Winner: Ernie Els
Around the wider world of golf: Dan Quinn won the American Century Championship celebrity event in Tahoe, which is interesting primarily because he'll be caddying for Ernie Els in Canada this week; Minjee Lee won the USGA's U.S. Girl's Junior over Alison Lee; Jenny Gleason won the Symetra Tour's Northeast Delta Dental International; Scott Stallings won the True South Classic, the PGA Tour's alternate event; and Megumi Kido won the JLPGA's Samantha Thavasa Ladies. The Constructivist has details on that one.
Oh my god!
Is there really some other phrase that is ok to describe Sunday's finish at the Open?
Personally, I couldn't have been more wrong with my predictions. I thought Zach Johnson was out of it because, at -5 and T5 for the tourney, he was just too far back. Ernie Els was also T5.
I said all Adam had to do was shoot 68 to get the win. Ernie Els shot 68 to get the win.
I called it a two-man race between Scott and McDowell. And it was... a race down the leaderboard.
Who would have ever anticipated a 4-shot lead with 4 holes left to just evaporate?
This end will possibly be debated for weeks. In the meantime, I'd similar to to position what Ernie has finished in attitude. GC mentioned some matters -- he became one in all a handful of players to win majors in 3 separate decades, in addition to becoming a member of Jack, Lee Trevino, and Gary Player because the handiest players to win a major after getting into the Hall of Fame. But there was one accomplishment they mentioned that I don't feel they presented well... And I think it is a much bigger deal than the others.
There have been simplest 5 players (previous to Ernie's win) who had received both Opens more than as soon as. (I've used "US" for the U.S. Open and "Br" for the Open Championship.) That list, from earliest winner to ultra-modern (the 12 months suggests the closing 12 months they received a prime), now looks like this:
- Walter Hagen: 2 US, 4 Br, 1929
- Bobby Jones: 4 US, 3 Br, 1930
- Lee Trevino: 2 US, 2 Br, 1984
- Jack Nicklaus: 4 US, 3 Br, 1986
- Tiger Woods: 3 US, 3 Br, 2008
- Ernie Els: 2 US, 2 Br, 2012
But study this list more closely and you will see some thing exciting. The three players with at least three wins in each -- Jones, Nicklaus, and Woods -- were the dominant players in their eras. Of the others, Hagen become Jones's finest rival and Trevino turned into considered one of Nicklaus's best rivals. And Els? Tiger has stated several times that he expected Ernie to be his number one rival whilst he got here on Tour.
I find myself wondering if Ernie might not be on the verge of a "second career" where he wins even more majors. Yes, the rumor has it that the belly putter may be outlawed in the coming months. I'll just point out what several commentators noted this week -- that Ernie's current belly putting setup looks remarkably similar to his regular putting setup from back when he was winning majors a decade ago. If this is true, I wouldn't be surprised if Ernie could change back and putt just fine!
In the interim, this week's Limerick Summary will pay homage to Ernie Els, his report-placing win, and the "oh my god!" moment of the golf season so far:
So? Ernie's 4 again near the end;
Four holes left; and also you understand it's been ten
Years in view that he received a primary.
Would you take a wager
That he'd win the Open again? The photo comes from the front page of PGATOUR.com.
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