congrats to Retief

[Paul Richards]

Retief:

Congrats on a well-earned victory.

You stood firm against the ridiculous pin positions and the cement-hard greens and prevailed.

Southern Hills thanks you for winning as well because it shows that you are a great champion to win a second US Open, especially under these conditions.

 

[TEPaul]

I second the congratulations. That was a classic example of the third round leader closing the deal with a smart, tough,  great final round in very tough conditions.

[ed_getka]

Retief did a great job keeping it together after being a little shaky off the tee to start. Making par at #5 after those first two shots must have helped settle him down. I was thinking he was one loose tee shot from double bogey, but he showed his mental fortitude in closing the deal.

[TEPaul]

I'd like to offer congrats to Retief Goosen again for not only winning the US Open but also for shooting and 8 under par round on Sunday!  

[Philip Gawith]

 a proud day for us south africans! form an orderly queue to offer congratulations. it was a bit painful though to watch ernie slump to 80 - i thought maybe he would get his revenge for augusta, and world number one to boot, but i suppose i am really too old to still believe in fairy-tales!

[James Edwards]

Yes, Retief had a 12 one putts I believe in that final round and I bet half of them felt like birdies.

A quiet man, with a big heart especially to hole the birdie on 16 knowing that Phil was already on 17 at -4.  When the roar went up on 16, I bet that unnerved the likeable Mickleson hence the 3 putt...  Its a shame because I really thought he had a chance at the Grand Slam this year!  All the same a 1st and a 2nd - not a bad couple of majors Id say!

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Retief is a champion and deserves all of our praise. My hat is off to him. I noted elsewhere on here that I had the pleasure of watching him practice at Lake Nona last year. His work ethic is that of a champion.

[Lou_Duran]

Ditto.  

Apparently, I saw a different broadcast than the one shown in Chicago.  Goosen was unflapplable, and for the most part, played the course like a game of chess.  Everyone missed fairways and greens.  The only unforced error that I saw was the nine iron second shot to a front right bunker on the back side, which resulted in a fried egg lie and a subsequent great up and down for bogie.  His many one-putts were nearly always from the "correct" side of the hole with not a lot of break.  The flop shop from the left hay was nothing short of brilliant.  I would love to see the contraption made by his dad which ingrained keeping his head (and spine) from moving laterally.  I suspect that it is more sophisticated than Willie Nelson's bailing hook over his groin attached to his head by a leather harness.  

Goosen's drive on 18 was exemplary of his play and a thing of beauty.  One has to wonder why Phil laid back some 190+ yards when he needed a birdie desparetly.

Tiger,

Does Goosen's approach remind you a bit of a younger Nick Faldo?  Not a lot of extraneous movement to his swing.  I don't recall Nick hitting it that far or having such a great short game, but the swings and demeanors look similar to me.  

[Matt_Ward]

Arguably, the finest putting round in the history of fourth rounds in the US Open by an eventual champion.

I spoke with Dan Jenkins yesterday and the only instance he could think of that was comparable or better was the win by Julius Boros in 1952 at Northwood in Dallas. In that event Boros got up'n down from 10 bunkers at 100% efficiency for the final 36 holes

The only other putting display in the final round by a winner that I can mention is the effort by Scott Simpson at the '87 event at Olympic. Simpson one-putted four of the final six holes -- including two for birdies to outlast Tom Watson.

However, after walking the greens after the boys had finished play on Sunday I have to say that how Goosen was able to drain putt after putt from #13 through #17 is truly a remarkable feat. Other golfers would have simply melted down and thereby allowing Phil to get by with a double-bogey and still win the event.

Retief is as cool under fire as they get. Congrats to win -- South Africa has now four Opens since '04. An impressive feat indeed!

[Lou_Duran]

Matt,

Did Retief make any "impossible" putts, so called "mo-brainers".

It seemed like he generally placed his approach shots to where he had a good chance.

Was Phil's bunker shot to 17 all that difficult?  The putt he left himself seemed very difficult.

[Matt_Ward]

Lou:

The putts that Retief made were not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

The par save on #13 was simply fantastic -- ditto the curling one for bogey at the 14th. The "easiest" of the bunch likely came from 15th through the 17th but to be totally serious anytime you can hole a putt of more than few feet down the stretch drive of an Open is never an easy deal.

Like I said I can remember what Scott Simpson did to Watson back in '87 at Olympic and I never thought I would see another person holing such key putts time after time down the stretch (save for a Nicklaus win at Baltusrol in '80). Retief had 11-one putt greens on Suday and did it seven out of eight times from the 11th through 17th holes. Incredible.

To answer your question I spoke to some of the media people who were inside the ropes with Phil and Fred Funk and they said it was OK to land in the bunker and the uphill lie was quite favorable but by playing it a bit long he left himself a tougher putt -- one other thing if you watch his expression after he hits the shot he knows he didn't want the ball to finish that far above the hole.

[Mike_Cirba]

Is Retief Goosen the Jeff Maggert of the International Tour?

Both seem direct descendants of Scott Simpson, who only career-posthumously avoided the USGA's "Phlegmatic Personality Award" by virtue of playing golf with Bill Murray.

What an emotional victory.  

There is something about the USGA's setup for this tournament that favors Scott Simpson in his prime over Seve Ballesteros in his.  

Is that the idea?

[Matt_Ward]

Mike C:

IMHO I believe if Ballesteros were in his prime this year's Open at Shinnecock could have been his for the taking. Seve had the wherewithal to invent shots and Shinnecock required that as well as the mental toughness to expect bad breaks.

Mike -- some of the guys threw in the towel and have played toooooooooooo long accustomed to PGA Tour type conditions and the mindset is that they are owed rounds in the mid-60's when they play well.

I'm not defending what the USGA permitted to the course on
the weekend, but for God's sake this is the US Open and bitching from professionals is no less than dogs barking at the car driving away from the house.

Shivas:

Since you wear your attorney hat 24/7 let me point out that no inconsistency exists. But let's not forget you hang your hat on what Maltibe says is so.

Retief gave himself quality opportunities by the manner in which he kept his wits about himself. The putts were tough because it is THE FINAL ROUND OF THE OPEN and OTHER COMPETITORS ARE SUCKING ON COTTON BALLS.

Retief made a sensational save on #13 from an angle few had come close to making. Ditto his putt at #14.

When I use the word "easy" I am referring to the speed / break and angle from where he putted on holes #15 through #17. He still had to EXECUTE Shivas and many others were unable to pull the putter back let alone sink any of consequence.

[texsport]

Usually when a tour professional 1 putts 12 greens, he'll shoot in the low 60's. At Shinnecock on Sunday he couldn't stay under par.

Retief's super human performance under the circumstances may also make his old, out of production, Pro Gear Swashbuckler II putter a hot collectible for a while. The current version of the putter is the Yes! Tracy model, named after his wife.

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