Wow what a finish!  The US Open was a race of endurance and skill.  Congratulations to Justin Rose.  I was rooting for Phil Mickelson, but he was destined to finished second for the sixth time!

The US Open did not disappoint any viewers this year.  It was excellent to watch the best in the world play on of the toughest courses laid out for the US Open Championship.  The rough was extremely long and greens crazy fast.  

It was amazing how often players had to just get their ball in play after hitting it into the rough.  The USGA stated that the penalty should add about one half stroke to someone’s score if someone had to play out of the rough.  This year, according to the TV announcers, the penalty was a full stroke.  Talk about taking your medicine.  This is a strong and important message to all amateurs who find themselves in trouble on the links.  The pros understanding of course management is a tribute to the pursuit of excellence.

The following are my highlights of the US Open this year.

John Dempster, Caddy

Thanks to John Dempster, from Caddyworld, for providing thegratefulgolfer.com with an update on Peter Hedblom after a partial finish of the second round.  It must have been difficult to play split rounds and then wait to make the cut.  Congratulations to Peter Hedblom for making the cut; this is an accomplishment that is rewarding in itself.

An additional thanks to Rick Williams at mindbodygolf for discussing the pre-tournament aspects of the US Open.  His insights were helpful and I am grateful for him sharing what he saw!

Mike Weir.  He finished tied for 28th.  This is a great finish for Weir.  He has struggled over the past years and as one of the last entries, he demonstrated that he belonged with the best players in the world.  Also, being Canadian, he is an automatic favorite of mine!

Phil Mickelson‘s shot on the tenth hole from the rough in the fairway was exceptional.  It was one of those once in a lifetime shots that could have been a total game changer.  Unfortunately, Merion was too much of a lion and he could not fully recover from two double bogey’s on the front nine.

Shawn Stefani‘s hole-in-one.  It was awesome!  This shot will be all over, but watch it at the National Post.  Kissing the ground where his ball hit the bank and shot to the right and rolled in to the hole was very humorous.  It was the first hole-in-one at the US Open when hosted at Merion Golf Club.

Lastly, amateur Micheal Kim.  He played like a seasoned professional.  Finishing tied for 17th, it was great to see a non-professional play with poise.  Accomplishments like his offer hope for us hackers!

The US Open is a great tournament!  This year, all golfers were not disappointed!  For this and many other reasons, I am a grateful golfer!  See you on the links!