England’s Justin Rose birdied the final three holes of his round to post a six under par 65 and lead the U.S. Open by one shot. One of GolfPunk’s tips, Ricky Fowler, sits in second place alongside his fellow countrymen, Xander Schauffele and Aaron Wise, and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen. Rose’s round is the joint lowest ever shot at Pebble Beach in an U.S. Open.
It was a great day for Northern Ireland at the final day of Canadian Open from Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Rory McIlroy shot an incredible nine under 61 to take the title by 7 shots and Graeme McDowell finished in the top ten and qualified for The Open.
Graeme McDowell shot a second round 67 at the Canadian Open to sit on eight under, four off the halfway lead which is held by Matt Kuchar and Scott Brown. Gmac still work to do if he is to grab one of the three spots available for The Open but he is well placed come the weekend.
Keegan Bradley leads, some other folk are in second, third etc., including Shane Lowry of Ireland, but all we care about is how Graeme McDowell is doing. Gmac must be at The Open in July and we are cheering him all the way.
The Open is coming back to Northern Ireland after a break of 68 years. When Max Faulkner, one of the most flamboyant golfers of his generation, won the Open Championship in 1951 at Royal Portrush it would be 18 years until a Brit, Tony Jacklin in 1969, was to do so again.
To hit a drive that bounces on the fairway and runs in to a divot is bad enough but if it runs in to an old pitch mark that really tries one’s patience. You curse your luck and play the ball as best you can – right? Not the Kooch who decided to try and invent a whole new sub rule!
It’s an early rise for us on day two and a slightly thick head, that Schnapps for the road wasn't a great idea after all! After an excellent breakfast at the hotel we are off to experience two more courses. It will be an entirely different experience from the first day as the courses are located in undulating valley landscapes.
How do you come back from blowing a seven shot lead in a major? Well, fortunately for Brooks Koepka it is a question that he will not have to answer. Staring down the barrel of the gun and the biggest collapse in golf major history, Koepka dug deep, held his nerve and took the title.
The crowds were out on mass to watch Tiger slay the beast, that is Bethpage Black, but it was his playing partner and holder Brooks Koepka who showed how it was done. Koepka’s course record, bogey free, seven under 63 was as unexpected as it was impressive. This is Bethpage Black after all where par is considered a good score.
As Matt Wallace thumped the green with his putter as another birdie putt slipped by the hole at the 18th he knew he had blown a chance to lift the British Masters crown. Step forward Marcus Kinhult, the world’s number 210th ranked player, to coolly hole his ten-foot birdie putt and complete Wallace’s nightmare.
GolfPunk loves the different side of golf. The side that has developed in what is almost certainly the oldest sport in the world and which in its professional ranks contains some of the biggest characters sport has ever seen and amongst its amateur fanatics certainly contains the biggest. After all, loving the game of golf (or loving to hate it and hating to love it) does not rely on your professional status.
It is now some two weeks since Tiger’s historical victory in The Masters and the frenzy that went with it. CT Pan’s win at the Heritage was impressive but taking nothing away from CT, the event did suffer somewhat from a Masters’ hangover. So, what is there to wet us golf lovers’ appetite this week? That will be the Zurich Classic Team event
