Cabrera wins Open

Tiger Woods needed the lengthy putt to drop.

A fantastic approach shot placed Woods 20… Tiger Woods needed the lengthy putt to drop.

A fantastic approach shot placed Woods 20 feet from the hole with his United States Open life riding on this – one putt.

The feverish crowd held its breath, waiting to explode as his putt seemed to have the right line through the rolling, sadistic 18th green. However, Tiger’s ball brushed harmlessly past the cup.

The 107th U.S. Open: over.

The winner: a thumpy, chain-smoking Argentinian known as “El Pato.”

The finish: signature of the up-and-down drama that occurred throughout the four-day tournament.

Starting last Thursday and continuing through Sunday, the golfing war known as the U.S. Open raged in Western Pennsylvania.

Rather than tirelessly challenging each other by dipping further and further below par, this year the world’s best golfers simply attempted to survive a battle against the grueling battlefield known as Oakmont.

When the church-pew sand had finally settled, Angel Cabrera emerged victorious, not having conquered the course, but merely having endured less suffering than the others.

Cabrera’s game proved to be somewhat enigmatic throughout the week. He led the field through the first two days after notching one of only two sub-par (minus-1) rounds on Thursday and shooting a plus-1 on Friday.

But Saturday nearly cost him the trophy.

Cabrera limped his way through a plus-6 round while Tiger Woods predictably surged forward into second place by posting a one-under 69. Woods’ third round gave him a two-stroke lead over Cabrera and local favorite Jim Furyk.

As Tiger earned his place in the final pairing with relatively untested tour youngster Aaron Baddeley, the Open seemed like a lock for the winningest golfer since Jack Nicklaus. Meanwhile, the big-swinging, chain-smoking Argentinian was supposedly finished.

However, Cabrera made his presence felt immediately on the final day.

After paring the first three holes, he hit a brilliant shot out of the deep greenside bunker at four to within a few feet of the hole. After the short putt, Cabrera was minus-1 for the round and one stroke off the lead. Cabrera then birdied the ensuing par-four fifth hole to tie the lead.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Cabrera immediately bogeyed the sixth to drop to one back at plus-5 for the tournament. While Cabrera was moving towards the top, Woods, who was four pairings behind Cabrera, quickly fell off pace.

After two straight pars, Tiger double-bogeyed the third hole to drop to plus-6 for the tournament. But a birdie at four brought him back to five-over, for a second-place tie with Cabrera.

Cabrera drove the green of the 300-yard par-three eighth hole and knocked in a 20-foot putt for birdie and a share of the lead with Stephen Ames. Once again, he immediately surrendered the lead with a bogey on the ensuing hole. And Cabrera and Woods both made the turn at plus-5 for the tournament.

On number 11, Cabrera once again knocked in a birdie, and with it, he finally gained sole possession of first place.

This time, he managed to hold his lead through several holes and even added to it at 15 with a spectacular approach shot that nearly gave him an eagle.

After tapping in for birdie, Cabrera was minus-3 for the day and plus-3 for the tournament with a seemingly safe three-shot lead over Woods and Furyk.

His safe lead quickly disintegrated with bogeys on both 16 and 17. Both Furyk and Tiger were now sitting just one stroke back of the leader with several holes to play.

Furyk birdied 15 to tie Cabrera heading into the final three holes. Having already witnessed Cabrera’s bogey on 17, a par would have sufficed for Furyk. However, he made nearly the identical mistake as Cabrera to bogey the hole. After falling two strokes back of the leader in the clubhouse, Furyk realized the end of his tournament bid.

He remained only one stroke back with four holes to play as Cabrera watched the rest of the tournament from the locker room. He pared 15, 16 and 17, setting up a dramatic and desperate finish that would have required a birdie on 18 for a shot at a playoff.

But Woods’ noble attempt at birdie trickled past the tin and into the history books, and El Pato became the first Argentinian golfer to win the United States’ golf championship.