Sport - Golf

Cabrera clinches U.S. Open title; Jeev finishes joint 36th

GOLF / First Argentine to win a major in 40 years in a championship that will be remembered for gaffes

OAKMONT (U.S.): Angel Cabrera hit all the right shots to hold off two of the best players in the world on a Sunday of survival at the U.S. Open, giving Argentina its first major championship in 40 years with a 1-under-par 69 at brutal Oakmont.

Tiger Woods squandered birdie chances with his wedge and his putter. Former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk paid for a risky choice of driver on the 306-yard 17th hole and fell out of the lead with a bogey.

That left Cabrera as the champion.

The only other Argentine to win a major was Roberto De Vicenzo in the 1967 British Open at Hoylake. He was equally famous for signing for the wrong score a year later at the U.S. Masters, keeping him out of a playoff.

“It is very difficult to describe at the moment,” an elated Cabrera said. “Probably tomorrow, when I wake up with this trophy beside me, I will realize I won the U.S. Open.”

Cabrera made his share of mistakes — everyone did on the tough course outside Pittsburgh — but he overcame late bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes with a perfect tee shot and a par that gave him the victory.

Even so, this major will be remembered for gaffes by the guys chasing him.

Woods, a runner-up to unheralded Zach Johnson at the Masters, played the final 32 holes at Oakmont with only one birdie.

He missed a birdie putt from 6 feet on the 13th, and the only clutch putts he made on the back nine were for par.

“He put a lot of pressure on Jim and I, and we didn’t get it done,” said Woods, who closed with a 72 and extended his dubious streak of never winning a major when he wasn’t leading going into the final round.

Furyk ran off three straight birdies on the back nine and was tied for the lead when he opted to hit driver on the 17th, where the tees were moved up.

He hit so far and enough left that he had no angle to the pin, and the lie was so deep that he didn’t even reach the green. His 8-foot par putt caught the lip and spun away.

Cabrera, who had two of just eight sub-par rounds in the tournament and finished at 5-over 285, was in the clubhouse watching two of the best players in golf try to catch him.

As poorly as Woods hit the ball in the final round, he only needed one birdie over his final three holes to force a playoff.

Woods hit 3-wood off the 17th tee into a deep bunker, but he couldn’t keep it on the green and had to make a 7-footer for par.

Aaron Baddeley, who had a two-shot lead over Woods going into the final round, three-putted from 8 feet for triple bogey on the opening hole and wound up with an 80.

It was the third straight year no one broke par at the U.S. Open, the longest streak in 46 years.

Tested to the hilt by a brutal Oakmont Country Club, Jeev Milkha Singh showed tremendous grit and turned in a final round card of five-over 75 to finish tied 36th, his best show in a Major, in the US Open.

Playing his third US Open, Jeev ended a gruelling week with a four-round total of 18-over 298, 13 shots behind winner Angel Cabrera of Argentina (275).

“It was not the best of finishes, but I will take back a lot from here,” said Jeev, who had also made the cut in his previous two appearances at the US Open.

“My putting was disappointing,” said Jeev, who averaged 32.25 putts per round and his best was 31 in the final round. “Sure the greens were tough and sloping made them very testing and challenging, but I wish a few more putts had dropped.” Taking the positives, he said, “I hit the ball well and was very patient during the week.” — Agencies

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