Geoff Ogilvy Wins the Open [J. Mark English]

Mamaroneck, N.Y. – Australian Geoff Ogilvy weathered a series of unlikely events on the 18th hole Sunday evening to win the 106th U.S. Open Championship, at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Ogilvy, 29, shot a final-round 72 for a 5-over 285 total, one stroke ahead of Jim Furyk (70), Colin Montgomerie (71) and Phil Mickelson (74) at 6-over 286. Padraig Harrington (71) finished alone in fifth at 7-over 287.

The last time an Australian prevailed at the Open was in 1981, when David Graham won at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa.

Of the five U.S. Opens played at Winged Foot, Ogilvy’s winning score was behind only Hale Irwin’s 7-over finish in 1974 and Bobby Jones’ 6-over score in 1929.

Amid steam conditions and temperatures in the 90s, Ogilvy emerged the winner of the championship by making par over the final four holes, including a chip-in from off the green at the 17th and an up-and-down from below the green at 18.

Montgomerie and Mickelson, playing in the twosomes ahead of and behind Ogilvy, respectively, each double bogeyed the 18th hole to fall back to 6-over. Earlier, Furyk made bogey at the 18th.

Over the final three holes, though, Ogilvy was spectacularly steady, playing them in even par. With Montgomerie already in at 6-over, Ogilvy and his expectant wife, Julie, watched as Mickelson unraveled.

"This is the last [major] I would have thought I was going to win, because I don’t drive it very straight and I demonstrated that on the last nine holes," Ogilvy said. "I didn’t think it was going to be me, but you never think it’s going to be you. It’s kind of bizarre."

Just like the finish.

(Stuart Hall is a freelance writer whose work has appeared previously on http://www.usopen.com/.)