A bad record is waiting for Americans in us open golf

Graeme McDowell became the first European in 40 years to win the U.S. Open last summer at Pebble Beach. Perhaps more telling was that this was the first time in more than 100 years that no Americans finished among the top three in their national championship.

And that was just the start.There were no Americans in the top three in the British Open a month later at St. Andrews. And for the first time in Masters history, international players occupied the first three places at Augusta National.

Is American golf on the ropes?

“Are you asking that because I’m the highest-ranked American?” Steve Stricker said Tuesday.Stricker, a 44-year-old who didn’t even have a full PGA Tour card five years ago, won the Memorial two weeks ago and climbed to No. 4 in the world, making him the top-ranked American. He still lags well behind a pair of Englishmen, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer of Germany.

But the world ranking tells only part of the story.

Americans have never gone more than four majors without winning one of them, and the U.S. Open at Congressional might be their best chance to avoid a record drought since this configuration of Grand Slam events began in 1934.

“I think this tournament will tell a lot,” Stricker said. “If an American can win here, maybe we can gain back some of that momentum. It seems to be pro-Europe every week, every major. It will be interesting this week to see what happens. I think we are on the ropes a little bit. Everybody sees it. Everybody talks about it.”

Based on recent times, history might not be on the side of the Stars & Stripes outside the nation’s capital.

Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Open is the one major where Americans have had the least amount of success. They have won only four times since 2001, with Tiger Woods capturing two of them. And he’s not even at Congressional this week, out with a bum left leg.

It was only four years ago when it seemed that Europeans couldn’t win a big one. Padraig Harrington preached patience, saying golf runs in cycles and Europe would get its due.Ernie Els couldn’t agree more.

“Everything happens in cycles, and I can see it happening again now,” he said. “I remember back in the early ’90s, Europe was dominating like they are dominating now in the world rankings. They’ve definitely got the upper hand at the moment, and it will probably change again in the future.”

The trick is figuring who the future is for American golf.

Right behind Stricker in the world ranking is Phil Mickelson, the last American to win a major when he beat Westwood at the Masters last year. Mickelson turns 41 on Thursday, although he still thinks he has several years and more majors ahead of him.Even so, Mickelson has been spending a lot of time lately trying to groom younger players, mostly for Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup matches, but also to get them sharp for majors.

He played Tuesday with Dustin Johnson, regarded by many as the most talented of the Americans under 30. Joining them were Jeff Overton and Hunter Mahan, whose three wins include a World Golf Championship at Firestone last year.

“I’m actually very encouraged with where our American golfers are, especially the young players,” Mickelson said. “We have a plethora of great players coming up. And I think at the forefront is a guy like Dustin Johnson.”

Johnson very easily could have won two majors last year, and this wouldn’t even be a discussion. He took a three-shot lead into the final round at Pebble Beach until a shot in the bushes and a shot onto the beach left him with an 82. Then came the PGA Championship, where he was not aware he was in a bunker and grounded his club, a two-shot penalty that knocked him out of a playoff.Kaymer wound up beating Bubba Watson in the playoff.

Johnson is aware of the American drought, but only because he keeps getting asked about it.“It’s not like we’re not trying or not playing well,” he said. “I think the American guys are playing really good. A lot of things have to go right to win a major. Obviously, the guys that have won the last four majors have played really good golf.”

Mahan knew the Americans had not won a major since Mickelson at the Masters. He was surprised to hear that only two Americans, Watson and Zach Johnson, have been in the top three at the last four majors.“It’s the fashionable thing now to be European. Everyone is pumping that up,” Mahan said. “I don’t know about that. I think guys like Stricker, Matt Kuchar … I don’t see who’s playing better than those guys.”

Donald would be one of them, for sure. He brings 10 consecutive top 10s into the U.S. Open, which includes wins in the European Tour flagship event at Wentworth and his first WGC title at the Match Play Championship in Arizona. Westwood won consecutive tournaments overseas. Kaymer started his year with an eight-shot win against a strong field in Abu Dhabi that included Mickelson.

Along with the four majors, Europe also owns the Ryder Cup.

“I think the Ryder Cup has created a line there now that wasn’t there before,” Mahan said. “There’s a little bit more friction—maybe not friction, but there’s a little more to it now—and that’s good. The thing we need in golf are rivalries, but good rivalries.”Perhaps the Americans getting shut out in the majors was inevitable.

Not until the world ranking became more accepted did international players get much access to the three American-based majors. When the ranking made its debut in 1986, only three Europeans played in the Masters that year.With few exceptions, the PGA Tour attracts the best that each continent has to offer.

“It’s obvious that world golf as a whole has become so much stronger, and that international and European golf has become world class,” Mickelson said. “So although international golf has really taken off, American golf is still in very good shape.”That might be easier to believe if one of them were holding the trophy on Sunday at Congressional.

Ernie Els wants to come on course

Els remains haunted by last summer at Pebble Beach, when he briefly had a share of the lead in the final round and his swing lived up to his nickname as the “Big Easy.” Then came a three-hole stretch along the Pacific that he played in 4 over, and he wound up losing an excellent chance to add another major.
Even the 41-year-old South African concedes he hasn’t been the same since then. Sure, he won the South African Open at the end of the year. But in his 13 tournaments this year, he has not finished better than 15th.

“We flew from Pebble to Munich the next week, and I was just as flat as I’ve ever been in my life,” Els said. “I don’t know exactly how the brain works, but that really was quite a big disappointment. I really felt that I did play the golf that I wanted to play, that I envisioned to play, and I didn’t quite get the result that I wanted. You’ve got to give credit to Graeme McDowell the way he played. But from my point of view, I felt like I let one slip away.”

And now comes a return to Congressional, where in 1997 he won his second U.S. Open. Els spent a few days on the course last week, and the good vibes returned.The 5-iron he hit into the 17th hole—now the 18th for this U.S. Open—put him in the lead. The 4-foot par putt he made on the 18th hole gave him a one-shot victory over Colin Montgomerie.And if there’s one thing to give him some hope this week, he wasn’t playing all that great in 1997, either.

He recalls missing the cut in two tournaments before the U.S. Open that year, including the old Kemper Open nearby. He came to Congressional to work on his game that weekend, shot 67 in the second round to get in the mix and was on his way.

“Winning that tournament gave me all the belief in the world,” Els said.

He went on to win the Buick Classic the following week to become No. 1 for the first time.Els won his first U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994 in a playoff that went 20 holes. His other major was a four-man playoff at Muirfield to win the 2002 British Open. He knows what it takes to win the biggest events, and Els said it starts with belief.

“You’ve got to have that picture in your mind, a clear picture of you lifting the trophy, and I think it’s a long, long journey, a long road to get to that Sunday afternoon presentation,” Els said. “So there’s a lot of ups and downs that you have to face. But at the end of the day, you’ve just got to keep believing that it’s your week.

“It’s a funny game,” he said. “When you start getting good breaks the belief gets stronger. It’s really having that little dream in front of you and just keep playing. It’s a big struggle out there. At times you feel like you want to go home. But it’s the U.S. Open and it’s a special week.”

His biggest problem, along with his putting, is wanting it too badly. It has been 25 majors, dating to 41-year-old Vijay Singh at the 2004 PGA Championship, since a player in his 40s won a major.The last player in his 40s to win the U.S. Open was Payne Stewart, who was 42 at Pinehurst No. 2. Els is still fit, still capable, but he knows time is no longer on his side.

“It’s almost too much,” he said of his urgency to win another major. “I’ve almost got to dial it down a bit because my form so far this year has been atrocious. I want to change it as soon as possible. My patience level … they say when you get older, it gets better, but I don’t know. I think I’m a little different.

“I need to basically find a way of letting it happen, waiting for that week for it to happen,” he said. “Maybe this week.”It helps being at Congressional, which made him an honorary member. Even though the closing holes are radically changed, the rest of the course looks similar to him.

Does he have that belief?

“I want to say yes,” Els said. “I had a good week off last week, played out here, got myself familiar with the course again, got great vibes. So I’m looking forward to a good week. I’d really love to have a really good week, and see where it goes.”

McDowell ready to defend his title

Even an affable, easygoing guy like Graeme McDowell can succumb to the burden that comes with being a first-time U.S. Open champion.The pride of Portrush, Northern Ireland, basked in a special 2010 that included the Father’s Day win at Pebble Beach, three other tournament wins and the Ryder Cup. Quite the talker, he’s happily relived it all many times in his mind—and over and over and over with anyone who asked.

Now, after a shaky start to 2011, he’s ready to move on.“You know, it’s bizarre,” McDowell said Tuesday as he prepares to defend his title at Congressional Country Club, “because if anything I feel like the glare is off me this week. I feel like I’ve done it. The last three or four months have been difficult.

“I’ve spent the last just under 12 months looking back at Pebble. I spent the last six months reflecting on 2010. And I mean, somehow having arrived here this week, I feel like I’ve done it now. My U.S. Open trophy is back here with the USGA. I’ve handed it back and I’m ready to sort of get on with the rest of my career.”

It’s not as if McDowell has been a walking disaster on the course. In fact, it would have been asking a lot to carry his momentum into the new calendar year without some sort of letup. But he’s missed the cut in four of his last eight tournaments, lost a one-shot lead at The Players Championship by closing with 79 and shot a third-round 81 at the Wales Open this month.

“My focus has been way too much on winning,” McDowell said. “My expectation level, I mean, I’m going out there with the only goal of winning the golf tournament. That’s probably a little bit unrealistic because you can’t really be setting your goals that high. So the last round of The Players when it started to get away from me, it wasn’t like I threw the towel in, but subconsciously I felt the win getting away from me and I really lost that drive. I’ve lost that drive to grind the top 10s and the top 5s out, the things that drive consistency.

“The reason why Luke Donald has not been a prolific winner but he’s just a phenomenal golfer and he’s one of the best players in the world is because of that, because he can grind out those top 5s, he can grind out the top 10s when he’s maybe not in a position to win the golf tournament. … I’ve really got to reset my goals and realize that consistent golf is what it’s all about, and you don’t have to win every week to be a top player.”

Asked if he would have done anything differently during a whirlwind 12 months as the first U.S. Open champion from Europe in 40 years, McDowell paused.“Probably not. You live and learn,” he said. “I mean, I’ve tried to be a player who has no regrets about things, really. Perhaps I would have come into the 2011 season and tried to do a little less off the golf course and really tried to focus back in my golf game.

“But it’s such a busy end to 2010 that 2011 seemed to just be there all of a sudden on my doorstep, and I was in Hawaii and in the Middle East, and those four weeks that came right after the Middle East, there’s no doubt I wasn’t the same guy. I wasn’t swinging it the same way, I wasn’t feeling the same way. Sometimes a run of momentum and adrenaline sort of has to hit a brick wall, and I guess I hit my brick wall. I’ve been trying to get over that wall ever since.”McDowell said he had an uneventful final week as the titleholder, hanging out in Portrush and having dinner with friends at his favorite restaurant. He then spent an intense weekend in Florida working with coach Pete Cowan.

“I really needed sort of that kind of week to relax and put the feet up for three or four days and then getting the game beat into shape for this coming week, so I’m feeling good,” he said. “I have to say I felt really good on the golf course yesterday and I feel mentally very fresh and ready to go this week.“I think that weight I talked about will hopefully be lifted off my shoulders this week. I already feel like part of it’s been lifted off, so that’s great. Hopefully, I can continue to feel the way I’m feeling into the weekend.”