G-Mac a Major winner
Graham McDowell held his nerve to win a tense and dramatic US Open at Pebble Beach. Overnight leader Dustin Johnson fell apart, dropping 11 shots in a disastrous final round. In fact, he had lost six shots inside the first four holes. But playing alongside him, McDowell kept his cool, shooting a final round 74. That's three over for the day - but amazingly despite a gallery of golfing stars lining up behind him, no one made a breakthrough. Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson were all within striking distance - but none could find the magic to spark their round.
At one stage, McDowell had a three shot lead - but bogeys on 9, 10 and 14 opened the door for others. Luckily for him the course was playing tough and no-one made the breakthrough. His biggest challenger was unknown Gregory Harvet of France. Harvet had a chance of birdie on the 18th - but when McDowell saw him miss it, he knew he had four shots from his position on the fairway to win the prestigious title. He played it calmly - shooting his second short of the green, then pitching to within 20 feet. "I always dreamed of having two putts form 20 feet to win the US Open," he said afterwards, as he hugged the trophy tightly to his chest.
McDowell is the first European golfer to win the US Open since 1970 - forty years!!! He's the first Northern Irish man to win it. And his victory confirms that Irish golf has rarely been in better condition - because along with Harrington and McIllroy, McDowell is now a major force in world golf. Brilliant.
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