Golf

Looking back on Sunday, I'm moderately embarrassed about the amount of time I spent on the couch watching golf. But there's something about the final round of a major that's appealing to me. It was a classic 4th round at a US Open, with players struggling to break par with their overall scores. Whereas during the Masters you might be looking for someone to make birdie after birdie on the back nine, the course at Merion was about who avoided mistakes. I was hoping that Wisconsin native Steve Stricker was going to be in contention over the course of the day, he was out of it early after a disastrously awful start. While a guy like Phil Mickelson eagled the 10th hole with one of his many wedges from about 75 yards out, he also missed numerous putts within 10 feet, the kind of putts you need to make if you want to win a major. Jason Day had a chance to make things interesting late, but again missed his chance. It was Justin Rose that played the most consistent on the final day, playing from fairway to green for an even par 70. It still made for good television, because nobody pulled away at any juncture and was compelling to the very last hole. The TV networks (namely NBC) had to love it, as the second-biggest draw in the game still had a chance to force a playoff down to the final hole. It would have taken a small miracle for Phil to chip in on 18, and when he missed, there was still time for the narrative to switch to Justin Rose, and rightfully so. Rose played the most balanced golf throughout Sunday, and he had to feel good sitting in the clubhouse with the lead. He was a gracious winner who the fans took a liking to, and I wasn't upset to see him capture his first major.