OAKMONT, Pa. -- Shortly after completing the first round, while shooting the breeze after feeling like he shot the moon, Rory Sabbatini gave the unrelenting site of the 107th U.S. Open the type of moniker that will likely stick for years.
While riffing away on his experiences at difficult Oakmont Country Club, he dubbed the course "Oakmonster."
Mostly, he was right on -– until Sunday's final round unfolded. Then a new name was bestowed upon the course, a moniker that not only encompassed its difficulty, but also befitted the shaky performance of many players in contention during the final round.
Ahem. Anybody for Chokemont?
No question, stoop-shouldered Argentine long-ball king Angel Cabrera played the best golf of the week, signing for two of the 8 under-par scores recorded by the field to win by a shot at 5 over. Cigarette in hand as he happily ambled around the grounds, some wondered whether he might start a brushfire by tossing a butt into the thigh-high hay situated around the course.
No worries, since the butts of his closest pursuers mostly went in up in flames with no help from Cabrera whatsoever. Indeed, it took perhaps 15 minutes for the tone to be set for Sunday's final round, as overmatched Aussie Aaron Baddeley made a complete mess of his first hole. Baddeley, the 54-hole leader, began the day two strokes ahead of playing partner Tiger Woods and played the first hole at Oakmont like a 12-handicaper, taking four shots to get the ball on the green, then three-putting for a triple-bogey. As far as being in the mix, he was never heard from again.
Triple-bogeys, however, were.
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| Tiger Woods reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open. (Getty Images) |
Perhaps we should have seen it coming. In what has become a seemingly annual ritual, Baddeley became the fourth player in four years who failed to break 80 when playing in the final group, joining Jason Gore and Retief Goosen (Pinehurst 2005) and Ernie Els (Shinnecock 2004).
As always, it made for compelling television for those who like Wes Craven flicks. Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods finished a shot back in a tie for second, and joined Steve Stricker, Stephen Ames, and Baddeley as players who held at least a share of the lead on Sunday before falling down in some form or fashion.
Despite appearances, Oakmont was set up as fairly as it had been all week. The scoring average Sunday was 74.74, nearly a full stroke lower than the combined average over four rounds, 75.72. So, call it what you will, but there was a whole lot of inexplicably poor play emanating from the contenders on Sunday, Cabrera excepted.
For future reference, the Spanish term for choke is ahogar, though in Cabrera's case -- and perhaps his instance alone -– it most definitely did not apply. As for the rest, well, nerves and pressure cause players to do some uncharacteristically embarrassing things. Only their sports psychologists know for sure.
To wit:
