Open du CanaDAY

Jason Day had been oh-so-close this past month in the big events. He came close in the national open championship of the USA, then contended at the Royal and Ancient’s Open.

On Sunday, he finally claimed a national Open title for 2015, holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Day didn’t win the tournament with that putt, but he forced Bubba Watson and Canadian hopeful David Hearn to eagle the water-laden 18th. Watson made eagle there on Saturday, but could only birdie on Sunday. Hearn made par, and Day was the victor.

For Hearn and Canada, it was another near-miss at a chance to end the 61-year victory drought by a homebred in the Canadian Open. As for Day, well, it’s safe to say that he’s found his adoptive country:

“I’VE NEVER FELT SO MUCH AT HOME, AND I’M NOT EVEN FROM CANADA” Day said. “I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING BACK AND DEFENDING THE TITLE HERE NEXT YEAR BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WHEN I GET HERE NEXT YEAR IT’S GOING TO BE THE SAME. IT’S GREAT TO FEEL LIKE A CANADIAN FOR A WEEK.”

British Senior Open

 

Let’s play the name game. Here are your top four finishers. Put them in order: Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel-Angel Jimenez and Marco Dawson. The 0.5 percent of you that put Dawson at the head of the quadrilateral can smile. The three Europeans are dominant figures in senior professional golf, but each came up short on Sunday at Sunningdale. In unpredictable fashion, the 51-year-old Dawson had one more arrow in the bag than Langer, finishing at 16-under par to claim his first senior major. Dawson never won on the regular tour, although he did win on the Web.Com Tour in 2002. His first senior tour win came in March at the Tucson Classic, but his second confirmed what he suspected all along.

“CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MANY HOURS I PUT IN ON THE RANGE, AND I’VE HAD TWO BACK SURGERIES TO PROVE IT,” Dawson said. “SO I’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE RANGE AND ON THE PUTTING GREEN OVER THE YEARS, AND YOU KNOW, IT’S A LITTLE LATER THAN MOST OF THE GUYS, BUT IT CAME TRUE.

Montgomerie came third, three behind Dawson and then it was another two strokes to the fourth-place Jimenez.

Lexi Back In Winner’s Circle

Lexi Thompson took advantage of Lizette Salas’ first round of the week in the 70s, made up five strokes on Sunday and won the LPGA Meijer Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich. Thompson and the field were chasing Solheim Cupper Salas after her Thursday 64, and the Californian showed no sign of releasing her hold on the lead, with subsequent rounds of 69-64. After making one bogey through three rounds, Salas added three more on Sunday, shot 1-under and tied for second with Gerina Piller, who closed with a 64 of her own.

As for the victor, Thompson made eight birdies on Day 4, enough to offset two bogeys and clinch her fifth LPGA title and first of 2015.

Thompson interrupted a 10-tournament run by international golfers, becoming the first U.S. player since Brittany Lincicome in April to win an LPGA event.

The Juniors

Eun Jeong Song and Philip Barbaree added their names to the roll of 2015 USGA champions with victories in their respective national Junior tournaments. The Korean Song defeated Angel Yin of California, 3 & 2, in the 36-hole final at Tulsa Country Club. After the dust had settled, she gave the most ebullient interview of the year, whose complete text is here and here.

On the other side, Philip Barbaree of Louisiana gave away a three-up lead, then erased a five-hole deficit with eight to play against hometown hopeful Andrew Orischak and won the National Junior at Colleton River Club on the 37th hole.

Although Barbaree etched his name on the trophy, Orischak evidently got a heck of a consolation prize and also gave the most telling quote of the week.

I THOUGHT THAT THE MENTALLY TOUGHEST PERSON WAS GOING TO WIN, AND IT WASN’T ME BECAUSE I GOT AHEAD OF MYSELF. I WAS THINKING ABOUT WINNING BEFORE THE MATCH WAS OVER. STILL HAD GOLF TO BE PLAYED.

Missed The Cut

Robert Allenby and his caddy: Another case of he-said-he-said. Allenby has had a sketchy year to date, beginning with the Hawaii was-he-or-wasn’t-he-mugged incident and now this fairway fall-out in Canada.

Holly Sonders and her prom date: This is a great idea for about 10 seconds, for all the reasons that Ben Alberstadt cites in his GolfWRX piece. The adult realizes, great, now they’re all staring at me. The kid says, OMG, I can’t believe we have nothing in common. There has to be some other event that a celebrity can attend with an adoring kid, that isn’t so wrapped up in what proms are wrapped up in.

England’s Dynamic Duo: Not as odd or creepy as the previous two stories, but not worthy of a section of its own. Danny Willett won the European Masters this week in Switzerland. The kid he beat down the stretch is countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 2013 U.S. Amateur champion. Forget Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. Willett and Fitzpatrick are England’s once and future hopes for professional major titles.