For four days Bethpage Black was the scene of some miserable weather, so-so golf and heckling fans, on Monday the rain stayed away and a fabulous final round was played. Six golfers were within two strokes or less of the lead with three holes to play in the tournament, but it was Lucas Glover, a player with one career win, who outplayed them all to win the U.S. Open.
After An Open Filled with Rain, Glover Wins at Bethpage
U.S. Open Returns to Bethpage's Challenging Black Course
The U.S. Open tees off tomorrow morning at Bethpage State Park's Black Course and while the field is supremely talented, there is clearly one favorite — Tiger Woods. Besides being the best golfer in the World, Woods is the defending Open champion and won the tournament when it was last held at Bethpage in 2002.
Extra, Extra
- Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, a fatal person struck by a train at Jerome Ave. and East Fordham Rd. in the Bronx, and an escaped prisoner at Church and Albany Aves. in Brooklyn.
- The trailer for Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert documentary "Shine a Light" has been released and can be seen here.
- Arts group ABC No Rio has abandoned plans for a gut renovation of its LES building that it acquired for $1. Architectural and budget constraints mean that the building will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.
- One million New Yorkers, or 17% of the adults in the city lack health insurance.
- Mayor Bloomberg's got game: golf game. Even Phil Mickelson said he was impressed with the mayor's game after they played recently.
- A man being questioned in a homicide investigation is on the loose this evening after jumping out of a third story window at the 103rd Precinct station house in Jamaica, Queens.
- Disabled transit riders lauded NYC Transit head Howard Roberts for recent improvements made to the subway system, like posting notices of elevator and escalator outages online in a timely manner.
- With plans in the works to examine rezoning Sunset Park, Brownstoner asks residents what they think of tall buildings in the nabe ("If you want high buildings, you can go to Manhattan.").
2006 in New York Sports
In keeping with our lists of events from 2006, here are some of the sports stories that Gothamist found compelling in the past year. It ranges from the playoff disappointment from the Mets and the Yankees to the welcome performances of last season's Rangers, this season's Jets and Rutgers.
Yesterday's Action: Ogilvy steals U.S. Open
-All seemed set for local favorite Phil Mickelson to win the U.S. Open. He had come close at Bethpage (2002) and Shinnecock (2004). On Sunday, he entered the final hole needing a par to win and a bogey to force a playoff. But he double-bogeyed the hole, and Australian Geoff Ogilvy won the championship. As Ogilvy told NBC's Bob Costas afterward, the Winged Foot golf course in Mamoroneck may have beaten all the golfers. Ogilvy's +5 score reflects how difficult the course proved.
Last Night’s Action: Baltimore/D.C. 2 New York 0
-Washington 11 Yankees 9: If the Yankees miss the playoffs by one game, this is the one to remember. Fifteen hits and a seven-run lead weren’t enough for the pathetic Yankee pitching as they collapsed down the stretch and gave the Nationals an improbable victory.
Last Night's Action: Mets, Yankees, Liberty, Tiger...Oh My!
- Orioles 6, Mets 3: For the Mets, their 8-game winning streak had to end sometime, and that sometime was last night against the Orioles in a rematch of the 1969 World Series. Alay Soler struggled at the start of the game, but it he pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance for their 9th straight victory. Aaron Heilman blew the save and the Mets chances at victory in the 7th inning when he allowed 4 runs.
Last night's action: US Open starts, Mets can't be stopped
-Mamaroneck's Winged Foot golf course proved challenging to the US Open field on Thursday, with only Colin Montgomerie shooting under par. Tiger Woods finished at a six-over-par 76. With everyone from from ESPN to Sports Illustrated billing this as a battle between Woods and Phil Mickelson, fans will have to wait for that duel to emerge, if it does.With such a tough course, the tournament should be wide open throughout.
Last Night’s Action: Yanks Bomb Boston/Soler Gets First Win
-Mets 4 Dodgers 1: Alay Soler pitched seven innings of one run ball to get his first career victory after three starts. Jose Reyes started the game off with a home run and Carlos Delgado added his own two-run homer. It's nice to see the Mets game decided by more than one run.
Previously on Gothamist Sports
Stay tuned for the NBA Draft wrap-up and check out the week in full.
Goosen Tames Shinnecock
The victory yesterday was Goosen's 2nd U.S. Open Championship. His first one came in 2001 at the Southern Hills in Tulsa. Sunday, Goosen was perfect on the impossible greens, notching 11 one-putts in the final round and 32 for the Championship. Goosen's putter needed to be on because his approach shots and shots off the tee were off for much of the round. Mickelson made things interesting with birdies on 13, 15, and 16. After his birdie on 16, Mickelson had sole possession of the lead, but faltered on 17, three-putting for a double bogey.
Day 1 is Calm at Shinnecock
After much talk about the problems that the weather at Shinnecock could cause, day 1 of the U.S. Open was quite calm. Play was eventually halted by rain and thunderstorms, but the wind that can make the course so difficult was not a factor at all. After one day of play, the leaderboard had the 50 year old Jay Haas and Shigeki Maruyama tied at a four-under 66. Tiger Woods, mired in a major championship "slump", finished at 72. Erinie Els had a even par 70 and Davis Love III shot a 76. Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, who were both unable to finish the day were -2 (15) and -2 (14), respectively.
Shinnecock and Players Get Ready for the U.S. Open
Some players that have taken practice rounds at Shinnecock are saying the wind will be the "X-factor", while the rough has played spotty at times. The last player to win the Open at Shinnecock, Corey Pavin, won by shooting an even par 280. Pavin believes scores on the course could "be decent" if the winds remain calm, but he also said that winds generally blow at 15-20 miles per hour from any direction.
US Open Golf/Tennis
Previously on Gothamist
We wondered about great movies about music as well as movies simply with great music - you can add your thoughts here. Plus the week in full.
Finally A Bride - Phil Mickelson Wins Major
Related: If you're looking to play golf in New York City, you're in luck. The Daily News looks at the city's best driving ranges. They rate The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers as the best in the city, with the Brooklyn Golf Center getting an honorable mention.

