The final day of the 114th US Open is upon us! The varying scores were as expected, however the leaderboard…not so much. There are very few pundits who would have bet on a Martin Kaymer and Rickie Fowler final paring at Pinehurst #2. The media frenzy surrounding the usual Championship favorites quickly fell to the wayside with a pair of 65s by Kaymer after the first two rounds. As like the earlier part of 2014, the US Open is nothing like anyone expected.

If we were to poll 1000 avid golfers, asked them to think outside the box, none would have predicted the current top three players of Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, and Erik Compton! We have heard of the top two, but nothing about Compton.

Erik Compton is currently ranked 189th in the world and 89th on the FedEx standings, he is considered a journeyman player who for the past 5 years has worked his way up from the Canadian PGA Tour to the WEB.com Tour to the PGA Tour.  He has not won a tournament to date, but has earned enough to keep his card. Before you pass judgement, there is more to Mr. Compton than meets the eye!

Recently, Erik Compton was honored with the 2013 PGA TOUR Courage Award by the Player Director’s Panel and PGA TOUR Commissioner.  The PGA TOUR Courage Award is a new acknowledgment this year. Previously known as the Comeback Player of the Year Award, which has not been awarded since 2010, it is now aimed to honor a player who has overcome adversity. “We made it for someone who has overcome severe adversity, away from someone that is coming back from something that wasn’t career threatening.” He is a young guy, but has not really made a name for himself, until today!

The last round of the 114th US Open should be very exciting. What I find extremely interesting about this Major is it parallels the 2014 season to date. Many young players are playing their way to the top, if only for a little while, as the aging veterans are slowly losing ground.  I had discussed this earlier this year and thought that the old lions would defend their territory, but it seems that the changing of the guard may be happening sooner than I thought.

With Tiger Woods is out indefinitely; with him gone who will be the standard-bearer for the PGA? It may be time for the PGA Tour to embrace the shift of a total tour concept instead of a one-on-one competition they have ridden for years to generate hype! I am not sure if the current shift is good for the economic side of the tour, but I believe the changes are for the good of the game!

What do you think? I am a grateful golfer.  See you on the links!