Victoria, recuerdos y sinsabores (SPA-ENG)

This title could point to any of the sports that these days make our hearts explode with excitement, we have competitions of all kinds, the Euro Cup began with "a lot of fabric to cut" as my grandmother would say, and in a few days the Copa América begins and also There we have set our sights; In a month the great multi-sports event of the Olympic Games will give it show every 4 years.

But I'm not going to talk about football, I'm going to comment on the result and something else about the third golf major of the year. I'm almost the only one who talks about this sport and I can't miss mentioning the definition of one of the 4 most important tournaments. important events that are played every year on the world's top golf circuit.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the US Open, the third tournament component of the Grand Slam of golf, was played from Thursday the 13th to Sunday the 16th and the definition could not have been more exciting.

It started on Sunday, the 4th. and the last day to complete the 72 holes in which all the PGA circuit tournaments are agreed upon, 4 days of 18 holes each. At the beginning of the actions, Bryson DeChambeau led with 203 strokes or -7 concerning the field's par that was for the Pinehurst court No. 2 of 70 strokes. The American was chased 2 strokes by the Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and 3 strokes by the Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and the also American Patrick Cantlay.

Throughout the long day, the nervousness of the players was noted, which became more and more difficult to cope with as the holes progressed. Many consider this tournament to be the most difficult and competitive, and this is evident in the mental exhaustion that leads to making mistakes. and fall into the various traps that it proposes along its 7,611 yards of length.

Bryson, who had practically made no errors in the previous day's 18 holes, could not hit the fairway in this last round, which led him to have to execute his second shots from difficult positions and between tall grass and sand. which is a constant if the correct path is not found. On the other hand, Rory McIlroy played with all the desire to end the bad streak of more than 10 years without achieving a Grand Slam title, something unthinkable in his first years as a professional golfer when in a short time he managed to win 4 of these major tournaments. and it was envisioned that he would be the shining star that would replace Tiger Woods on such a high pedestal, that did not happen, but he always continued to be a great player who could not reaffirm his career with these tournaments, it is the only matter that owes him to such an outstanding career.

The truth is that, with the ups and downs of several pursuers, in the end, there were only two who, because of the scores, were going to define the tournament: Rory and Bryson, the latter made several mistakes that led him to lose all the advantage he had at the beginning. of the day and more, with 3 holes remaining the advantage was for MacIlroy who was 2 strokes ahead, but as I said, the weight of 10 years of frustrations made itself felt and the Northern Irishman lost that advantage with his own mistakes, missing very short putts that would have assured victory or at least being able to settle the title in extra holes in the event of a tie. It can be said that he alone handed the tournament to the American, or not so much because he did almost the impossible on the last hole to win the title, after a bad start that led him to have to take the second shot from a position uncomfortable, between tree branches and a floor mixed with sand, tufts of grass and roots and which caused him to get into new difficulties when his ball was deposited in a sand bunker almost 50 meters from the hole, his third shot was something spectacular that left the ball just over a meter from the flag. With nervousness evident on his face and in his body language, he was able to hole out from there, sealing par on the hole that secured him first place with a one-stroke advantage.

Bryson DeChambeau won a new Grand Slam tournament, the second in his career and his second US Open, the first was in 2020. The one born in California 30 years ago manages to reaffirm in this way that he is a great player who has caused great changes in his physique, in his way of playing and I think also in his character; nicknamed "the scientist" for the innovations caused to become a high-level player, have led him in other times to controversial statements such as saying that with the distance he achieved with his shots, Augusta National for him became a field shorter and simpler. The court founded by Boby Jones repaid him for such daring by never letting him win. Perhaps now, with less ostentatious statements and a more polished short game, he has redeemed himself and in one of those, maybe the next year Augusta will forget the insult and be more benevolent.

This victory reminded us of another for this tournament, but that occurred 25 years ago, perhaps due to the great physical resemblance between DeChambeau and the winner of the 1999 edition, Payne Steward. That great player dressed like the golfers of the early 20th century, as a particular badge and also as a tribute to those first players who laid the foundations of current golf. A few days after obtaining that great victory, Payne Steward died in a ridiculous plane crash.

A separate paragraph for Rory McIlroy, this has been a tough blow to his self-esteem, he knows that he lost, but they did not beat him. Perhaps this leads him to rethink many things, although his game continues to be enormous, the problem does not lie there but in his head, his internal demons do not leave him alone.

There is only one tournament left to conclude the Grand Slam of golf, the oldest and most traditional tournament: the British Open which will take place next July at the Royal Troon Golf Club on the west coast of Scotland.

I am impatiently awaiting this closing which, as always, promises new emotions and a difficult course with the latent threat of inclement weather that can turn it into true torture for golfers.