Jason Day had a front-row seat for the drama, in the perfect setting for great theater.<\/p>\n
He was standing on the 18th green at Chambers Bay, the 72nd hole of the 2015 U.S. Open, watching his playing partner, Dustin Johnson, attempt a 12-foot putt for eagle that could win the tournament and end his personal heartaches in major championships.<\/p>\n
Jordan Spieth, the reigning Masters champion, had birdied the final hole just moments earlier to finish as the clubhouse leader at 5-under par 275. Day, the 54-hole leader, and Johnson were the final twosome of the day.<\/p>\n
Day, who was out of contention, was expecting Johnson to make the putt. He was expecting one of those amazing moments that happen sometimes to end a major tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve feet,\u201d Day said. \u201cI mean, from 12 feet, even though it is down the hill, I mean, with the scenery there was, the grandstands and everything, it was just set up for a finish like that, with him holing the putt. I honestly thought he\u2019s going to hole this putt and the crowd\u2019s going to go nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, the world got another kind of amazing moment. The kind that wrenches your gut and numbs your senses.<\/p>\n
Johnson missed that 12-foot putt. He watched it stay on the high side of the hole and slide a slippery 3 feet past the cup. He wouldn\u2019t be the outright winner, but Johnson still had a chance to make birdie, tie Spieth and force an 18-hole Monday playoff. All he had to do was make the comebacker from 36 inches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI putted out first, trying to give him the opportunity \u2014\u00a0if he holed that putt, because it was very holeable \u2014\u00a0give him the glory to fist pump or do whatever he wanted to if he holed that putt to win the U.S. Open,\u201d Day said. \u201cAnd then he hit the putt past, and then I\u2019m sitting there going, OK, that\u2019s a pretty difficult putt coming back up. I didn\u2019t realize he\u2019d hit it that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then Johnson missed again. His 3-foot birdie putt slid on the left edge of the cup. It was Scott Hoch at the 1989 Masters and Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot in 2006 rolled into one.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went in there pretty quick,\u201d Day said. \u201cHe lined it up pretty quick and hit it and then, unfortunately, missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just kind of bounced left,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt wiggled. It\u2019s the golf course we were playing and something we have to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spieth, sitting in the clubhouse, was stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly felt bad for him,\u201d Spieth said. \u201cI would have ultimately liked him to have made the second putt, and I would have liked to have beat him on Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spieth comes to Oakmont Country Club as the defending champion, trying to become the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to defend his U.S. Open title. But, it very easily could have been Johnson. Nine months later, Spieth would experience a similar shocking moment at the 12th hole at the Masters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly felt like he should have won that event,\u201d Day said Tuesday before playing a practice round at Oakmont. \u201cI think if it went to 18 holes on Monday, it would have been a very exciting match between Jordan and Dustin. I don\u2019t know who would have won, but it would have been exciting. Obviously, in my head, I thought that he was going to hole it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issues that plagued Chambers Bay \u2014\u00a0among them, the poor condition of the greens \u2014\u00a0should not be a factor at Oakmont. The greens are as smooth as they are fast, and that is good news for Johnson as he seeks some form of redemption when the 116th U.S. Open begins Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year is going to be a little different,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe greens here are great. Balls aren\u2019t going to be bouncing. If you hit a good putt they\u2019re going to go in.\u201d<\/p>\n