Bleacher Report: Who Will Tame the Beast of Chambers Bay and Claim US Open Glory?

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By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — Henrik Stenson compared the greens to broccoli, except broccoli is green and the greens are brown. Ian Poulter said Chambers Bay would turn the U.S. Open into “a complete farce,” but he conceded his comments were constructed from hearsay.

But Jim Furyk, who 12 years ago won a U.S. Open on a course very different from this year’s — old-fashioned Olympia Fields south of Chicago — described Chambers in less emotional terms.

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SF Examiner: Bubba Watson walks away from Masters in tear-jerking triumph

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

And now we wait and hope, hope the next major golf championship of 2012, the U.S. Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club in June, can be as full of tension and greatness — and, of course, drama — as the Masters.

What an ending Sunday, in the shadows after the setting sun dipped below the Georgia pines, a day of history, only the fourth double-eagle in 77 Masters and, because the winner couldn’t be determined until a sudden-death playoff, mystery.


Copyright 2012 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Open Champ Is Going Hollywood

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

LOS ANGELES -- He's here, Shrek, or as it says on the birth certificate, Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen. Last weekend the Grammy Awards. This weekend, the NBA All-Star Game. And smack in the middle, the guy with the gap in his teeth but no holes in his golf game, Louis Oosthuizen, British Open Champion.

"I'm still looking around for the Hollywood sign,'' Oosthuizen insisted on Tuesday. "Once I see that I'll know in L.A. Yeah, I've never been here. Whenever you're here, you want to see that sign.''

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Global Golf Post: And The Winner Is...

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By Art Spander
For GlobalGolfPost.com

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND -- Aye, laddie, Augusta National is beautiful, and Pebble Beach is spectacular. But there's nothing like the Old Course when the wind is blowing, the crowds are hanging out the windows along the final hole and the man about to be declared "champion golfer of the year" is striding up the 18th to the joyful accompaniment of appreciative cheers.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2010 Global Golf Post

Newsday (N.Y.): Oosthuizen wins British Open by 7 strokes

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- A matter of believing. That's what Louis Oosthuizen said, about himself. But five days ago, who would have believed he would win the British Open? Who other than the golfing cognoscenti even knew of Louis Oosthuizen, or how to pronounce his name (WUHST-hy-zen)?

Zach Johnson was a surprise when he grabbed the 2007 Masters. And the standard for upsets remains Jack Fleck, who, then a pro at a driving range, stunned the immortal Ben Hogan in a playoff for the 1955 U.S. Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club.

But this ranks up there among surprises in major tournaments. Or did until the end of the second round. Oosthuizen, a 27-year-old South African, in effect won the 139th British Open on Friday, when he finished before the arrival of wind so strong that it caused play to be suspended for an hour and ruined the rest of the field.

He was four shots in front of Paul Casey before teeing off Sunday below the steps of the imposing granite headquarters of the Royal & Ancient Club. Oosthuizen was seven shots ahead when he took the greatest walk in golf, along the 18th fairway of the Old Course, with fans leaning from the windows of the adjoining buildings and cheering wildly.

With a 1-under-par 71, Oosthuizen finished at 16-under 272, never giving anyone else a chance. Lee Westwood of England was a distant second at 70-279. Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland who opened with a course-record 63, shot 68 for 280. That tied McIlroy for third with Casey (75) and Henrik Stenson.

Americans Sean O'Hair and Nick Watney were among four tied for seventh at 282, and Jeff Overton shared 11th at 283.

Tiger and Phil, 1-2 in the world rankings? Woods, three-putting his way to agony and making two double bogeys, shot 72-285 and tied for 23rd. Mickelson, with a poor history in British Opens, stumbled in with a 75 for 289 and a tie for 48th.

The two highlights of Oosthuizen's career, in a manner of speaking, had been his first victory on the European Tour, at the Andalucia Open in March, and then a win in the lighthearted Masters par-3 contest. This is a bit bigger.

"Everyone told me I had the ability,'' Oosthuizen said, "but it was a matter of me believing.''

He's nicknamed "Shrek'' because of a gap in his front teeth.

"My win at Malaga got my mind around things,'' he said. "The way I played at Pebble [in the U.S. Open last month], missing the cut, was disappointing. This week was something different. I made good putts when I had to. I rarely missed a putt under 6 feet.''

Oosthuizen was playing his first Open on the Old Course, and his victory brought back memories of the late Tony Lema. Never having played the British, Lema showed up at St. Andrews in 1964 and without a practice round came in first.

Lema was known as "Champagne Tony,'' because during a tournament in Southern California, he saw the press drinking beer and told them, "If I win, tomorrow you drink champagne.'' He bought it. Sunday, after his win, Oosthuizen had champagne delivered to the media tent.

He is the fourth South African to take the Open, joining Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els. On the morning news, Oosthuizen heard that Sunday was the 92nd birthday of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

"It felt a bit special out there,'' Oosthuizen said. "When I walked down 18, I thought about his birthday. What he's done for our country is unbelievable.''

That's a word some might use to describe Oosthuizen's triumph.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Mickelson had it going, then finished poorly

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Phil Mickelson, who had a chance to overtake Tiger Woods as No. 1 in the world rankings, will not. He did shoot 70 Saturday, but that left him at 2-under-par 214.

"I'm disappointed in myself,'' Mickelson said, "because I let a good round slide. I putted great [he briefly was 4 under] and then I made those bad swings on 16 [double-bogey 6] and 17 and played them 3 over par.''

On 16, trying to play safe off the tee with a 5-iron, he hooked it so badly the ball hit the road that runs along the right side of the hole and bounced into the big, grassy area that's home to concession stands, the merchandise tent. It was miles out of bounds.

Pants on fire

There was an interesting remark from Henrik Stenson about the weather. "The wind,'' he said, "feels like it's trying to rip your pants off, and that's no good.''

Stenson, of course, is the Swedish pro who stripped down to his underwear before wading into a water hazard to play a shot in the 2009 WGC-CA Championship at Doral. Entering the third round at 2 under, Stenson, his pants on, shot a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for fourth at 7 under.

Casey at the bat

A year after a rib muscle forced him to miss three months of the season, Paul Casey is in contention to become the first Englishman to win the British Open since 1992. His 67 put him within four strokes of Louis Oosthuizen. "Sitting here right now, I'm ecstatic," Casey said. "You know, even right now, occasionally I feel the muscles in the ribs. In no way do they affect my golf. But it's a small reminder that quite often you take for granted a lot of things, and nothing is better than an Open Championship at the home of golf."

Chip shots

John Daly's trousers were the wildest of the week, a red-and-black stripe variation of a Cincinnati Bengals helmet pattern; he had a 74 for even-par 216 after starting with a 66 Thursday . . . Rory McIlroy, who led the fist day with a 63, then shot 80, rallied for a 69, despite a double-bogey 6 on 17 the Road Hole . . . Mark Calcavecchia started the day in second place at 7 under, but he began bogey, bogey, and then took a 9 on the par-5 fifth hole that included two penalty shots. But after a 43 on the front nine, Calcavecchia had a 34 on the back for a 77 and 2-under 214.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Oosthuizen cruises as Americans fail to fire

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- For America, it's red, white and very blue. The British Open appears closed to anyone on the other side of the Atlantic.

The guy in front is from South Africa, the guy in second from England, the guy in third from Germany and the players tied for fifth are from Sweden, Spain and England.

"It looks like the European Ryder Cup team,'' someone apprised Tiger Woods, despite the fact that South Africa is not part of Europe.

Said Woods: "I haven't even looked. We all know them as just players.''

A Northern Irishman, Graeme McDowell, took the U.S. Open a month ago at Pebble Beach. At St. Andrews, where Woods won the previous two Opens and John Daly won the Open in 1995, there's no hope for America.

Louis Oosthuizen, the South African, stormed along Saturday. The 27-year-old Oosthuizen, who in three previous Opens never made a cut, shot his third straight sub-70 round, an elegant 3-under-par 69.

With 18 holes to play, he's at 15-under 201 and four ahead of Englishman Paul Casey, who, if it gives anyone in the United States consolation, did attend Arizona State and lives most of the year in Scottsdale. He had a 5-under 67 for 205.

Martin Kaymer of Germany, who also resides in Arizona, shot 68 for 208, and Henrik Stenson of Sweden (67), Alejandro Canizares of Spain (71) and Lee Westwood of England (71) share fourth.

Finally come golfers with U.S. passports. Dustin Johnson, who led the Pebble Beach Open after 54 holes, is seventh at 210 after a 69. Nick Watney (71), Sean O'Hair (72) and Ricky Barnes (72) - nearly the man at Bethpage Black last year - are tied for eighth with South Africa's Retief Goosen. Woods is tied for 18th.

And if there are no Americans truly contending, there are 15 among the top 38 scores. Good depth. No stars.

Johnson said he's in a spot -- nine back -- where he has "a chance,'' but that's probably being overly optimistic. It isn't only the differential, it's the number of people he would have to pass.

"That's why I practice,'' Johnson, who lives in South Carolina, said of making a charge. "That's why I'm here.''

Maybe what happened to Johnson in the U.S. Open, a triple-bogey on the second hole the final round, a double on the third, happens to Oosthuizen, who like Johnson at Pebble Beach never has been in the pressure of trying to win a major.

But Saturday, after a bogey on the first hole, Oosthuizen (it's prounounced "West-high-sen'') didn't make another. "I was quite nervous on the first,'' he said, "but then I got myself together.''

That's something the golfers first and second in the world rankings, a couple of Americans named Woods and Phil Mickelson, have been unable to do all week. Tiger shot a second straight 1-over 73 for 213 - 12 shots behind - Mickelson a 70 for 214.

When it was mentioned to Tiger that he would have to climb a large hill to get past Oosthuizen, he said: "It certainly is, but you don't know what the weather is going to do . . . Hopefully, I can get some momentum going early. I'm playing well.''

The scoreboard would indicate no one is playing as well through three rounds as Oosthuizen. "Yeah,'' he said, "I'm swinging it nicely. Probably when they saw my first putt, people expected I could lose it, but I kept positive and made two good par saves the first six holes.

"I'm really happy with myself, keeping my emotions intact.''

And keeping the Americans at a distance.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Oosthuizen brilliant again as Rory fades, Tiger hangs on

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By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- This was the British Open so many expected, a tournament at the mercy of nature with wind so strong that play had to be suspended for more than an hour.

This was the British Open no one expected, a young South African dominating after two incredible rounds.

What a Friday along the North Sea, when calm became calamitous, when Rory McIlroy was 17 shots worse than he had been Thursday; when Tiger Woods tumbled down, if not quite out; and when Louis Oosthuizen beat both the weather and everyone else in the field for the first two rounds of this 139th Open.

When in early afternoon the wind gusted up to 41 mph, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which runs the Open, said balls were being moved on the greens and it "had no option but to suspend play.''

Which it did for 65 minutes, turning golf into a long day's journey into night, which in Scotland in July doesn't arrive with total darkness until past 10:30 p.m. Late starters were out there for more than seven hours, and not everyone finished.

Oosthuizen went out at 6:41 a.m. So although he endured some rain and a lighter wind, he was long finished when the nasty gusts moved in, posting a 5-under-par 67. He had a 36-hole score of 12-under 132 and a five-shot lead over Mark Calcavecchia.

"I like playing in the wind,'' said Oosthuizen, 27, whose given names, after his grandfather, are Lodewicus Theodorus. He won't answer to either, however, always being known as Louis - or to his friends as "Shrek.''

In second place at 70-67-137 is Calcavecchia, 50, the Open winner in 1989. He was in the first threesome at 6:30 a.m., and if, like Oosthuizen, that meant arising at about 4 a.m., it also meant getting around the Old Course before being figuratively blown away.

That's what happened to McIlroy, who tied the course record of 63 Thursday and didn't make a bogey. On Friday, he shot 40-40-80, not making a birdie, and dropped from first to a tie for 38th.

"It could have been 82 or 82,'' McIlroy said. "I've never experienced shooting 63 and then going and shooting 80.''

Tiger Woods, with a birdie at 18, shot 73 for 140. The final putt dropped a bit before 10 p.m. After Tom Watson birdied 18 to finish at 75 for 148, the horn was blown to halt play, leaving 30 golfers to return Saturday.

"It was a tough day. For everybody,'' Woods said. "You just have to go out there and deal with it, whether you're on the good end of the draw or not the good end . . . I'm not exactly where I want to be, but after my start [he began bogey, bogey], I could have shot myself out of it.''

The projected cut was 145, and names such as Watson, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Geoff Ogilvy were among those above that score.

Oosthuizen won the Par-3 Contest at the Masters this year - then missed the cut in the regular event for a third straight time - but he won the Andalucia Open on the European Tour and said that changed his outlook, building his confidence.

The son of a farmer, Oosthuizen said he would not have been able to afford golf lessons as a child were it not for the foundation created by countryman Els to help young South Africans.

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