US Open: Webb Simpson beats McDowell at the Olympic Club

American Webb Simpson clinched his maiden major title with victory on an absorbing final day of the US Open.

The 26-year-old beat Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and fellow American Michael Thompson by one shot at a foggy Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Simpson shot 68 to set the target at one over and watched as 2010 champion McDowell missed a 25ft putt to force a play-off on the 18th.

Lee Westwood took 73 for three over, while Tiger Woods (73) was seven over.

Simpson, who climbs to fifth in the world, becomes the 15th different major winner in a row, the ninth straight first-time winner and the third consecutive American to win one of golf's grand slam events.

"I've never felt nerves like I felt today," said Simpson, who was pipped to the US money list title by England's Luke Donald last year. "I had to hit my legs because I couldn't feel them.

"I probably prayed more the last three holes than I ever did in my life."

Starting the final day four shots behind co-leaders McDowell and Jim Furyk, Simpson made his move with a spell of four birdies in five holes from the sixth.

Parring his way home, he bettered the clubhouse mark of first-round leader Thompson, who shot 67, and took the outright lead when Furyk, who had been in front all day and led by two at one stage, bogeyed 16.

Both 2003 champion Furyk and McDowell had a chance to force an 18-hole play-off on Monday, but the 42-year-old American finished with another bogey via the left bunker on 18 for a 74 to end two back and McDowell could only make par for a 73.

It was grind and a slog, but I'll be back," said the 32-year-old McDowell, who had hoped to make it three Northern Irish wins in a row following Rory McIlroy's success last June.

"There's a mixture of emotions inside me right now, disappointment, deflation, pride but mostly just frustration."

Furyk, whose hooked drive on the par-five 16th sparked his downfall, said: "I don't know how to put that one into words, but I had my opportunities and my chances and it was right there.

"On that back nine, it was my tournament to win. I've only got myself to blame."

Ireland's Padraig Harrington put up a serious challenge for a fourth major title and first since 2008 with a run of five birdies in 11 holes. But needing a birdie at the last to join Thompson, he ran up a bogey five after finding sand with his approach and ended with a 68 to finish three over.

Americans David Toms (68), John Peterson (70) and Jason Dufner (70) also finished three over with 1994 and 1997 US Open winner Ernie Els on four over.

The South African, who was third to McDowell at Pebble Beach, was one stroke off the lead after 15 but bogeyed the 16th and 18th for a 72.

England's world number three Lee Westwood was in contention for his first major title at the 57th attempt, but was derailed when he lost a ball, seemingly stuck up a pine tree on the fifth. He was forced to go back to the tee and play another and ran up a double bogey from which he never fully recovered, despite an eagle on 17.

Woods, chasing a 15th major title and first for four years, began bogey-bogey-double bogey and dropped six shots in his first six holes. The former world number one fought back with birdies on the eighth, 14th and 17th but could only finish in a tie for 21st with, among others, England's Justin Rose (72).

"Overall, the way I struck the golf ball, the way I controlled it all week is something that's very positive going forward," said the 36-year-old Woods.

"I was just a fraction off just a couple yards here and there and that's all it takes. I had so many balls that landed in the fairway that went into the rough."

Tiger Woods shares US Open lead at the Olympic Club

Tiger Woods maintained his first-round momentum to share the halfway lead with fellow Americans Jim Furyk and David Toms in the US Open at Olympic.

Woods, bidding for a 15th major title, shot 70, while 2003 champion Furyk took 69 and 2001 US PGA winner Toms carded 70 to lead by one at one under par.

Graeme McDowell, the 2010 champion, was one over with Nicolas Colsaerts, John Peterson and Michael Thompson.

Holder Rory McIlroy and world number one Luke Donald missed the cut.

The world's two top-ranked players were unable to fight back after disappointing first rounds and carded 73 and 72 to end 10 over and 11 over respectively.

McIlroy said: "It's just such a demanding golf course and punishes the slightest shot that's off-line or that's maybe not the right distance."

Five-time runner-up Phil Mickelson took 71 to end seven over, but Masters champion Bubba Watson also fell foul of the eight over cut mark with 78, 71 for nine over.

The 36-year-old Woods, three shots adrift of leader Michael Thompson in tied second overnight, picked up a shot at the third to take the lead but went backwards with three straight bogeys from the fifth.

But he settled himself with two pars before further birdies came at 10 and 13, and he missed other decent chances, notably on the 17th.

"It was really, really tough and I just had to stay as patient as possible," said Woods.

"I think I'm in a good spot. This tournament, you just keep plodding along.

"You're just playing for a lot of pars. This is not a tournament where we have to make a bunch of birdies."

Woods's last major triumph came at the 2008 US Open before turmoil in his private life, injury and changing to a new coach derailed his progress. But eight times out of nine when he has held at least a share of the lead after 36 holes at a major he has gone on to win.

"It's been a very long time since my swing felt this good - don't forget I went through all of last year hurt and hadn't been able to practise," he added.

"Now it's becoming more consistent, day-in and day-out."

Furyk, who won his solitary major at Olympia Fields nine years ago, mixed two birdies with two bogeys to edge into contention.

"I kept the ball in the fairway pretty well," said Furyk. "I feel solid and in control so far. I know it's going to get even firmer and faster and even more of a stern test for the weekend."

The 42-year-old, who also has four other top-five finishes in the US Open, said of the typically tough set-ups: "I guess you have to realise at the US Open that par is a really good score and you're going to make some bogeys.

"Mentally you have to be in a good frame of mind, and physically you have to be on top of a lot of areas of your game."

Toms joined the leaders late on with two bogeys on his front nine and two birdies on his back nine.

"I just hung in there," said Toms, who beat Mickelson for his US PGA title in Atlanta. "I knew not to get frustrated and keep grinding. You have to be mentally ready for anything and never give up."

England's Justin Rose followed his opening 69 with a 75 for four over alongside Ireland's three-time major champion Padraig Harrington (70).

World number three Lee Westwood (72), fellow Englishman Ian Poulter (75) and Scotsman Marc Warren (72) ended five over.

Seventeen-year-old amateur Beau Hossler led on his own briefly before falling back with a 73 to end three over, while 14-year-old Andy Zhang carded 79, 78 for 17 over.

More Of The Same Expected Friday At Tough Olympic

San Francisco – What wasn’t obvious before Thursday’s opening round of the 112thU.S. Open has become obvious in the smoldering aftermath. This edition at The Olympic Club is more like your father’s U.S. Open.

It certainly isn’t anything like last year’s accommodating configuration at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where red numbers on the Blue Course left predecessors green with envy.

“This golf course, it's so demanding. And if you're off your game just a little bit, you're going to pay the price,” said Tiger Woods, who was not off his game and was rewarded with a 1-under-par 69, one of six scores under par in the 156-player field. “This is one of those Opens where it's just really hard to make birdies. This is not like I was last year. This is a tough one; you’ve got to really grind.”

But grinding might not be enough for some of the top players and pre-championship favorites who will have to conjure some magic to make the cut. USGA executive director Mike Davis wants a setup today consistent with the exacting conditions of Round 1, when the scoring average was a corpulent 74.923.

This means an uphill climb for many players in the Tilting Yard, otherwise known as Olympic’s hilly and idiosyncratic Lake Course.

“It's a nice start. And you want to get a little bit of momentum early this week if you can because if you let this golf course beat you up early in the week it will just continue to do that,” said 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell after a 69, which tied him for second behind Michael Thompson’s surreal 66. “You can't really kind of start firing at pins out there. You've just got to plod your way around.”

“You can't go out and shoot eight or nine over and expect yourself to get it back,” said Rickie Fowler after a solid 72. “Yeah, there's four and five under out there. But you have to be on top of your game. You can't miss a lot of shots and you have to make some putts.  Michael Thompson played awesome [Thursday] morning to put up four. If you go out and shoot seven, eight, it's going to be tough to kind of come off of that and do the opposite.”

But that will be the task for some of the top names at the bottom of the leaderboard. Among them is defending champion Rory McIlroy, who crashed to a 77. Last year het set the U.S. Open record in relation to par with his 16-under 268 mark at Congressional.

Also trying to play catch-up will be Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker, both of whom shot 76; Masters champion Bubba Watson, who decided to undertake a belated celebration of Arbor Day on the way to a 78; and world No. 1 Luke Donald, who shot 79.

The projected cut of low 60 and ties (the 10-shot rule has been eliminated), if the scoring average holds, would be, roughly, a puffy 8-over 148. Not out of the question on a day forecast for sunshine and cool temperatures, meaning Olympic should remain firm, fast and flinty.

Also keep this in mind when watching today: the worst opening-round score by a U.S. Open winner is held by two men who shot 76. One was Ben Hogan, who triumphed at the monster known as Oakland Hills in 1951. The other is Jack Fleck, who beat Hogan here at Olympic in 1955 in an 18-hole playoff. 

“The big problem we all have is that it’s hard to go forwards and way too easy to go backwards,” Fowler said.

Fowler’s fellow competitor, Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, perhaps spoke for the entire field when he summed up how he felt about his rather respectable 1-over 71. “I'm very tired right now, especially mentally. So I'm going to rest tonight, so hopefully I'll play well tomorrow, too.”

Hopefully, everyone got his sleep. Olympic so far has been one rude awakening.

2012 US Open

Jun 14-17 - Purse: $8,000,000

Olympic Club - Lake Course - San Francisco, California, United States

Leaderboard - Ongoing		R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Thru
1	Michael Thompson	-4	–	–	–	-4	F
2	Graeme McDowell	-1	–	–	–	-2	10
T3	Tiger Woods	-1	–	–	–	-1	F
T3	David Toms	-1	–	–	–	-1	F
T5	Jim Furyk	E	–	–	–	E	10
+ Show more players

Nothing New, All Eyes On Woods At Olympic

At the same time, Woods is fortunate to have his share of support, including two-time U.S. Open champion Billy Casper, who greeted him with a hug as the nine-time USGA champion entered the Media Center Tuesday morning.



“He’s moving nicely,” said Casper, who rallied to beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff for the 1966 U.S. Open title here at Olympic.  “The more difficult the course, the better he’s going to play. I think a veteran is going to win here, and why shouldn’t it be Tiger?”


Many believe that moving the ball and shaping shots is the key to handling The Olympic Club’s Lake Course, and Woods has been relying a great deal on his 2-iron to keep the ball in play. So far this year, Woods has been a lot better than average. Besides ranking third on the PGA Tour with his 69.42 scoring average, he’s seventh in greens in regulation and first in total driving, averaging more than 295 yards off the tee.


But Olympic requires more than brute strength, and Woods knows this from playing here 14 years ago.


“On this golf course, it’s going to be difficult to get the ball close. And I’m going to rely a lot on lag putting and obviously we’re going to have to make those short putts. If you miss the green, a good pitch is going to be anything inside eight feet sometimes. That part I’m not too worried about.


“I think this probably tests the player more than any other championship. We have to shape the ball. We have to hit the ball high. We have to hit the ball low. Our short game’s got to be dialed in. 


“The only thing that’s different from U.S. Opens in the past was always miss the green, automatic lob wedge. Now, with some of these runoff areas, we can play bump and runs, we can play skip shots, we could flop if we wanted to. We have different options.”


Which option Woods chooses at Olympic will tell a good deal about the path he’s taking the rest of the year. He has been stuck on 14 major titles since he won the 2008 U.S. Open in a memorable playoff over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines. 


He can change that this week. There will be plenty of folks watching.

The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Preview.

COURSE

The Olympic Club, San Francisco

The Olympic Club was established in 1860 and enjoys the distinction of being America's oldest athletic club, with some 5,000 members who compete in 19 sports out of its downtown San Francisco clubhouse. Its 45 holes of golf include the Lake Course, which was originally designed in 1924 by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, and redesigned by Whiting in 1927 after it suffered storm damage. The Lake Course remains true to the 1927 design, with minimal renovations in the intervening years, save for the recent creation of a new eighth hole, a 200-yard par 3. The course is hosting its fifth U.S. Open and will surely challenge players with its narrow, tree-lined fairways and small, well-bunkered greens.

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Hole 11                                                                      Hole 12

  

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Hole 17                                                                     Hole 18