105th US Open Golf Championship

The 105th US Open Golf Championship was on this weekend, and what a tournament it turned out to be.

Two-time champion, and last year's winner Retief Goosen, ranked 5th, from South Africa began the fourth round in the final pairing with Jason Gore, previously ranked 818th in the world.



Without a doubt, it looked as if this was Goosen's tournament to win again. He survived the first 54 holes as just about everyone else around him succumbed to the concave shaped greens. In many instances, if your ball landed on the green, there was a good chance that it would roll off. Goosen, the 2001 and 2004 winner, began the day at three under. Jason Gore began at even par. At the end of the day, Goosen ended up gaining 11 strokes, while Gore ballooned by 14, the worse score of the day. Overall, Kiwi Michael Campbell won with even par 280, minus 1 for the day. Tiger Woods put on a charge, but double-bogeyed near the end to end up with minus one for the day and a two over score of 282.

It was amazing to watch how the game quickly shifted from Goosen's to Campbell's. Throughout yesterday and today, however, Gore was the crowd's favorite. He's was a little known golfer with very little success, earning less than $30,000 US this year. His car was broken into and his stereo stolen. A local company replaced it free of charge. Gore played with incredible heart and emotion, compared to Goosen's reserved demeanor. Pinehurst No. 2, one of 8 golf courses at Pinehurst, SC, definitely creamed some of the best players, including Vijay Singh (286, tied for 6th), Sergio Garcia (285), Davis Love III (286.)