• US Open, Round Four

McDowell claims first major title at Pebble Beach

ESPN staff
June 20, 2010
Gallery of all four days of action

Graeme McDowell showed his mental fortitude © Getty Images
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Graeme McDowell kept a cool head under pressure to seal the US Open title, his first triumph at a major, on a day when more celebrated players fell by the wayside.

The Ulsterman's final-day 74, which took him to level par for the tournament, was enough to carry him past the challenge of Gregory Havret by one shot.

McDowell started the day three behind playing partner Dustin Johnson, but he found himself in a share of the lead early on after Johnson's game imploded with a triple-bogey at three.

Although the 30-year-old had to endure some scares from that point onward - successive bogeys at nine and ten, an ugly six at 14 - he showed a strong determination to not let his grip on the lead loosen.

McDowell always looked as though he had the mental resilience to shake off any setbacks; that was no surprise - he arrived at the tournament with confidence coarsing through him after romping to the Wales Open title in his most recent outing.

"I guess the golfing Gods smiled on me," McDowell said. "I just can't believe how difficult this golf course was. I kept my head down but then I bogeyed ten and had a little look at the leaderboard - no-one was going crazy, I couldn't believe it. I just tried to stay calm on the back nine, and I really did - I did a great job."

World No. 391 Havret, who had to go through a qualifying play-off to seal his place at Pebble Beach, saw his valiant bid for the title fall agonisingly short. The Frenchman suffered for his inability to pick up shots late in his round - there were no birdies after the sixth hole as he struggled to seize the opportunities he was offered on the greens.

Ernie Els fell prey to the unforgiving nature of the Pebble Beach course on the back nine after storming into contention by reaching the turn at two under. The South African, whose 73 took him to third place, was left to rue what might have been after twice finding a hazard at the tenth and missing presentable birdie chances at 14 and 18.

Phil Mickelson would have moved to the top of the world rankings with a victory, but he too often found himself having to salvage unpromising situations by hacking the ball out of the demanding rough.

Mickelson finished in a tie for fourth with Tiger Woods, who arrived at the first tee with a swell of momentum behind him - his third-day 66 prompted whispers that he was back to his best - but was ultimately unable to recapture Saturday's form.

There was a fractured nature to Woods' game as he laboured to a 75 - the constituent parts were never firing in unison, although there were sporadic glimpses of what he is capable of producing.

Overnight leader Johnson saw his dreams of a first major disintegrate after he got off to a horror start on a course that has brought him success in the past. The world No. 29, who has won the last two Pebble Beach AT&T pro-ams, was six over for the day through his first four holes.

That inauspicious start dealt Johnson's confidence a huge blow and, although he steadied the ship to an extent with a smattering of pars, the early damage ultimately proved too severe for him to recover from. He would end up with an 11-over 82.

Luke Donald and Ian Poulter were inseparable on the final day, both signing for a 78 that left the pair an underwhelming 14 over through 72 holes, two shots behind Paul Casey. Lee Westwood fared better, shooting his second 71 of the competition to leave him eight over - a disappointing result after his runner-up finish at The Masters.

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