This year's script suggests a fairytale leader will be followed by an agonising collapse

Published on Wednesday 12 August 2009 22:46

IF THE US PGA Championship follows suit, look for a scenario like this to unfold at Hazeltine.

John Daly, with only two rounds under par this year on the US PGA Tour and coming off an 88 in the Buick Open, finds that "grip it and rip it" magic and opens with a 67. Everyone waits for him to collapse, but it doesn't happen. There he is on the back nine, leading comfortably, on the verge of winning his third major, as many as Ernie Els.

Then comes a tee shot into the water on the 16th. A three-putt on the 17th. Two shots to get out of a bunker on the 18th. He goes into a play-off and loses to Brian Gay.

If that sounds familiar, it should. A bizarre year of major championships has been a little science fiction, some fantasy, a chapter or two of mystery, never lacking in drama, always full of surprises.

"I hadn't really thought about that, to be honest, but it's really true," Open champion Stewart Cink said. "'What could have been' would have been a heck of a story to be written for the majors this year."

Kenny Perry thought his storybook career had ended at the Ryder Cup when he helped the Americans win in his home state of Kentucky. Then came the Masters at Augusta National, where he had a two-shot lead with two holes to play and at 48, was on the verge of becoming the oldest man in a green jacket. Then came bogeys on the last two holes. A mud ball on the second play-off hole. A family in tears.

Angel Cabrera won the Masters, a deserving champion. Perry's popularity soared, and he has been asked more about losing the Masters during the last four months than Cabrera has about winning.

Act II came at Bethpage Black and the emotional return of Phil Mickelson, who only a month earlier learned that his wife, Amy, had breast cancer.

Mickelson was the only player who shot par or better over five soggy days on Long Island. Then came the final-round charge; an eagle on the 13th tied him for the lead, with momentum and half of New York on his side. Then he three-putted from the fringe for bogey at the 15th and missed par on the 17th to finish second for the fifth time in the US Open.

The trophy went home with Lucas Glover, who captured his first major by making one birdie in the final round.

No feeling was more empty, however, than Turnberry.

"The Watson story blows them all away," Cink said.

Tom Watson, the oldest player in the Open at 59, made a couple of birdies early in his Thursday round to get his name on the leaderboard, and then it stayed there – on Friday and Saturday. He gave back the lead early in the final round, then roared ahead with a birdie on the 17th hole that led commentator Peter Alliss to blurt out on the BBC: "By God, can it really happen?"

He missed an eight-foot par putt on the final hole, then lost energy, hope and a four-hole play-off to Cink.

Padraig Harrington watched them all and found every major to be fascinating in its own right. "Yes, if Tom won; yes, if David Duval or Phil won the US Open, maybe it would have stood out more going forward," he said. "OK, people would have remembered more if Watson won. But it still does not take away from the quality of Stewart Cink's win, or the quality of the event. It was exciting right up to the edge."

(USA unless stated; BST; *amateurs)

Starting at hole 1

1315 Keith Dicciani, D J Trahan, Briny Baird

1325 Carl Pettersson (Swe), Mitch Lowe, Paul Goydos

1335 Craig Thomas, Scott Verplank, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)

1345 Rodney Pampling (Aus), Anthony Wall (Eng), John Mallinger

1355 Bo Van Pelt, Nick Dougherty (Eng), Nathan Green (Aus)

1405 Robert Allenby (Aus), Graeme McDowell (NIrl), Dustin Johnson

1415 Chris Wood (Eng), J B Holmes, Richard Sterne (Rsa)

1425 Chad Campbell, Mathew Goggin (Aus), Peter Hanson (Swe)

1435 Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell (NZ), Mark Brooks

1445 David Smail (NZ), Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Michael Miles

1455 Brian Gay, Soren Hansen (Den), Sean O'Hair

1505 Brian Gaffney, Michael Sim (Aus), Michael Bradley

1515 Brett Quigley, Todd Lancaster, Kevin Streelman

1825 John Merrick, Grant Sturgeon, Woody Austin

1835 Lee Rinker, Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Francesco Molinari (Ita)

1845 Charles Howell III, Darren Clarke (NIrl), Ryan Benzel

1855 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Adam Scott (Aus), Anthony Kim

1905 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Bubba Watson

1915 Davis Love III, Steve Elkington (Aus), Vijay Singh (Fij)

1925 Ian Poulter (Eng), Ernie Els (Rsa), Steve Stricker

1935 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink

1945 Phil Mickelson, David Toms, Paul Azinger

1955 Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind)

2005 Jerry Kelly, Luke Donald (Eng), K J Choi (Kor)

2015 Eric Lippert, J J Henry, Ben Crane

2025 Johan Edfors (Swe), Sam Arnold, Jeff Overton

Starting at hole 10

1315 Richard Green (Aus), Shingo Katayama (Jpn), Charlie Wi (Kor)

1325 Scott Hebert, Cameron Beckman, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha)

1335 Ross Fisher (Eng), Mike Small, Pat Perez

1345 Nick Watney, Paul Casey (Eng), Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn)

1355 Jim Furyk, Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Martin Kaymer (Ger)

1405 Kenny Perry, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Henrik Stenson (Swe)

1415 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Tom Lehman

1425 Justin Rose (Eng), Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas (Col)

1435 Rich Beem, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington (Irl)

1445 Fred Couples, Lee Westwood (Eng), Alvaro Quiros (Spa)

1455 Mike Weir (Can), Zach Johnson, Boo Weekley

1505 Robert Gaus, Anders Hansen (Den), Brandt Snedeker

1515 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Kevin Roman, Matt Kuchar

1825 John Rollins, Ken Duke, Tim Weinhart

1835 Brian Davis (Eng), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Greg Bisconti

1845 Will MacKenzie, Oliver Wilson (Eng), Mark Sheftic

1855 John Daly, Bob Tway, Michael Allen

1905 Kevin Sutherland, Colin Montgomerie (Sco), Andres Romero (Arg)

1915 Kevin Na, Ryan Palmer, John Senden (Aus)

1925 Brendan Jones (Aus), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Steve Marino

1935 Tim Clark (Rsa), Stephen Ames (Can), Marc Turnesa

1945 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Alastair Forsyth (Sco), Mark Wilson

1955 Corey Pavin, Bob Estes, Ben Curtis

2005 Thomas Levet (Fra), Steve Schneiter, Y E Yang (Kor)

2015 Charley Hoffman, Steve Webster (Eng), Steve Flesch

2025 Chris Starkjohann, Scott McCarron, Jason Dufner