Monty, Mick miss chance at U.S. Open

Most of us will never know, or be able to feel, the pressure athletes have on them especially when everything is on the line. You have to have nerves of steal and the stomach of a goat to finish strong and victorious.

Even if you?ve done it a thousand times with a steady hand and full of confidence, the word ?choke? is still in your vocabulary.

Sunday, two golfers who have worn that word on the back of their shirt many times once again felt the pressure and fell victim to that little demon which haunts us all at times.

The two names I?m speaking of are Phil Mickleson and Colin Montgomerie, as both men had the chance to take home the U.S. Open trophy Sunday afternoon, but melted nerves produced errant shots putting the trophy into Geoff Ogilvy?s hands.

Now, Winged Foot has tested the nerves and skills of the best golfers in the world over the years, and is an old thorn in the side of greats like Greg Norman ? who basically choked in much of the same way Mickleson and Montgomerie did.

I must confess, I was hoping to see Montgomerie finally get the monkey off his back, since Mickelson finally notched a major last year.

But one bad shot and club selection proved to be fatal for Montgomerie. He headed into 18 at 4 over par, tied for the lead. He hit a perfect drive in the middle of the fairway, but he wasn?t able to pull the ?Full Monty.? His ball sat perfectly in the fairway and with 172 yards to the pin, decided to hit a 7-iron instead of a 6. The shot fell 10 yards short and ended up in the rough, making it almost impossible to make his par.

A double bogey opened the door for Mickelson, and pushed Montgomerie to an 0-for-58 record for majors.

All Mickelson had to do was keep the ball in the fairway. His drive on 17 ended up in the garbage can, then on 18 he hit his drive so far left it landed near the hospitality tents.

Still in fairly good shape, he decides instead of hitting a safe shot and trying to make bogey ? which would still put him into a playoff with Ogilivy ? to go for the green. The result? He hit a tree.

So my question is was this just stupidity and arrogance or did the pressure cloud his judgment?

I?m sure it was the pressure, but don?t true champions thrive under pressure? Only legends thrive under pressure, that?s why they?re called legends. There are always going to be champions crowned, but few will gain the status of being called a legend.

The only way the word ?legend? and Mickelson will be used in the same sentence, will be when describing one who can?t handle the pressure of greatness.

As another major sporting event ends, once again the winner will more than likely be forgotten. Five years down the road no one will remember who won the 2006 U.S. Open, but they will still be talking about who didn?t.

Once again we will dwell on the negatives instead of remembering the greatness. It?s just human nature I guess, we can be ridiculed for weeks when we do something wrong. But doing something right just gets us a quick pat on the back.