U.S. Open golf champions
June 22, 2009
Of golf’s four major championships, the U.S. Open may be the most difficult to win. Having to play an extra 19 holes on a bum knee, as Tiger Woods did in outlasting Rocco Mediate to win the 2008 Open, only adds to the challenge.
Spring weather can be a challenge at The Masters, conditions at the British Open vary wildly, and the PGA Championship often is an endurance contest in the dog days of summer. But the U.S. Open is a grind, as the United States Golf Association combines thick rough and lightning-fast greens to create a demolition derby in which even par is almost always a contending score.
For your weekend hacker, that makes The Open a bit of a guilty pleasure, as the world’s greatest players are brought to their knees by the course and the pressure to avoid the one big mistake that can take them out of the running. That often produces an unexpected winner, the long shot who conjures up just enough magic for 72 (or more) holes.
Who has done the best job of handling it all?
Your Open champions, of course. The list includes:
2009 - Lucas Glover
2008 - Tiger Woods - p
2007 - Angel Cabrera
2006 - Geoff Ogilvy
2005 - Michael Campbell
2004 - Retief Goosen
2003 - Jim Furyk
2002 - Tiger Woods
2001 - Retief Goosen
2000 - Tiger Woods
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