Incredible.
If I had to sum up this year's Open Championship in one word, that would be it. This year's Open was "Incredible" for so many reasons. An incredible course, an incredible comeback, and an incredible collapse are the main ones that come to mind.
Royal Lytham and St. Annes put on a heck of a golf tournament, and for that, we thank them greatly. They definitely showed us why they're a major championship golf course, and why they'll definitely be back soon for more. With that said, let's move onto the final round and it's historic drama.
It all started with Australian Adam Scott and his nice 4 shot cushion to start the day. He held the lead over Graeme McDowell, Tiger Woods, and Brandt Snedeker, all who were within 5 shots and the most likely candidates to catch Scott.
However, that didn't happen at all. Each of the aforementioned players struggled, and never really put any pressure on Scott, until Ernie Els crept into the picture and started to wreck havoc.
Sure, Ernie only ended up with a 68, but on a day where everyone went backward, he shot up the leaderboard. Els played brilliant and smart golf, methodically moving around Lytham just like a major champion needs to do in a final round. He lurked and lurked until he holed a 20 footer on 18 to put REAL pressure on Adam.
Unfortunately for Adam, what many thought he had in the bag, was gone in an instant. After making a birdie on 14, he proceeded to make 4 straight bogeys, or basically the opposite of what Charl Schwartzel did at Augusta 2011. The fact that Ernie moved up while Adam moved down didn't help Scott's psyche. He had to press, and it just led to more and more mistakes. It ended up with him missing an 8 footer on 18 to force a playoff with Ernie, and it led to big time heartbreak.
Honestly, as much as I (and many others) was happy for Ernie to win at this point in his career, I was just as disappointed for Adam. He played fabulously for 68 holes and then it all went south so quickly. I really hope that this not only springboards Els' career for a few more years, but that it also helps Adam become a better golfer overall (i.e. Rory at Augusta). I hope they both can play this level of major championship golf in the upcoming majors, because they definitely gave us a week to remember.
Congratulations, Ernie!
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