Webb Simpson Shocks Everyone by Winning the U.S. Open

Webb Simpson holds up his trophy after winning
the 112th U.S. Open. (Stuart Franklin)

Just when you thought the players must be figuring out Olympic Club by now, the final round Sunday destroyed the remaining golfers even more. The one guy who seemed unfazed by all that was going on was Webb Simpson. Simpson had burst on the PGA Tour scene last year, but came into this year's U.S. Open having missed the cut at his last two tournaments. None of that mattered to Simpson on Sunday. He simply focused on the task set before him. With an early tee time, Simpson worked quickly through the course. His two early bogeys were erased by three straight birdies on holes six through eight. Simpson also added a birdie on the tenth hole and finished off the back nine with pars all the way. His final round ended in a 2-under 68. Simpson topped the leaderboard with his 1-over 281. He had nothing to do, but sit and watch in the clubhouse to see if his lead would hold up.

As possible contender after contender came up short, the only threats to win were two former champions Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell. McDowell's six bogeys proved to be too much to overcome. He had a 25-foot birdie attempt to force a playoff with Simpson, but it never had a chance. Furyk looked ready to win, until he somehow became rattled and bogeyed three holes down the stretch.

Webb Simpson could hardly believe it when he realized he had won the 112th U.S. Open. He stated, "Amazed. I've got no words." How did we get to this point? Well, we probably have Mike Davis to thank for that. USGA's Davis was the man responsible for designing this year's course. Last year, Rory McIlroy won with a 16-under par and a grand total of twenty golfers finished in the red. Undoubtably, Davis was told to make this year's course more difficult. He definitely took that to heart. Sunday's final round this year saw only seven out of 72 players shoot a sub-par round. From a U.S. Open that seemed to intimidate seasoned pros, Webb Simpson arose victorious. The result was his first ever major championship. It might not have been pretty, but that doesn't matter when you win $1,440,000 and a place in golf history.