2004 U.S. Open (golf)

History of U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills

This was the fourth U.S. Open hosted by Shinnecock Hills. The former champions were James Foulis (1896), Raymond Floyd (1986) and Corey Pavin (1995). The second U.S. Open Championship was held at Shinnecock in 1896, but the course went 90 years before it hosted the tournament again. The 1986 U.S. Open was held on a completely revamped course. Floyd, age 43, found himself three shots back entering into the final round and, in difficult scoring conditions, shot a final round 66 to win his fourth major. The conditions were almost the same in 1995, with no one finishing the tournament under par. Pavin played the final 10 holes in three-under-par on the way to a 68 and the win. He hit a memorable 4-wood to the 72nd green to within 5 feet (1.5 m).

Course layout

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Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

First round

Thursday, June 17, 2004

American Jay Haas led after one round, in a bid to become the oldest major champion in history. He was joined at the lead by Japan's Shigeki Maruyama and Argentina's Ángel Cabrera. Former Masters and PGA champion Vijay Singh shot a solid 68. Current Masters champion Phil Mickelson shot a 68 as well. Former U.S. Open champions Ernie Els and Retief Goosen shot an even-par 70 after rough starts. World Number 1 Tiger Woods struggled on Shinnecock's fast conditions and settled for a two-over-par 72. David Duval shot an 83, the worst round in the field, but was in high spirits afterwards.

Second round

Friday, June 18, 2004

Phil Mickelson surged into the lead of the 104th U.S. Open trying to become the sixth man to win the first two majors of the year. He shot a blemish-free 66. He tied for the lead with Shigeki Maruyama who shot a 68 after a bogey on the 18th. Ernie Els had four consecutive birdies in a round of 67. American Jeff Maggert was in solo third at five-under-par with a 67. Fred Funk and Retief Goosen both shot 66 to tie for fourth. Ángel Cabrera had a crazy day after a 66 to shoot a 71. Former U.S. Open champion at Shinnecock Corey Pavin tied with Vijay Singh four back of the lead. Tiger Woods shot a 69 to finish the second round at one-over-par tied for 18th. World Number 4 Davis Love III missed the cut along with David Duval.

Jay Haas (E) and Bill Haas (+5) became only the second father/son pairing ever to make the cut in the same U.S. Open, and the first since Joe Kirkwood, Sr. and Joe Kirkwood, Jr. in 1948.

Amateurs: Levin (+2), Wittenberg (+2), Haas (+5), Reavie (+5), Mackenzie (+9), Smith (+9), Flanagan (+14), Álvarez (+18).

Third round

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Former champion Retief Goosen battled his way into a two-shot lead in the U.S. Open third round on Saturday as Shinnecock Hills presented its stiffest test of the week. He held his nerve in challenging conditions to card a one-under-par 69 for a five-under total of 205. He was one of only three players to return sub-par rounds. Second round leader Phil Mickelson bogeyed the last two holes for a share of second place with two time Open champion Ernie Els. Fred Funk and Shigeki Maruyama both had crazy days, finishing poorly for a tie for fourth. Jeff Maggert after a poor round of 74 was tied with Tim Clark in sixth place. Tim Clark had a low round of 66, the best of the day. Tiger Woods shot a 73 and Vijay Singh shot a 77.

Final round

Sunday, June 20, 2004

South Africa's Retief Goosen held his nerve to clinch the U.S. Open for a second time, edging out Phil Mickelson by two shots with a closing one-over-par 71 on Sunday to finish at four-under 276. Conditions were brutal on the final day when the average final-round score was 78.7 and not a single golfer finished their round under par. Mickelson, urged on by raucous New York galleries on a windswept and sunny afternoon, completed a matching 71 for his third runner-up spot in the last six U.S. Opens. Goosen led by two going into the final day but was overhauled by Mickelson over the closing stretch, the left-handed American moving one stroke clear with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. But Mickelson, bidding to become the sixth player to win the first two majors of the year, immediately fell back, running up a double-bogey at the par-three 17th after three-putting from five feet. Goosen, playing in the group behind, restored his two-shot advantage with a 12-foot birdie putt on 16 and parred the final two holes to seal the title.

American Jeff Maggert finished third at one-over 281 after carding a 72, while 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir (74) of Canada and Japan's Shigeki Maruyama (76) were a further three shots back in a tie for fourth. However world number two Ernie Els, joint second overnight with Mickelson, produced four double-bogeys on his way to an 80, his worst score in a U.S. Open, and a tie for ninth at seven over. World number one Tiger Woods, who began nine shots off the lead, battled to a six-over 76 and a share of 17th. A mix of five bogeys, a double-bogey and a birdie at the last left him at 10-over 290 as he narrowly avoided returning his worst round at a U.S. Open. His career high was a 77 in the third round at Oakland Hills playing as an amateur in 1996. Australia's Robert Allenby was the only player to return a level-par 70 on Sunday, three birdies and three bogeys lifting him into a tie for seventh with American Steve Flesch at six-over 286. Fred Funk (77) of the U.S. was alone in sixth on 285.

Amateurs: Spencer Levin (+8), Casey Wittenberg (+16), Bill Haas (+17), Chez Reavie (+24)

Scorecard

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