“AT ITS MOST BASIC LEVEL, OF COURSE, THE U.S OPEN IS GOLF’S ULTIMATE TEST OF EXECUTION.”

Watching the final nine holes of the US Open at Torrey Pines, I must admit to a slight feeling of deja vu. Amidst much carnage over the closing holes, Jon Rahm ended up being the ‘last man standing’ – if that is not too unfair to Louis Oosthuizen – much as I was when I won the same event at Winged Foot in 2006.

This year’s US Open was a great tournament, despite the low expectations many seemed to have going in. It was the same in 2008, of course. When I arrived for the last US Open at Torrey, I had high expectations for an unenjoyable week. Not because US Opens are routinely scary. But because Torrey is different from an Oakmont or a Pinehurst in that the PGA Tour visits every year. Most