I’m not a big fan of reality TV shows, but the events in Sunday’s U.S. Open golf tournament calls to mind two of them: "The Biggest Loser" and "Survivor."
What are the chances that we would have seen Tiger Woods not make the cut at the U.S. Open this weekend – the first time ever in his professional career – and witness the favorite Phil Mickelson self-destruct in the final holes to lose the championship? It is one of the most unlikely scenarios I have seen in sports since the Red Sox escaped elimination in the 2004 AL Championship series against the Yankees to go on to win the World Series. But I digress…
With Tiger Woods out of the picture, everyone -- including Mickelson himself -- thought the leftie had this championship in the bag. But then that’s why you play the game on the golf course, not in the newspapers or on TV talk shows.
Watching Mickelson self-destruct on national TV was painful. It happened so quickly. It shows that it’s much harder to win a championship than it is to lose one. Just when you think you're on cruise control, you hit a few speed bumps, make a few bad choices, and the silver trophy you thought would be yours is sitting in someone else’s hands.
To Mickelson’s credit, he blamed no one but himself. He was not alone either. Several other golfers on the leader board self-destructed too. It was either a very tough course, or everyone just had a bad day at the office.
Overlooked in all this was the effort of the young Australian, Geoff Ogilvy, who managed to keep pace with the leaders during the final round and overcame one or two mistakes himself to win the U.S. Open. It’s his third victory in a major tournament.
Where Phil Mickelson was the “biggest loser,” Geoff Ogilvy was the “survivor.”
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