U.S. Open proves it again: Golf is wide open

By Steve DiMeglio and Joe Fleming, USA TODAY

Updated

Two majors down, two left to be played in 2012. The instinct always is to make definitive statements about what happened and what's next. We'll only say this: After two majors, here is what we think we learned:

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  By Kyle Terada, US Presswire

  Webb Simpson became the 15th different winner in the last 15 majors, and he was the third American major winner in a row.

By Kyle Terada, US Presswire

Webb Simpson became the 15th different winner in the last 15 majors, and he was the third American major winner in a row.

?

Picking a winner is a fool's errand.

Fifteen majors, 15 different winners. The last nine majors have have been won by first-time winners, including Webb Simpson's come-from-behind triumph Sunday at the U.S. Open. There is so much depth around the world, so many talented players ? a 17-year-old high schooler actually was alone in front midway through the second round at The Olympic Club, for crying out loud ? oddsmakers must be losing their minds.

"I think the Tiger (Woods) effect of inspiring people to play at a younger age, and I think the access to golf has gotten so much bigger that the game is changing," Simpson said after his victory. "I'm lucky because I feel like we're playing at a time where golf is at its best."

It's dangerous to anoint someone, anyone, as the "next Tiger." And that includes Tiger.

This is a lesson relearned. Maybe it will stick this time. Rory McIlroy blew away the field at the 2011 U.S. Open, setting a record for score in relation to par and winning by eight shots. So he must be the next Tiger, right? McIlroy, 23, most likely will win more majors; he's that good. But 14 (and counting)? Tall order. And Woods himself, after victories in his major tuneups (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial), was declared back. Then he tied for 40th in the Masters and tied for 21st in the U.S. Open. It might just be that that Tiger, from the first 12 years of his career, is gone for good.

Remember that "American drought" in majors? Forget it.

When McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open, one of the other story lines was a record streak of five majors in a row without an American winner. That streak stretched to six when Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland won the 2011 British Open, and the cacophony got louder, "What happened to American golf?" Now the streak is three in a row for the USA, Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA), Bubba Watson (2012 Masters) and Simpson. Simpson and Bradley are 26, Watson is 33. And there are many others who will be contenders. The USA started the year with six players in the top 15; now there are nine. Even so, we won't be asking, "What happened to European golf?"

The USGA really does not like it when the U.S. Open is in the red (numbers, that is).

Simpson's winning score Sunday was 1 over, quite a difference from the 2011 edition of the national championship. McIlroy finished 16 under par, and 20 players total were in red numbers after the final round. That 20 matched the combined total of players under par in the previous 12 U.S. Opens. The USGA couldn't get Congressional the way it wanted to last year. Olympic Club, and the weather, were "classic U.S. Open," NBC's Johnny Miller said.

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