Americans come out of obscurity to rattle rankings at The Open Championship – Part 2
Fowler, the young American heartthrob who has been battering a sloppy form since the start of the season, performed amazingly well on an alien turf and pulled in rounds of 70, 70, 68 and 72 to stay in contention for the summit.
The 22-year-old Fowler was nominated as the Rookie of The Year in 2010 when he led the Walker Cup team to a stellar victory. The young golfer often draws comparison from Rory McIlroy who started off his professional career at almost the same time as Fowler,
but is already a major winner. The young Floridian would have fared better if he had avoided the two bogeys on his back nine and spent all day trying to even-par the final 18 holes.
“I got off to a good start, actually, and had a couple looks at birdie, middle of my round, and really couldn't get them to go and made a couple bogeys late that obviously hurt my chances there,” said Fowler.
Johnson, who had posted a solid round of 68 on the third day, fell in for early bogeys on the front nine. He quickly shot back to form pulling in three birdies at the opening holes on the back nine but a terrible double-bogey sublimed his spirit to carry
on with his charge. He dropped another shot at the par-four, 18th to close his round with a disappointing 72.
“I think I had a great week. I came into the week -- obviously I came down with a little bit of illness, wasn't feeling that well, so I didn't know what to expect. But I fought all week, and I didn't have my best stuff this week for sure. But I hung in there
and just fought around, and I think I did very well,” said the 27-year-old Johnson, who finished for a joint 14th last year.
Tom Watson, the five-time Open Championship winner finished for a joint 22nd
after a lackluster performance in the final round carding two-over, 72. He was one of the most senior players in the event and perhaps the most experienced of the Links Golf after having played the Open for a staggering 33 times.
Watson posted some strong performance in the opening rounds and also pulled in a rare eagle on the difficult Links course in his second round to stay in contention for the sixth Open title of his career. He fell in for consecutive bogeys in the final round
to fall behind the ranks.
The American performance in the Open Championship has given a new impetus to the otherwise depressed American fans of the sport. Led from the front by the most revered Mickelson, Americans have decided to finally come out of obscurity to claim their rightful
position.
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