U.S. Amateur
champion
Kelly Kraft
Kelly’s
Heroics
Canadian Women’s Open
winner Brittany Lincicome
Has anybody in golf had a better summer
than Patrick Cantlay, the unhurried, teen-
aged prodigy from UCLA? He dominated U.S.
college golf in the spring; wowed the PGA Tour
in four scene-stealing cameo appearances;
and, made more great escapes than Steve
McQueen last week at daunting Erin Hills en
route to the finals of a loaded U.S. Amateur.
Then came Sunday. There was nothing
cheesy about relatively unknown Texan
Kelly Kraft’s upset win over Cantlay. Not
even the fact that it took place in Wisconsin,
self-described by the locals as “America’s
Dairyland.”
In similar but different fashion, Thomas
Björn battled the odds and a foursome of
younger guns in a five-way playoff at the
Johnnie Walker that lasted five frigid holes
in the gathering bone chill at Gleneagles.
It was the popular Dane’s second victory
in a comeback year that has, among other
things, put his name on the tips of the tongues
of Scots who would like to see him captain
Europe’s Ryder Cup squad at the very same
Gleneagles in 2014.
In America, Dustin Johnson survived an
earthquake, a hurricane and a personal history
of final-round meltdowns to win The Barclays,
abbreviated to 54 holes. Soft greens coupled
with lift, clean and place, added up to 17 under
for the week on the front nine alone for the
winner. Zounds!
Finally, in Canada, Michelle Wie failed to
force a playoff with a final-hole birdie, which
left Brittany Lincicome with the winner’s check
on the LPGA Tour. The top five finishers were
all Yanks.
