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Simpson Stuns Stars To Win US Open
Tiger Tries to Look on Bright Side
Mickelson Leaves Another US Open Empty Handed
Simpson Stuns Stars To Win US Open
SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2012 (AFP) - Webb Simpson of the United States came from four shots back to win the US Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club on Sunday, overtaking a bunch of big names to win his first major title.
The 26-year-old from North Carolina, in just his second US Open, battled back from two early bogeys to grab four birdies in five holes from the sixth and then parred his way down the rest of the back nine for a gripping win.
Simpson closed with a 68 and a one-over total of 281, one stroke clear of countryman Michael Thompson (67) and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (73).
A further stroke back in a five-way tie for fourth place were Americans Jim Furyk (74) David Toms (68), Jason Dufner (70) and John Peterson (70) along with Ireland's Padraig Harrington (68).
Simpson was the ninth straight first time winner in the majors and he was the 15th different winner in the last 15, underlining once again the current strength-in-depth of world golf.
"If I was honest with you I believed in myself I could win a major, but maybe not so soon," he said.
"This is my fourth or fifth (major tournament). And I just gained all the respect for the guys who have won multiple majors, because it's so hard to do. The level of pressure is so much greater than a regular event.
"For me to play Sunday fourth from the last group was probably a huge help as opposed to the last group."
It was day when birdies were rare and survival was the order of the day as a cold mist and spotty rain drifted in from the adjacent Pacific Ocean to compound the difficulties of the exacting Lake Course layout.
Former winners Furyk and McDowell started the day holding the joint lead - the only men to be under par at one-under 209.
First blood went to Furyk as he took the solo lead after McDowell bogeyed the third and when the Ulsterman had a second bogey at the fifth, the Ryder Cup stalwart had a two-stroke lead.
He missed a 10 footer at the eighth that would have nudged him three strokes ahead and then, in his rear-view mirror, he saw a trio of young American countrymen - Simpson, Thompson and Peterson - making a charge at him.
First round leader Thompson set the early clubhouse standard with a 67 for a two-over total of 282 and sat back to watch if anyone could match him.
Surprisingly, Furyk started to unwind.
He bogeyed the 13th and then flung his club away in disgust after hitting a snap hook off the tee on the par-five 16th.
He salvaged a bogey from out of the trees, but up ahead Simpson negotiated a tricky chip from deep greenside rough to save par at the last and that, coupled with the bogey for Furyk, left him one clear.
Furyk needed one birdie on the last two holes to force a playoff with McDowell needing to make up two.
The Irishman birdied the 17th, sending the final pairing to the final hole with both in search of the birdie they needed.
Furyk's chances evaporated when he plugged his approach shot in a bunker, But McDowell hit to 24 feet above the hole only to see his snaking, downhill putt to get into an 18-hole playoff slip agonisingly past.
Waiting nervously in the clubhouse, Simpson hugged his wife Dowd when McDowell's putt slid past and punched his fist in the air as the realisation hit him that he had won the US Open.
Furyk said he had felt all calm all day, but had been unable to produce the golf he was capable of.
"I don't know how to put that one into words, but I had my opportunities and my chances and it was right there," he said.
"On that back nine, it was my tournament to win and I felt like if I shot even par or one under I would have distanced myself from the field and I wasn't able to do so.
"And I played quite well, actually until the last three holes."
McDowell said that the bad, nervy start had left him with too much to do later in the round.
"Yesterday I managed to shake off my fears and nerves and go out and really kind of get in great groove like that," he said.
"Today was a struggle. Conditions were tougher, the ball wasn't flying very far.
"This golf course doesn't allow you to get in a rhythm and today was a grind, it was a slog, and I was just happy the way I hung in and made a few birdies.
Earlier in the day, Tiger Woods saw his hopes of a 15th major title, four years after his last US Open win, rapidly crushed as he dropped six strokes in the first six holes.
The 36-year-old American eventually came in with a 73 and that, alongside his 75 on Saturday, was his worst weekend score realtive to par in a major, casting fresh doubts over the current state of his game.
Tiger Tries to Look on Bright Side
SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2012 (AFP) - Tiger Woods tried to look on the bright side Sunday, despite a final-round 73 that left him well out of the running at the US Open and without a major championship victory since 2008. 
"There's a lot of positives this week," insisted Woods, who started the day five shots off the lead and saw any hopes of making a charge unravel when he was six-over through the first six holes at The Olympic Club.
At least his tie for 21st, on seven-over 287 and six shots behind winner Webb Simpson, was better than his equal 40th finish at the Masters in April.
"Overall, the way I struck the golf ball, the way I controlled it all week is something that's very positive going forward.
"If I just would have just hung in there little bit better yesterday and missed it on the correct side a couple times then I would have been in a better position going into today."
Woods looked confident and in control on Thursday and Friday as he seized a share of the 36-hole lead and raised expectations that he could rekindle his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus's all-time record of 18 major championships.
He played the two weekend rounds at eight over par, saying it wasn't so much the big misses but the fickleness of Olympic's slanting fairways and greens that cost him.
"I was just a fraction off just a couple yards here and there and that's all it takes," said Woods, who also said he had trouble gauging the speed of the greens. "I had so many balls that landed in the fairway that went into the rough."
Woods opened with a bogey at the par-four first hole, bogeyed the second then missed the green en route to a double-bogey at the par-three third.
A par at the fourth was but a brief respite before bogeys at the fifth and sixth.
By the time he rolled in the first of his three birdies of the day, at the par-three eighth, Woods could only wave his hand dismissively -- his demeanour as gray as the thin fog drifting across the course from the Pacific Ocean.
Woods's 2008 triumph over Rocco Mediate in a US Open playoff at Torrey Pines was the last of his 14 major titles.
Since then he has been slowed by injury, scandal and the re-modelling of his swing.
Two US PGA Tour victories this season, at Bay Hill and Memorial, had bolstered expectations, and Woods said that despite his difficulties the swing changes he has implemented with coach Sean Foley stood up well to the pressure of the US Open.
"I'm excited about the consistency of it," Woods said. "How well I hit the ball all week, really. I didn't really miss it that badly this week."
Mickelson Leaves Another US Open Empty Handed
SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2012 (AFP) - This time it wasn't even close as five-time US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson closed out his 2012 championship campaign with a final round 78 that didn't include a single birdie. 
Mickelson, whose four major titles include three Masters victories and a US PGA Championship, has often said his national championship is the one he'd most like to win.
It was never on the cards this year, however, as he opened the week at The Olympic Club with a six-over 76 and found himself unable to make a move thereafter.
"It was a challenging test," Mickelson said. "I thought the great thing was how great the greens were. They were in fabulous shape. They putted very true."
Mickelson's week included a serenade from fans at the 18th on Saturday, when the lefty from California turned 42 years old.
Otherwise, he admitted, he had little to celebrate.
"I didn't play well," he said simply, and playing well was a must at Olympic, where US Golf Association officials delivered the firm, fast fairways and greens and punishing rough they prefer for the tournament.
"If you played anything less than perfect golf, it was extremely penalizing," Mickelson said. "And I played far from perfect."
SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2012 (AFP) - Collated scores on Sunday in the final round of the US Open golf championship at The Olympic Club's 7,170-yard, par-70 Lake Course (a-amateur)
281 - Webb Simpson (USA) 72-73-68-68
282 - Michael Thompson (USA) 66-75-74-67, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 69-72-68-73
283 - David Toms (USA) 69-70-76-68, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 74-70-71-68, John Peterson (USA) 71-70-72-70, Jason Dufner (USA) 72-71-70-70, Jim Furyk (USA) 70-69-70-74
284 - Ernie Els (RSA) 75-69-68-72
285 - Casey Wittenberg (USA) 71-77-67-70, Retief Goosen (RSA) 75-70-69-71, Kevin Chappell (USA) 74-71-68-72, John Senden (AUS) 72-73-68-72, Lee Westwood (ENG) 73-72-67-73
286 - K.J. Choi (KOR) 73-70-74-69, Steve Stricker (USA) 76-68-73-69, Adam Scott (AUS) 76-70-70-70, Aaron Watkins (USA) 72-71-72-71, Martin Kaymer (GER) 74-71-69-72, Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 72-71-68-75
287 - Nick Watney (USA) 69-75-73-70, a-Jordan Spieth (USA) 74-74-69-70, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 72-71-73-71, Justin Rose (ENG) 69-75-71-72, Tiger Woods (USA) 69-70-75-73, Blake Adams (USA) 72-70-70-75
288 - Matt Kuchar (USA) 70-73-71-74, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 72-69-71-76
289 - Davis Love (USA) 73-74-73-69, Alistair Presnell (AUS) 70-74-75-70, Morgan Hoffmann (USA) 72-74-73-70, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 71-76-72-70, Robert Karlsson (SWE) 70-75-72-72, Kevin Na (USA) 74-71-71-73, Scott Langley (USA) 76-70-70-73, Charlie Wi (KOR) 74-70-71-74, a-Beau Hossler (USA) 70-73-70-76
290 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 73-70-74-73, Hunter Mahan (USA) 72-71-73-74, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 73-71-71-75
291 - Zach Johnson (USA) 77-70-73-71, Rickie Fowler (USA) 72-76-71-72, a-Patrick Cantlay (USA) 76-72-71-72, Ian Poulter (ENG) 70-75-73-73, Alex Cejka (GER) 78-69-70-74
292 - Matteo Manassero (ITA) 76-69-73-74, Bob Estes (USA) 74-73-71-74, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 72-76-69-75, Steve Lebrun (USA) 73-75-69-75, Hunter Hamrick (USA) 77-67-71-77
293 - Simon Dyson (ENG) 74-74-74-71, Jesse Mueller (USA) 75-73-74-71, Nicholas Thompson (USA) 74-74-72-73, Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN) 75-71-73-74, Branden Grace (RSA) 71-74-73-75
294 - Michael Allen (USA) 71-73-77-73, Jeff Curl (USA) 73-75-71-75, Jonathan Byrd (USA) 71-75-71-77
295 - Bo Van Pelt (USA) 78-70-76-71, Jason Day (AUS) 75-71-76-73, J.B. Park (KOR) 70-74-77-74, Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 74-74-73-74, Kevin Streelman (USA) 76-72-72-75, Darron Stiles (USA) 75-71-73-76
296 - Marc Warren (SCO) 73-72-74-77, Phil Mickelson (USA) 76-71-71-78
297 - K.T. Kim (KOR) 74-72-74-77
298 - Stephen Ames (CAN) 74-73-79-72, Keegan Bradley (USA) 73-73-75-77
299 - Rod Pampling (AUS) 74-73-74-78
301 - Jason Bohn (USA) 70-75-78-78
303 - Joe Ogilvie (USA) 73-75-76-79