The 113th U.S. Open was not too kind to Tiger Woods after coming in as the favorite, as the number one golfer in the world finished 13 over par with a 74 on Sunday, while Justin Rose took his first major championship with an excellent performance over Phil Mickelson, shooting a 70 for even par to take the trophy.
Woods had a rough tournament from the start, while fellow American Phil Mickelson was on top of the leaderboard for all three days of the tournament and finished second for the sixth time in his career. Mickelson previously had five second place finishes by a combined nine strokes and now he adds another heartbreaker after finishing with a 74 on the day after bogeying on the 18th. Mickelson had a chance to catch Rose, who was already in the clubhouse, but he needed a miracle shot for a birdie that he hit long and then needed an extra stroke to get it done.
Woods had some extra attention on the course after his girlfriend did a story with the New York Times and while she has been at a number of events so far this season, this was the first time she made some interesting comments on their relationship. She seemed a bit frustrated as being framed as Tiger's girlfriend, as he said that she has her own career and he own life and that she is more than just Tiger's girlfriend. She said that going out to dinner together is basically impossible and that the gossip magazines basically write all lies. Vonn has been very supportive of Woods this year and he has done the same, including attending the Met Gala in NYC ahead of a tournament earlier in the year.
The couple made their relationship official on Facebook earlier in the year and it is the most high profile relationship for Woods since he divorced his ex-wife. Some have said that Vonn has been a calming presence for Woods, as he has won four times already this year on tour, but he has struggled over his past two tournaments. Woods won the Farmers Insurance Open as well as the WGC Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational as well as the Players Championship a few weeks ago.
Woods was the favorite based on how he played this year, but he took a step back at the US Open and part of that may have to do with the pure difficulty of the course as well as the harsh weather that hit the region. Woods only could play 10 holes in the first round and then had to finish things on Friday before playing another full round, which likely hurt him overall. He had one of the worst performances of his career and finished at number 32 on the leaderboard, which is hit worst performance at the Open apart from one time in 2006 when he missed the cut there.