Grant Me This

PGA.com contributor Grant Boone says the winner of the 106th U.S. Open will be the player who plays for pars and stays out of trouble. And while that strategy that might not fit Phil Mickelson's storied M.O., look for Lefty to hoist the hardware.

By Grant Boone, Special to PGA.com

They say the U.S. Open is not a sprint but a marathon. Based on what I've witnessed through three days at Winged Foot, about the only way to survive this course is to mimic the marathon methods of Rosie Ruiz.

Remember Rosie? On April 21, 1980, the native New Yorker was feted after being the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. That is, until event organizers began to smell something fetid. Turns out, Rosie hadn't quite run all 26.2 miles. In fact, she'd pretty much skipped the "26" part and concentrated more on the ".2," jumping out of the crowd when she thought no one was looking and sprinting the final few hundred yards as if she was the frontrunner. Apparently, Rosie underestimated how picky those officials were about certain rules of competition, such as "running the entire race."

Well, other than skipping a hole here and there, I can't figure out how a body breaks par at the Foot. It's happened all of eight times now in 374 rounds played in the 106th U.S. Open by the world's best golfers. And with 18 holes left, nary a soul is even even for the championship. Phil Mickelson (a big name) and Englishman Kenneth Ferrie (a big man whose name translated, I'm told, means "big boat of people trying to get from one place to another") are tied for the lead at 2 over.

Actually, Yanks and Euros spent the better part of one day and two continents chasing a ball around without really settling much. While the U.S. and Italy were playing their World Cup soccer skirmish to a 1-1 tie, Mickelson and the Englishman went out in the midday sun and more than anyone else excelled in simply not soiling themselves.

Like two of his compatriots on the soccer pitch, Mickelson was red-carded. His 69 was one of only two subpar rounds Saturday. (The other was by Ryuji Imada, who turned in the same score. But he's from Japan and doesn't really fit my theme here. So I'll move on and trust that no one can read my inner monologue?)

And just as the U.S. World Cup team notched its only score when an opposing player inadvertently kicked the ball into his own goal -- those wacky Italians! -- the best offense at the U.S. Open is usually similar: wait for the other guy to make a mistake.

The miscues happened early for Colin Montgomerie, who entered the third round a shot off the lead in second. With that familiar high follow through and equally trademark tight-cheeked trousers -- yes, Monty, I'm looking at your bum -- Montgomerie played his first four holes in 5 over en route to an ultimately reasonable 75. And late for Steve Stricker, the overnight leader, who was 4 over on his last five to fall to plus-5 where he'll begin the final round three off the lead.

Mickelson remains the man to beat, but it's still almost anybody's Open as 17 players begin Sunday within six shots of the lead. And as tough as Winged Foot has played, good shots are still being rewarded. Sweden's Peter Hedblom, for example, shot 3-under 32 on the front without a single birdie. An ace at the third and an eagle at five offset a lone front-nine bogey.

But more likely, the player who continues to pump out pars is the one who'll break from the pack and cross the finish line ahead of the others. Whoever it is, just make sure he played all 18.

Grant Boone is a husband, father, golf broadcaster, and sports journalist based in Abilene, Texas. He can be contacted at grant@greatcities.org.

The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect those of PGA.com or The PGA of America.