Poor Geoff Ogilvy.
Ogilvy hit terrific shots down the stretch at Winged Foot on Sunday. On 17, he sank a chip off the green to save par. Then on 18, he sank a 6-footer for another key par.
The Australian’s clutch performance was a testament to a player whose game has reached another level.
And Ogilvy never will get his due.
The 106th U.S. Open forever will be remembered for who lost rather than who won. The lasting statement from this tournament will be Phil Mickelson’s: “I am such an idiot.”
That sums up the one of the most painful finishes in golf history.
Mickelson’s and Colin Montgomerie’s gut-wrenching double bogeys on the 18th hole allowed Ogilvy to win the U.S. Open.
His final-round 72 left him at 5 over par, which turned out to be good enough for a one-shot victory over Mickelson (74 Sunday), Montgomerie (71) and Jim Furyk (70). The 29-year-old joins David Graham, the winner in 1981 at Merion, as the only Australians to win the U.S. Open.
Ogilvy, though, knew he was lucky to be holding the trophy.
“I think I was the beneficiary of a little bit of charity,” Ogilvy said.
Mickelson and Montgomerie should check if their donations are tax deductible.
Their collapses on the 18th hole ranked with Jean Van de Velde’s at the 1999 British Open among the worst ever in a major.
Montgomerie was the first to stumble. A stunning 45-foot putt for birdie on the 17th hole moved him to 4 under and into a tie for the lead with Mickelson. With the course playing brutally tough, it appeared all the Scotsman needed was a par on 18 to win his first major.
But after hitting a perfect drive, Montgomerie came up short and right of the green with his approach. He then blew his chip from the rough past the hole and wound up three-putting for a double-bogey six, leaving him one shot out of a possible playoff.
Montgomerie is 0-for-58 in majors, but this one clearly hurt the most.
“This is as difficult as it gets,” Montgomerie said. “You wonder sometimes why you put yourself through this.”
Next it was Mickelson’s turn. Miraculously, he was on the verge of winning his third straight major despite hitting as many fairways as a 15-handicapper: two. He made a great par save from the trees on 17 to go into 18 leading by a shot.
Instead of playing it safe with his 4-wood, Mickelson pulled a driver on 18. He said he didn’t think he could get far enough down the fairway if he missed with his shorter club.
All Mickelson wanted was his “baby carve slice” off the tee. Unfortunately, he carved too big of a slice, knocking it so far left it hit a hospitality tent.
A stunned New York crowd, which had been cheering for Mickelson as if he played for the Yankees, watched the heartbreak unfold. He hit his next shot off a tree. His third shot doomed him with a fried-egg lie in the greenside bunker.
Mickelson had no chance from there. He knocked his sand shot over the green, leading to a double-bogey six.
In a New York minute, Mickelson’s date with history turned into a date with infamy.
“I still am in shock that I did that,” Mickelson said. “I just can’t believe I did that. I am such an idiot. I just couldn’t hit a fairway all day.”
The collapse left Mickelson with his fourth runner-up finish in a U.S. Open, a tournament he covets. The pain figures to linger for a long time.
“It hurt because I had it in my grasp and just let it go,” Mickelson said.
Ogilvy was there to catch it. He put himself in position by being the only player among the top four to play even par through the last four holes.
When he missed the green on the par-4 17th, he chipped in for a par.
“What do you say?” Ogilvy said. “A shot you wait your whole life for in a situation like that, and you do it.”
Ogilvy’s 6-footer for par on 18 turned out to be the winning putt. But following Mickelson’s and Montgomerie’s collapses, the post-tournament ceremony definitely was a letdown.
The New Yorkers wanted Mickelson and would have taken Montgomerie as a winner. Instead all they got was an Australian winner and a sequel to Van de Velde.
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Mickelson’s painful 18th hole
The six shots that cost Phil Mickelson the U.S. Open title:
1. Hits a driver way left. The ball bounces off the Champions Pavilion tent, landing behind the trees in grass that had been trampled down by the galleries.
2. Tries to go for the green, but the shot hits a tree, advancing only 25 yards.
3. From 185 yards, his approach lands in the bunker left of the green.
4. Faced with a nearly impossible fried-egg lie, Mickelson knocks his sand shot across the green into the rough.
5. Needing to hole out to force a playoff, his attempt goes 8 feet past the hole.
6. Makes the putt for a double bogey.
(Hole) 18
450 yards
par 4
FINAL SCORES, R4, TOTAL
Geoff Ogilvy, 72, 285
Mickelson, 74, 286
Jim Furyk, 70, 286
Colin Montgomerie,71, 286
Sources: USGA, New York Times
Chicago Tribune: Ed Sherman and Rick Tuma
Final-hole disasters in majors
JEAN VAN DE VELDE
1999 British Open
Still the king of all meltdowns, Van de Velde blew a three-shot lead on 18 at Carnoustie. An errant drive sent him on a downward spiral. He eventually got into the playoff with a triple-bogey seven, but Paul Lawrie won the title.
SCOTT HOCH
1990 Masters
All that stood between Hoch and a green jacket was a 2 1/2-foot putt on the 10th hole, the first hole of his playoff with Nick Faldo. Hoch missed the putt, opening the door for Faldo to win on the next hole.
DOUG SANDERS
1969 British Open
Sanders needed only a 3-footer to win the title at St. Andrews. But he couldn’t get it down. Jack Nicklaus beat him in an 18-hole playoff the next day.
SAM SNEAD
1939 U.S. Open
With no leaderboards on the course, Snead thought he needed a birdie on 18 to win the title at Philadelphia Country Club. It turned out all he needed was a par. Snead got himself into trouble off the tee, and it got worse from there, as he took a triple-bogey eight. Byron Nelson won the title.
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esherman@tribune.com
