.

Day 4 and none of the top 5 managed to equal par but that didn’t stop this from being a tense and exciting finish.  Poor Dustin Johnson had a nightmare start with par, triple bogey, double bogey, bogey and that was him finished.  His first 3 rounds were so good that even a final 82 was good enough for a tied 8^th finish.

But it was the Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell who kept his nerve and with a 74 found that nobody close to him was burning up Pebble Beach and he was able to claim his first Major.

Playing up in front, Els out in 2 under 33 and Havret 34 narrowed the gap but McDowell never lost his lead and turned in 35.  Els then dropped 2 shots at 11 and another at 12 so his charge evaporated and he finished in 3^rd place just behind Havret, who also dropped a shot at 12.

The short 17^th proved to be the most difficult hole on the course and indeed all three took 4 but by the time McDowell played it he was 2 ahead.  The 18^th is no hole for the faint of heart and 30 year old McDowell kept his nerve and secured a solid par 5 and became the first European   U S Open Champion for 40 years, since Tony Jacklin.

Mickelson could do no better than 73 and Woods a 75 and they tied fourth on 288.

So Graeme McDowell, Ryder Cup golfer, amongst other European titles you have won a Scottish Open, you are the current Welsh Open Champion and now the U S Open Champion.  Bring on The (British) Open!

Article by Martin Dawson

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