OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE
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SPRING 2017
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obsports.com
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THE PROS
breeze at 17 in 1972, when it smacked the
flagstick and settled inches away, but the
shot is considered one of the greatest in
history. How tough did Pebble play that
week? Jack would win by three with a two-
over-par 290 total. It was around 10 years
later, however, when Tom Watson holed a
sticky chip from ankle-deep rough behind
the 17th green to grab the lead from Nick-
laus. Watson danced around the green,
jabbed his finger at his caddie, Bruce Ed-
wards, then birdied 18 and won his only
U.S. Open. And bonus points for Watson,
who called the tournament by its old-fash-
ioned name, "the National Open," well
into his career.
Many experts called Tiger's 15-stroke
romp in 2000 at Pebble the best golf any-
one has ever played, and yet he couldn't
repeat there in 2010, despite a third-round
66 which elevated him to third place. That
was the tourney where Dustin Johnson
triple-bogeyed the third hole, and doubled
the fourth to plunge from his spot at the
top, paving the way for Graeme McDow-
ell. Dad and I watched that one together
from a cottage at the Sand Ridge Club near
Cleveland.
If you like thrilling, unexpected, unfor-
gettable moments – and who doesn't – the
U.S. Open has delivered over and over. For
edge-of-your-seat excitement, how can you
top Tiger Woods' tying 12-foot birdie putt
on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines in 2008,
playing on what we would find out was a
broken leg?
How about Payne Stewart drilling a 20-
footer at the final hole to win the 1999
event at Pinehurst? He edged first-time fa-
ther-to-be Phil Mickelson, who valued fa-
therhood so much that he competed in the
event with his caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay,
in constant possession of a beeper. Mickel-
son's wife, Amy, had endured a difficult
pregnancy and Lefty told Bones that if the
beeper went off, he was to be informed
within 10 seconds and he would immedi-
ately withdraw from the event. For Stew-
art's part, he began that Sunday ironing his
fi
USGA/J.D.
Cuban
HOT
LINKS
›› WATCH Dustin Johnson's
major redemption at the
2016 United States Open.
›› CHECK OUT a history
of U.S. Open records.
payne stewart triumphs
at pinehurst in 1999.
