2007 Recap: Cabrera win caps grueling week at Oakmont
Mighty Oakmont lived up to its billing as the toughest test in golf in a U.S. Open that saw Paul Casey post a round for the ages, Tiger Woods keep the heat on until the bitter end and, ultimately, Angel Cabrera emerge as an unlikely champion.
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer
OAKMONT, Pa. -- Crossing the Hulton Bridge hovering high above the Allegheny River, there's a sign that reads, "Welcome to Oakmont." The sign explains that the quaint town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh is known for its beautiful oak trees.
Residing just a mile up the road is Oakmont Country Club, which couldn't possibly be known for its trees since there are few if any out there anymore. Around these parts, Oakmont Country Club is known for having hosted a record eight U.S. Open Championships, including the 107th edition won by Argentine Angel Cabrera last June.
The unlikely ending capped off a grueling week for the world's best players on what many considered the most difficult course in the world. The weather -- perfect all week with temperatures in the 80s aside from a thunderstorm that dropped down a half-inch of rain late on Wednesday -- certainly didn't help the already wicked conditions at Oakmont. The course got firmer and faster with each passing day.
Unless you were Cabrera, the ending lacked dramatics, especially with the predators trying to hunt down the Argentine. It should be noted that those predators did not include the mama and cub Black Bear that were sighted roaming the seventh fairway early Sunday.
The 37-year-old Cabrera was forced to play a cruel game of wait-and-see after posting a 1-under-par 69, which made him the only player in the field to post two sub-par rounds all week and led to his eventual winning total of 5-over-par 285. Cabrera's wait was made exceptionally uncomfortable because after 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk faltered with a bogey at the 17th hole, the only player left that could catch him was the one player no one wants to be chased by -- 12-time major champ and world No. 1 Tiger Woods, who had four holes to play when Cabrera finished signing his card.
Despite several opportunities, Woods was unable to convert birdie putts in a final round that featured just a single birdie on his card. He finished with a 2-over-par 72 to tie for second with Furyk, one shot behind Cabrera.
"I was definitely feeling nervous, but I assumed that this is the same sensation everybody was having in my place," said Cabrera through an interpreter.
Sweden's Niclas Fasth finished alone in fourth at 7 over, while Bubba Watson and 2001 PGA Champion David Toms tied for fifth.
Life is good for Cabrera right now, a three-time winner on the European Tour, whose previous best major championship finish was a tie for fourth at the 1999 British Open -- which coincidentally was played at Carnoustie, the same course that will host the 2007 British Open in five weeks. All in all, he had six top-10 finishes in the majors prior to winning at Oakmont. With Sunday's win, Cabrera became the first South American to win a USGA event since Roberto De Vicenzo took home the 1980 U.S. Senior Open.
"I watched all the majors on TV when I was a kid, and I never thought I would be here at this moment," Cabrera said. "It is very difficult to describe this moment. Probably tomorrow when I wake up with this trophy beside me in my bed, I will realize that I have won the U.S. Open."
Woods was looking for his first come-from-behind win in a major, but instead had to settle for the fourth runner-up/co-runner-up finish in majors of his career, including the second time in 2007. He was a co-runner-up with Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini to Zach Johnson at the Masters.
"I haven't gotten it done," Woods said bluntly, talking about his failure to come from behind in the final round of a major. "I've put myself there and haven't gotten it done."
Early in the final round, it looked as though it would be Woods' tournament to win. Australia's Aaron Baddeley had a two-shot lead after 54 holes, but saw it disappear after just one hole in the final round with a triple bogey to Woods' par at No. 1. The three-shot swing put an end to Baddeley, who tied for 13th after his final-round 10-over-par 80 -- his worst round of the week by eight shots.
"It's not easy. We have a lot of holes to play. Just because Badds made 7 on the first hole, we still have 17 more to go; it's not like they're handing out the trophy on the first green," Woods said.
As it was, Woods let the field back into the tournament with a double-bogey 6 on the third hole, putting him at 6 over.
"It's hard, really hard," Woods said of Oakmont. "Considering that they softened the golf course up for us and we still shot 5 over par as a winning score, that shows you how difficult this golf course really is. The USGA did not set up the pins brutally like they did at [the 1999 U.S. Open at] Pinehurst. They gave us a chance to play here, and we still shot 5 over. So that shows you how difficult this golf course is."
Leading into the tournament, the talk surrounding this U.S. Open had less to do with Phil Mickelson's debacle on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot in 2006 and more to due with the left wrist he injured while practicing at brutal Oakmont a couple of weeks before the Open.
Equipped with a black wrist brace resembling that of professional bowler, Lefty never could get a grip at Oakmont, missing the cut by one shot at 11 over par. He was one of 19 players who fell victim to a birdie by Cabrera in the second round on the final hole, which pushed the cut line to 10 over.
"It's disappointing to dream as a kid about winning the U.S. Open and spend all this time getting ready for it and have the course setup, injury, you know?" said Mickelson after a 7-over-par 77 on Friday. "To think that the end of this tournament -- you're trying to win and hit great shots but you're also trying to not end your career on one shot, or at least suspend it for a while. That's a little disappointing."
The 10-over 148 total required to make the cut turned out to be the third-highest in relation to par since World War II, tying the 10-over 154 cut line in 1972 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. It also tied the 10-over-par 150 cut at Bethpage Black in 2002. Along with Mickelson, two-time U.S. Open winner Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia were among those packing their bags to go home early.
The best round of the championship was an unthinkable, one-bogey, 4-under-par 66 in the second round that belonged to Englishman Paul Casey. Under the severe conditions, Casey's score brought about comparisons to Johnny Miller's equally unthinkable 63 in the final round to win the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
"This is right up there in terms of best round ever," Casey, who eventually finished tied for 10th with Ames and countryman Justin Rose, said on Friday. "If I had kept the bogey off the card, without a doubt it would have been. But I consider the U.S. Open to be the toughest test in golf. This is possibly the toughest golf course I've ever played, and I feel very, very lucky to have shot 66 on it. So, yeah, I think it's, right now, because it's fresh in the memory, without a doubt, it's the best round of golf I've ever played. I've shot lower numbers, I've holed out shots, but there is no -- there is no rest out there. So ecstatic with that."
Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy was in the hunt at 6 over par through 36 holes, but slipped back with a 78 on Saturday. With his 75 on Sunday, the Aussie's four-round total of 19-over-par 299 was good for a tie for 42nd.
"You should get penalized for missing a shot, but I don't know if it should be as black and white as it is," Ogilvy said, obviously frustrated after his round on Sunday. "But, again, the best player in the world might win this tournament, so that always gives the setup credibility."
While the U.S. Open didn't end with the best player in the world -- Woods -- taking home his third title, Cabrera's victory made him the third consecutive first-time major winner at the U.S. Open, joining New Zealand's Michael Campbell at Pinehurst in 2005 and Ogilvy last year at Winged Foot.