Capelle On Golf

2008 US Open Coverage

The majors offer the maximum number of World Golf Ranking points, so top finishers can often skyrocket up the list. Though Rocco Mediate lost a heartbreaker, he shot from 158th into the top 50 at #47. Not bad for a week’s work. His finish should (or could) also get him into the year’s last two majors. Tiger Woods’ average shot up 2.10 points to 21.54, increasing his stranglehold on the #1 ranking, Woods now has a better than 2-1 advantage over Phil Mickelson, who’s average is 10.21.

Among the members of the top 10, Geoff Ogilvy and Ernie Els traded positions as did Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose. The biggest advances in the top 50 were by Lee Westwood, Brandt Snedeker, and Rod Pampling.

The table gives each player’s current rank, rank last week, finish in the Open, and the number of WGR points they earned at the Open.

1—1 Tiger Woods (1 – 100) Great week on the greens and clutch shotmaking.
2—2 Phil Mickelson (18t – 6.48) The 3-wood strategy will haunt him forever.
3—3 Adam Scott (26t – 5.00) A hurt finger likely derailed his hopes.
4—5 Geoff Ogilvy (9t – 13.00) Had a shot until a 39 on the back nine on Sunday.
5—4 Ernie Els (14t – 9.25) If he putts half as well as Tiger he wins.
6—7 Sergio Garcia (18t – 6.48) I witnessed in person his half shank into the canyon on number seven that sent him to plus six after seven holes on Thursday, killing his hopes.
7—6 Justin Rose (MC – 0) Another disappointment for the budding superstar.
8—8 Steve Stricker (29t – 4.30) He was 4 under at one point in the first round before collapsing.
9—9 Vijay Singh (65t – 1.50) I watched him warm up on the range and he was hitting it awesome, so this is a mystery.
10—10 Jim Furyk (36t – 3.35) A poor Open for this perennial contender on the heels of last year’s 2t.
17—20 Lee Westwood (3 – 40) He probably wins if he’s not paired with Tiger on Sunday.
35—39 Brandt Snedeker (9t – 13.0) His top 10 goes well with his 3t at the Masters.
43—48 Rod Pampling (14t – 9.25) His best finish by far in five US Opens.
47—158 Rocco Mediate (2 – 60) He played like a winner though he didn’t win.

Top 10 Slam Hopefuls
There will be not Grand Slam in 2008, but the four players below still have a shot at a Top 10 Slam.

Tiger Woods (2 – 1)
Robert Karlsson (8t – 4t)
Brandt Snedeker (3t – 9t)
Miguel Angel Jimenez (8t – 6t)