| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 12 - 16, 2008 |
| Location | San Diego, California |
| Course(s) | Torrey Pines South Course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour PGA European Tour Japan Golf Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,643 |
| Field | 156 players, 80 after cut |
| Cut | +7 |
| Prize fund | $7,500,000[1] (€4,766,396) |
| Winner's share | $1,350,000[1] (€858,181) |
| Champion | |
| Tiger Woods | |
| 283 (-1), playoff | |
The 2008 United States Open Championship was the 108th U.S. Open, played from June 12 to June 16 at Torrey Pines, north of San Diego.[2] The U.S. Open was held at the Torrey Pines for the first time, and took place on the South Course. Tiger Woods won his third U.S. Open championship and 14th major title by beating Rocco Mediate on the first hole of sudden-death playoff following an 18-hole playoff. In winning the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods became just the second man, after Jack Nicklaus, to win each of the majors at least three times.
It was an unlikely victory for Woods, who entered the tournament considerably short of match practice and was plagued throughout the week by an ailing left knee. Two days after the championship Woods revealed that he would miss the remainder of the 2008 season after undergoing knee surgery.
Contents |
About half the field each year consists of players who are fully exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. Below is the list of the 72 players that were fully exempt for the 2008 U.S. Open. Each player is classified according to the first category by which he qualified, but other categories are shown in parentheses:[3]
1. Last 10 U.S. Open Champions
Ángel Cabrera (8,11,17), Michael Campbell, Jim Furyk (8,9,17), Retief Goosen (11,17), Lee Janzen (8), Geoff Ogilvy (9,12,17), Tiger Woods (3,4,5,8,9,10,12,13,17)
2. Top two finishers in the 2007 U.S. Amateur
Michael Thompson (runner-up). (2007 U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost turned professional, thereby forfeiting his invitations to the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship.[4])
3. Last five Masters Champions
Trevor Immelman (17), Zach Johnson (9,17), Phil Mickelson (5,9,12,13,17)
4. Last five British Open Champions
Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Pádraig Harrington (9,11,17)
5. Last five PGA Champions
Vijay Singh (9,12,17) (Shaun Micheel withdrew prior to the tournament.[5])
6. The Players Champion
Sergio García (9,11,12,17)
7. The U.S. Senior Open Champion
Brad Bryant
8. Top 15 finishers and ties in the 2007 U.S. Open
Stephen Ames (17), Aaron Baddeley (9,17), Paul Casey (11,17), Nick Dougherty (11), Niclas Fasth (11,17), Jerry Kelly, Hunter Mahan (9,17), Justin Rose (9,11,17), Steve Stricker (9,17), David Toms, Scott Verplank (9,17), Bubba Watson
9. Top 30 leaders on the 2007 PGA Tour official money list
Robert Allenby (17), Woody Austin (17), Mark Calcavecchia, K. J. Choi (13,17), Stewart Cink (12,17), Tim Clark (17), Luke Donald (17), Ernie Els (11,17), Steve Flesch (13), Charles Howell III, John Rollins, Rory Sabbatini (17), Adam Scott (17), Heath Slocum, Brandt Snedeker (17), Boo Weekley (12,17) (Brett Wetterich withdrew prior to the tournament.[6])
10. All players qualifying for the 2007 edition of The Tour Championship
Jonathan Byrd, Camilo Villegas
11. Top 15 on the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit
Søren Hansen (17), Colin Montgomerie, Andrés Romero (17), Henrik Stenson (17), Richard Sterne (17), Lee Westwood (17)
12. Top 10 on the PGA Tour official money list, as of May 26
Ryuji Imada, Anthony Kim (17), Jeff Quinney (17)
13. Winners of multiple PGA Tour events from April 25, 2007 through June 1, 2008
Daniel Chopra
14. Top 2 from the 2008 European Tour Order of Merit, as of May 26
Miguel Ángel Jiménez (17), Oliver Wilson (17)
15. Top 2 on the 2007 Japan Golf Tour official money list, provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the Official World Golf Rankings at that time
Shingo Katayama (17), Toru Taniguchi (17)
16. Top 2 on the 2007 PGA Tour of Australasia official money list, provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the Official World Golf Rankings at that time
None (neither Craig Parry nor David Smail were ranked in the top 75)
17. Top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings list, as of May 26
Stuart Appleby, J. B. Holmes, Robert Karlsson, Martin Kaymer, Justin Leonard, Rod Pampling, Ian Poulter, Mike Weir (Sean O'Hair withdrew prior to the tournament.[7])
18. Special exemptions selected by the USGA
None
Sectional qualifiers
Japan: Artemio Murakami, Craig Parry; Europe: Phillip Archer, Robert Dinwiddie, Johan Edfors, Ross Fisher, Alastair Forsyth, Thomas Levet, Ross McGowan; USA: Michael Allen, Eric Axley, Craig Barlow, Rich Beem, Jason Bohn, D. J. Brigman, Bart Bryant, Chad Campbell, Ben Crane, Robert Garrigus, Mathew Goggin, Jason Gore, Fredrik Jacobson, Brandt Jobe, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Michael Letzig, Davis Love III, Jarrod Lyle, John Mallinger, Steve Marino, Rocco Mediate, John Merrick, Jon Mills, Joe Ogilvie, Mark O'Meara, Jesper Parnevik, Pat Perez, Carl Pettersson, Brett Quigley, Patrick Sheehan, Kyle Stanley (a), Scott Sterling, Nick Taylor (a), D. J. Trahan, Kevin Tway (a), Nick Watney, Dean Wilson
Local and sectional qualifiers
USA: Charlie Beljan, Yohann Benson, Brian Bergstol, Travis Bertoni, Jeffrey Bors, Garrett Chaussard, Jay Choi, Bobby Collins, Jordan Cox (a), Chris Devlin, Andrew Dresser, John Ellis, Sean English, Derek Fathauer (a), Fernando Figueroa, Philippe Gasnier, Robert Gaus, Michael Gilmore, Hunter Haas, David Hearn, Jimmy Henderson (a), Justin Hicks, Chris Kirk, Brian Kortan, Joey Lamielle, Ian Leggatt, Scott Piercy, D. A. Points, Michael Quagliano (a), Rob Rashell, Kevin Silva, Kevin Streelman, Chris Stroud, Peter Tomasulo, Jon Turcott, Jeff Wilson (a), Casey Wittenberg
Alternates
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yardage | 448 | 389 | 195 | 488 | 453 | 515 | 461 | 177 | 612 | 3,738 | 414 | 221 | 504 | 614 | 435 | 478 | 225 | 441 | 573 | 3,905 | 7,643 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 71 |
The U.S. Open is played over four days with an 18 hole round being played each day, for a total of 72 holes plus practice rounds. Everyone outside the top 60 and ties and outside ten strokes of the leader will be "cut" after 36 holes.
The leaders after the first round were two little-known American players, Justin Hicks, a 33-year-old Nationwide Tour player, and Kevin Streelman, a 29-year-old PGA Tour rookie. They both shot 3 under-par 68s to lead four other players at -2, including the 2006 champion, Geoff Ogilvy. The top three ranked players in the world were paired together for the first two rounds but none of them broke par for the day: Tiger Woods +1 (72), Phil Mickelson E (71), Adam Scott +2 (73). Woods was playing his first event since the Masters Tournament after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery and Scott was playing with a broken little finger on his right hand. The World Golf Rankings were also used for three other pairings, making four pairings include the top 12 golfers in the world. Defending champion Ángel Cabrera shot a +8 (79) and ended T-126. Mark Calcavecchia withdrew after playing nine holes with an injured knee and foot. In all, 11 players shot sub-par rounds and the scoring average was 75.58.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Justin Hicks | United States | 68 | -3 |
| Kevin Streelman | United States | |||
| T3 | Stuart Appleby | Australia | 69 | -2 |
| Eric Axley | United States | |||
| Rocco Mediate | United States | |||
| Geoff Ogilvy | Australia | |||
| T7 | Robert Allenby | Australia | 70 | -1 |
| Ernie Els | South Africa | |||
| Rickie Fowler (a) | United States | |||
| Robert Karlsson | Sweden | |||
| Lee Westwood | England |
The first round co-leaders both fell well down the leaderboard: Justin Hicks shot a +9 (80) to drop to a tie for 49th and Kevin Streelman shot a +6 (77) to drop to tied for 22nd. Stuart Appleby shot a -1 (70) to take the lead by one stroke at -3 over Robert Karlsson, Rocco Mediate, and Tiger Woods. Woods shot a 30 on the front nine, one stroke more than the U.S. Open record for nine holes set by Vijay Singh in 2003. Singh made his 14th consecutive cut at the U.S. Open, the longest current streak. Miguel Ángel Jiménez shot the low round of the day -5 (66) and moved into a tie for 5th.
The cut was at +7 (149), 10 strokes from the leader, and 80 players made the cut. Defending champion Ángel Cabrera shot a +5 (76) for at total of +13 and missed the cut by 6 shots. Ian Poulter withdrew with a wrist injury after playing 15 holes. Three amateurs made the cut: Derek Fathauer (+4), Michael Thompson (+5), and Rickie Fowler (+7).
In all, 19 players shot sub-par second rounds. The scoring average was 74.96 for round two and 75.27 overall.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuart Appleby | Australia | 69-70=139 | -3 |
| T2 | Robert Karlsson | Sweden | 70-70=140 | -2 |
| Rocco Mediate | United States | 69-71=140 | ||
| Tiger Woods | United States | 72-68=140 | ||
| T5 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Spain | 75-66=141 | -1 |
| Davis Love III | United States | 72-69=141 | ||
| D. J. Trahan | United States | 72-69=141 | ||
| Lee Westwood | England | 70-71=141 | ||
| T9 | Robert Allenby | Australia | 70-72=142 | E |
| Ernie Els | South Africa | 70-72=142 | ||
| Geoff Ogilvy | Australia | 69-73=142 | ||
| Carl Pettersson | Sweden | 71-71=142 |
Amateurs: Fathauer (+4), Thompson (+5), Fowler (+7), Stanley (+8), Taylor (+10), Tway (+11), Cox (+15), Wilson (+17), Henderson (+21), Wolstenholme (+23), Quagliano (+25).
Overnight leader Stuart Appleby shot a 8 over-par 79 to slip back to T-19 at +5, while playing partner Rocco Mediate, despite starting strongly, could only manage a 1 over-par 72 to finish in 3rd at -1. Many of the leaders struggled on day three. Robert Karlsson and Miguel Ángel Jiménez dropped back to 2 over-par, Davis Love III to 4 over-par and D. J. Trahan to 1 over-par. Lee Westwood finished at -2 after a round of 70, making him the only player not to be over-par in any of the three rounds. Tiger Woods, despite struggling with his knee injury, dazzled on the back nine with some improbable shots, resulting in 2 eagles and a chip-in birdie from the rough on the 17th to take a one stroke, 54-hole lead at -3.[8] Brandt Snedeker shot the low round of the day at -3 (68). In total, 11 players shot sub-par rounds and the scoring average for the round was 74.36 and 75.08 overall.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiger Woods | United States | 72-68-70=210 | -3 |
| 2 | Lee Westwood | England | 70-71-70=211 | -2 |
| 3 | Rocco Mediate | United States | 69-71-72=212 | -1 |
| T4 | Geoff Ogilvy | Australia | 69-73-72=214 | +1 |
| D. J. Trahan | United States | 72-69-73=214 | ||
| T6 | Robert Allenby | Australia | 70-72-73=215 | +2 |
| Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Spain | 75-66-74=215 | ||
| Robert Karlsson | Sweden | 70-70-75=215 | ||
| Hunter Mahan | United States | 72-74-69=215 | ||
| Camilo Villegas | Colombia | 73-71-71=215 |
Tiger Woods had previously won each of the thirteen major championships in which he entered the final round with at least a share of the lead, and his fourteenth was no different. He lost his lead on the first hole, double-bogeying the hole for the third time in the tournament, and followed that with a bogey on the second, but regained two of the shots with birdies on 9 and 11. He also bogeyed 13, the same hole on which he had sunk an eagle putt the previous day.
Rocco Mediate had put together a solid round, only scoring one bogey over the final 13 holes. However, he barely missed a birdie putt on 17 and hit a wedge too strong on 18; his pars on the two final holes kept both Woods and his playing partner Lee Westwood in contention. Both came to the final hole one shot behind Mediate, who was in the clubhouse at −1.
Woods and Westwood both hit their drives into bunkers and had to lay up. Woods' second shot went into the rough; Westwood laid up in the fairway. Both reached the green with their third shots, leaving them with birdie putts to force an 18-hole playoff with Mediate. Westwood's 15-foot putt, which had a severe break to the right, was not successful. Woods' putt was closer at 12 feet (3.7 m), with a much less severe break; his putt lipped the hole before dropping and putting him in the playoff. Both Woods and Mediate became the first golfers to finish under par at the U.S. Open since 2004.
Heath Slocum shot the low round of the day (and the tournament) at -6 (65). In total, 12 players shot sub-par rounds and the scoring average for the round was 72.87 and 74.71 overall.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Tiger Woods | United States | 72-68-70-73=283 | -1 | Playoff |
| Rocco Mediate | United States | 69-71-72-71=283 | |||
| 3 | Lee Westwood | England | 70-71-70-73=284 | E | $491,995 |
| T4 | Robert Karlsson | Sweden | 70-70-75-71=286 | +2 | $307,303 |
| D. J. Trahan | United States | 72-69-73-72=286 | |||
| T6 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Spain | 75-66-74-72=287 | +3 | $220,686 |
| John Merrick | United States | 73-72-71-71=287 | |||
| Carl Pettersson | Sweden | 71-71-77-68=287 | |||
| T9 | Eric Axley | United States | 69-79-71-69=288 | +4 | $160,769 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | Australia | 69-73-72-74=288 | |||
| Heath Slocum | United States | 75-74-74-65=288 | |||
| Brandt Snedeker | United States | 76-73-68-71=288 | |||
| Camilo Villegas | Colombia | 73-71-71-73=288 |
Amateurs: Thompson (+8), Fowler (+13), Fathauer (+15).
The 18-hole playoff was the first playoff for the U.S. Open since 2001. It ended in a tie, both players shooting par for the round. A sudden death playoff followed, starting on hole number 7.[9]
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 71 |
| Mediate | +1 | +1 | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | E | E | E | E | 71 |
| Woods | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | -1 | E | E | E | +1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | 71 |
After trading the lead three times on the front nine, Woods built a three stroke lead through 10-holes. Mediate would rally on the back nine with three consecutive birdies which once again gave him a one stroke lead heading to the 18th hole. Like the day before, Woods would birdie the 18th hole to tie and force the tournament into sudden-death holes.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiger Woods | United States | 4 | E | $1,350,000[1] |
| 2 | Rocco Mediate | United States | 5 | +1 | $810,000[1] |
Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open on the first sudden death hole (hole seven), scoring a par 4 to Mediate's bogey 5.[9] With the win, Woods kept his unbeaten streak alive when he has at least a share of the lead heading into the final round of a major championship (14-0).
On April 15, 2008, Tiger Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.[10] During his rehab, Woods sustained a double stress fracture of his left tibia. Throughout the tournament it was clear Woods was in pain, and the general feeling was that he was just returning from the initial surgery too soon. He did not reveal the news about the double stress fracture until two days after the U.S. Open was complete. He had surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and needed time to rehab that and the stress fracture. He announced on his website that he would miss the remainder of the 2008 golf season, which meant he would miss the final two majors: the British Open and the PGA Championship.[11]
| Preceded by 2008 Masters |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 2008 Open Championship |
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