Retief's the obvious choice b/c he's playing really well right now and he's the best U.S. Open player in the world.
How many of you caught Retief's meltdown last week at Quail Hollow? Remember his final round at Pinehurst last year? Or his uninspired play in the final round at The Old Course?
Since winning the 2004 U.S. Open Retief has had numerous opportunities to win PGA TOUR events. He has had a ton of top tens and top fives, but he has come up short more often than not. Retief has 16 top tens in his last 30 TOUR starts, but with only two victories.
I hesitate to pick Retief as the winner for this year's U.S. Open. He may very well contend. Heck, he probably will. But he is more likely to come up short.
How many of you caught Retief's meltdown last week at Quail Hollow? Remember his final round at Pinehurst last year? Or his uninspired play in the final round at The Old Course?
Since winning the 2004 U.S. Open Retief has had numerous opportunities to win PGA TOUR events. He has had a ton of top tens and top fives, but he has come up short more often than not. Retief has 16 top tens in his last 30 TOUR starts, but with only two victories.
I hesitate to pick Retief as the winner for this year's U.S. Open. He may very well contend. Heck, he probably will. But he is more likely to come up short.
That's exactly what I pointed out in the rest of my post. Last year, he was in contention to win all 4 majors but couldn't muster up a good final round in any (except Augusta). But at the same time, this is the same guy that's fought through pressure before and won. Over 20 wins worldwide, a head-to-head win over Tiger last year, an amazing final round comeback at the TOUR 3 yrs.back and 2 great US Open showcases. Goose will probably be there come Sunday. The question is "Which Goose will show up?"
A bit off topic here but did anyone else see Oberholser choke, er...ah....give away his chance at shooting a 59 today? He came to the 18th hole (439 yard straight away Par 4) needing birdie to be the fourth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59. His tee shot found the fairway after traveling a whopping....202 yards! To Aaron's credit he hit an iron from 237 and left himself about 18 feet from history. His putt never had a chance. It was a couple of feet right all the way and didn't come within a foot of the hole.
He wasn't asked about his tee shot on #18 but in a post round interview he did say he was very much aware of the 59 and that the pressure affected his poor attempt at the birdie. 60 is a great score but after watching him play #18 today I have doubts he could handle the pressure of a US Open. Then again, not many can.
My picks: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen.........in that order. I really went out on a limb there didn't I!
I saw Oberholser during his 60. After he put his 3 iron on the green the cameras were on him and he looked right into the camera and said "that's for 59 baby"... so he knew exactly what was happening.
Oberholser's won on Tour already this year. He may not be ready for a Major yet but he will be in the mix a few times. He had a pretty good Masters IIRC.
May 13th, 2006, 05:09 PM
To Aaron's credit he hit an iron from 237 and left himself about 18 feet from history. His putt never had a chance. It was a couple of feet right all the way and didn't come within a foot of the hole.
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