U.S. Open notebook

updated 5:33 p.m. ET June 17, 2007

OAKMONT, Pa. - Geoff Ogilvy was in a much better mood when he left last year’s U.S. Open.

The defending champion had another rough day Sunday, not spending nearly enough time in the fairway and shooting a 5-over 75. He finished at 19 over and was signing his scorecard before the leaders even saw the Church Pew Bunkers.

“I’m just frustrated,” he said. “I didn’t have much fun the last three days.”

The Aussie started defense of his title well, shooting a 1-over 71 in the first round that left him three strokes back and tied for fifth. He was 1 under for the tournament after his first five holes Friday.

But Ogilvy played the rest of that round 7 over and could never pull his game back together. He shot an 8-over 78 on Saturday.

“I know I don’t need to practice out of the fairway bunkers. It’s no use,” Ogilvy said. “We should just add one shot and drop the ball in the fairway. ... You should be penalized for missing a shot, but it shouldn’t be so black and white. I don’t like the one-shot penalty that’s almost guaranteed.”

The rest of his game wasn’t bailing him out, either. He hit only half his fairways and greens in regulation all week, and he needed 32 putts both Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, he couldn’t get any momentum going until the back nine.

His tee shot on the par-5 No. 4 Sunday landed in the rough off the left side of the fairway. He was only able to advance it about 50 yards, and it landed in even thicker rough. He hacked at the ball again, moving it another 25 yards.

He was already lying five when he reached the green, and he two-putted for a double bogey.

He almost aced the par-3 No. 6, hitting the flag stick off the tee, and he made the 15-footer for birdie. But he was in trouble off the tee again on No. 7 and two-putted for a bogey.

He finally got it going on the back nine, making three birdies in a four-hole span.

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But it wasn’t enough to salvage a bad week.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I just didn’t bring all my game here this week, and you need to.”

BACK AGAIN
Bubba Watson had only one question when he turned in his scorecard: What’s a guy have to do to get back to the U.S. Open?

Watson tied for fifth in his second Open. Better than his $248,948 check, it earned him a spot in next year’s field. The top 15 automatically qualify for 2008 at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif.

“I didn’t know that. I’m excited now,” Watson said. “I’ve got one job next year. One week, at least.”

Make that two. The top eight at the Open also qualify for the Masters. England’s Nick Dougherty, who finished in a tie for seventh after a 1-over 71 Sunday, also will be making his first trip to Augusta National next year.

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“I’ve never felt like this coming off the course before, but I’m actually delighted,” Dougherty said. “I’ve done myself proud this week, and I’m extremely pleased with the progress I think I’ve made.”

Watson was happy with the strides he made, as well. Before this week, he was known as the guy who can hit it a mile — using a driver with a pink shaft, no less — but he also had a reputation for falling apart when the pressure was greatest.

No more.

Though he opened with a double bogey on No. 1, he played solid the rest of the way. He wound up with a 4-over 74 that left him tied with David Toms.

“If you’d told me my second major, tied for fifth, I’d have taken that and gone back to the house and watched it on TV,” said Watson, who was a crowd favorite all week. “I felt a little bit of the nerves and I know what it’s going to take to calm them down. Hanging in there is going to help me at every tournament. The more I get up around the lead, the better it’s going to be.”

STRICKER GOES SOUTH
The one thing Steve Stricker can always bank on is the very thing that let him down.

Stricker, perhaps the best putter on the PGA Tour, had a share of the lead when he made the turn. But he three-putted Nos. 10 and 11 for back-to-back double bogeys that took him out of contention.

“Putting killed me the whole week,” he said. “That’s the worst I’ve ever putted, I think. I really had no idea of the speed on some of the holes.”

Though Stricker rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 12th, his day was essentially done. He had bogeys on 13 and 16, and a double on the 17th. He also missed a birdie putt on 18.

“It just all unraveled on the back side,” he said. “After 10 and 11, I was deflated. I’m trying to hang in there and trying to make a birdie or two coming in.”

It was yet another tough ending for Stricker. Though he’s begun to find his form again — he was the tour’s comeback player of the year in 2006 after beginning the year without any status — he’s still looking for his first victory since 2001.

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