Steadfastness in the face of pressure.

Snead's old drive for show, putt for dough line revisited..

I agree -- outstanding tournament, phenomenal finish.

Johnny Miller said Lunke was doing it with "smoke and mirrors," and for much of the afternoon, it looked like he was right. But in addition to her rock-solid putting, she hit every shot she needed to hit down the stretch, including that delicate little pitch on 17 that was a chunk or a blade just waiting to happen.

It certainly looks as though Michelle Wie has everything it takes to dominate this field in a very few number of years, but in the meantime, both Lunke and Stanford exhibited qualities of heart and determination that are essential to becoming a real champion.

Every now and then overwhelming ability and outstanding character come together in a Tiger Woods or a Jack Nicklaus, but we've yet to see whether Wie has the whole package. In the meantime, wouldn't you love to have the nerves of Lunke or Stanford?

Eckstein,

Hazeltine in 2002 was a great finish, but with Beem only having to bogey #18 to win (which he did), it didn't top this one.

Valhalla in 2000 was great as well, and Woods' and May's matching 31s on the back nine representing one of the best duels ever, and yes, both players made super putts to get into the playoff. It's close, but with the 90th hole heroics and Lunke's putt ending the tournament, I'll go with Lunke/Stanford.

There hasn't been a major decided on the final putts like this in quite a while.  Does anyone remember the last time the challenger made a putt like that (esp. in a major) to tie on the last hole, only to have the champion knock one in right on top to end it?

(I can think of Watson/Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977, but Watson's putt to win was only a 2-footer...)

First time I watched the Women's US Open. Thanks to all the flap about Anita, it put Women's golf on my radar screen.

I would love to see Hootie Johnson invite Anita and Michelle Wie to next years Masters. Can they compete? No, but neither can the old guys, but I bet the tv and press rating would be thru the roof.

Everyone would like to see Micheele and Tiger drive the ball. Probably more so than Tiger and John Daley, because they have seen that already.

Golf is like all sports, entertainment. Babe Zacharis terrific. Entertainment pays the big bucks.

Every PGA pro should thank Tiger ever morning they get up. These guys make big bucks because Tiger entertains the fans. Ditto with Anita and Michelle Wie.

Look at how all the old classic courses can be used for this prestigious event.

Obsolete?

 I don't think so.

Pumpkin Ridge was fast, fun and firm.  The play by the leaders was dramatic and tense.  What more could you want out of any Open championship, much less a Women's Open?  Maybe Pumpkin isn't worthy of the men's Open, but it still is a fine golf course.  Not every course can be Merion, Shoreacres or any of the other blueblood hall of famers that tend to be slobbered over by many of us.  If you haven't played Pumpkin, I suggest that you make it a stopover on your way to Bandon/Pacific Dunes.  It's a little gimmicky at times, but it really fits well on the site.

I think it takes players of lesser talent to provide a compelling championship....how cool was it just to never know when the next bad shot would appear...I am shocked to say it was the first tournament I have enjoyed watching for a long time.   That being said I am afraid the set up was too forgiving and may have handed the Championship to the short hitting player...how many times can you allow a player to lay up short of the green and have an easy chip...Kelly Robbins got robbed before the first shot of the playoff was ever struck but it made for great drama and was good for the womens game....is she from Chicago or something.

RJ,

I'm talking about the set up of the playoff...the set up of the final day brought the true strikers of the ball back into the game...the playoff and its easiest possible pin placements was on purpose...for what purpose is my question.   As I say this it might be conscrued that the final day pin placements were put in the tucked positions to bring "man pants" back into the fray....I'm happy she lost out.

That being said I am afraid the set up was too forgiving and may have handed the Championship to the short hitting player...how many times can you allow a player to lay up short of the green and have an easy chip...Kelly Robbins got robbed before the first shot of the playoff was ever struck but it made for great drama and was good for the womens game....

Um, is there some sort of law against the longer players laying up short of the green and leaving themselves easy chips? I thought that sort of thing pretty much defines "course management", which had as much to do with Lunke's win as her consistent putting. In what way was Kelly Robbins robbed? (She herself kept hitting irons and 3-woods off the tees toward the end of the round, exactly when she needed to be taking risks and challenging the fairways with her length.)

In any event, I agree with the general sentiment that this was an extremely watchable golf tournament. Lunke's lack of length did make for a very compelling spectacle - I find it hard to imagine her ever becoming an established star on the LPGA Tour, because she's just too darn short to compete week-in, week-out. But that just added to the general tension and drama of it all. Also, say what you will about the USGA, but in my opinion they sure as heck know how to set up a golf course. The ideal course setup, in my opinion, will produce a winner who makes quite a few birdies and about as many bogeys - trying to balance birdie and bogey around the fulcrum of par is critical - and will produce a field that makes a fair few birdies but has its mistakes (mental and physical) justly punished by bogeys and worse. When the USGA gets it wrong, it sets up a plodder's course of the fairways-and-greens variety - but even that is much more watchable than the usual "These Guys Are Good!" birdie-fest on the regular tour.

Cheers,
Darren

I can comment on the hole locations for the playoff...

As a set, I would say they were in more generally accessible locations on Monday, particularly when compared to Sunday's final round.  On the back nine placements, only #11 (with a very subtle back left hole) and #15 ( with the hole on the back on the side of a ridge) were really potential sucker hole locations.

My impressions were that, as a set of hole locations, these gave an opportunity for more birdies to be made by all 3 players--I actually would have expected Robbins to be able to take advantage more because of her length to attack some of the holes.

That was one of the all-time putting performances by Hilary Lunke this week.  

I would love to see a regular Women's Open rotation of Prairie Dunes, Merion, Plainfield, TCC or wherever else some have deemed to short to host a Men's Open.

George:

The funnel effect on #17 never seems to help me very much!  However, with the exception of the front left, #17 green does have slopes on either side that will direct a ball to the center of the green.  With a center or center-back hole location (as during the Sat-Sun-Mon rounds), this does help get the ball to the hole. When they had the hole in the front left, there were some circus putts from behind the hole, though.  The right side of that green has tremendous slope to it, so any putt involving the right side is a real treat...

The key to #17 is getting the tee shot enough to the right side of the fairway to open up the hole.  It is not a hard downwind tee shot, but I spend a lot of time blocked out by trees left.

#18 was played from the typical member tees at 498-505 yds.  (The black tee is another 25-40 yds back)  I have always suspected that the measurement of that hole is on a direct line over the ESA (like a laser sight) or that the yardage markers are a little off, as I have hit drives I know go 230-240 yds, and still had the markers tell me I'm 290-300 yards to the hole.  It is a 175-180 aerial carry to clear the first ESA, and about 290-310 (depending on the angle) to the end of the fairway.  To get to the best spot on the low left of the fairway, the tee shot has to have a slight draw, or be hit on a line directly there, to take advantage of the right-left cant of the fairway.  As I know all too well, tee shots with a "slight" cut will deaden against that slope, or get pushed by the prevailing wind toward the bunkers and grass on the right.

For me, it is a maddening, frustrating hole that I haven't learned to play well.  I have seen everything there, from an eagle 3 to mid-teens--that part of it is fun, though, as no score is ever safe on that darn hole!

 When they spoke of the previous playoffs they said the highest score by the winner was in 1976.Where? Rolling Green!!!