Steady Jones Puts Finger on Grip, U.S. Open Title

Six years after his last victory, five years after he tore up his finger in an accident, four years after he wondered if he would ever play golf again and two years since he returned to the game he loves, Steve Jones won the U.S. Open.

That’s what you call an upset.

“I was never very good in school, so I can’t think of anything really eloquent to say, but I’ll tell you, it’s the thrill of a lifetime,” Jones said.

A 37-year-old who lives in Phoenix and had to win a playoff in sectional qualifying to get into the field at Oakland Hills, Jones shot a fourth-round 69 Sunday and beat Tom Lehman and Davis Love III by one shot when Lehman drove into a bunker and bogeyed the 18th hole.

Love had finished a few minutes earlier, three-putting the 18th for bogey and missing out on a chance to force a playoff.

So by the time the late afternoon sky had turned to gray, Jones stood alone with his two-under-par 278, worth $425,000.

Everyone else had disappeared quietly, one by one.

Lehman was the last to leave. The stocky Minnesotan had a two-shot lead over playing partner Jones at the turn, but Lehman lost a shot when he bogeyed the par-five 12th hole.

“To bogey a par five on the back nine in a U.S. Open is a pretty tough pill to swallow,” Lehman said.

But when the final twosome reached the 18th tee, they were tied. It did not last long though. Lehman hit his drive left, into a fairway bunker. His second shot came out short of the green.

His third shot was a wedge to 15 feet above the hole, but he two-putted for bogey.

Lehman said it wasn’t his day.

“I just didn’t get that ball in the hole quick enough,” he said.

Jones, whose bogey at the 17th hole dropped him into a tie with Lehman, nearly holed out his second shot from the fairway on No. 18 and safely two-putted from 14 feet to win the first major title of his 15-year career.

He stood silent over a one-foot putt for par to win the U.S. Open. Somewhere in the back of his mind were the words of encouragement that his friend Lehman had given him--to be courageous and strong.

“I was trying, but I was really, really nervous,” he said. “Fortunately, that putt was one foot long. If it had been one inch longer, I don’t know where it would have gone.”

Love’s chances were easy to locate. He had tied Jones for the lead with a birdie on No. 15, then saw his hopes collapse with successive bogeys on the finishing holes.

Love’s bogey on No. 18 was particularly wrenching. His second putt was only 2 1/2 feet for par, but he missed it left.

“I thought it would trickle in if I just started it,” Love said. “I just didn’t hit it hard enough.”

It wasn’t the type of finish Love might have expected. After playing the bruising last three holes in one under par the first three rounds, he played them in two over par Sunday.

John Morse, who hadn’t made a cut in his six previous major tournaments, flirted with the lead but bogeyed two of the last three holes and finished with a 70 and fourth place.

Ernie Els and Jim Furyk shot 70 and tied for fifth, and Greg Norman failed to mount a charge and wound up tied for 10th with a 70.

Jones had two bogeys and no birdies the last seven holes, but he was resilient, probably because he has had a lot of practice.

“What he’s had to go through and now winning the U.S. Open, I think that is an absolutely remarkable story,” Lehman said.

Jones had not even played in a major tournament since the 1991 PGA because four months after that, he was injured when he turned over his dirt bike. Jones dislocated his shoulder, injured his ankle and tore ligaments in the ring finger of his left hand.

He was out for 2 1/2 years. That left Jones plenty of time to wonder.

“I just wanted to be able to hit a golf ball, not even play a tournament,” he said. “I wasn’t sure for a couple of years if I was even going to be able to play again.”

But Jones kept reinjuring his finger when he tried to come back. Two years after the injury, he strained his index finger tearing out his backyard putting green.

“I thought, ‘This is unbelievable!’ ” Jones said.

He took off three more months, then made a decision. He wasn’t going to wait forever for his finger to heal.

Jones came up with a new grip so he could play. He went to a reverse overlap grip, placing his left index finger over his right little finger.

“I said, ‘I don’t think I can play like this,’ but I figure, well, I will just see what happens,” Jones said.

“Lo and behold, here I am.”

Jones is the first U.S. Open champion from sectional qualifying since Jerry Pate in 1976.

His rounds of 74-66-69-69 gave him the lowest score in any of the seven U.S. Opens at Oakland Hills. But Jones didn’t feel all that comfortable, with his rebuilt grip and his finger, his winless streak and his long time away from golf.

“You know, it takes guts to win tournaments,” Jones said. “And I wasn’t sure if I had enough guts.”

It took him a few years to find out. But as he lifted the silver U.S. Open trophy, Jones must have figured it was worth the wait.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FINAL 72-HOLE SCORES

278 (-2)--$425,000

Steve Jones: 74-66-69-69

279 (-1)--$204,801

Tom Lehman: 71-72-65-71

Davis Love III: 71-69-70-69

280 (E)--$111,235

John Morse: 68-74-68-70

281 (+1)--$84,964

Jim Furyk: 72-69-70-70

Ernie Els: 72-67-72-70

282 (+2)--$66,294

Vijay Singh: 71-72-70-69

Ken Green: 73-67-72-70

Scott Hoch: 73-71-71-67

283 (+3)--$52,591

Lee Janzen: 68-75-71-69

Greg Norman: 73-66-74-70

Colin Montgomerie: 70-72-69-72

284 (+4)--$43,725

Frank Nobilo: 69-71-70-74

Dan Forsman: 72-71-70-71

Tom Watson: 70-71-71-72

285 (+5)--$33,188

Sam Torrance: 71-69-70-74

Mark Brooks: 76-68-69-72

Mark O’Meara: 72-73-68-72

John Cook: 70-71-71-73

Stewart Cink: 69-73-70-73

Nick Faldo: 72-71-72-70

David Berganio: 69-72-72-72

286 (+6)--$23,806

Woody Austin: 67-72-72-75

Peter Jacobsen: 71-74-70-71

Billy Andrade: 72-69-72-73

Brad Bryant: 73-71-74-68

287 (+7)--$17,809

Curtis Strange: 74-73-71-69

Peter Jordan: 71-74-72-70

Jack Nicklaus: 72-74-69-72

John Daly: 72-69-73-73

Payne Stewart: 67-71-76-73

288 (+8)--$14,070

Sean Murphy: 71-75-68-74

Anders Forsbrand: 74-71-71-72

Mike Swartz: 72-72-74-70

Brett Ogle: 70-75-72-71

Tom Purtzer: 76-71-71-70

Billy Mayfair: 72-71-74-71

Michael Campbell: 70-73-73-72

Steve Gotsche: 72-70-74-72

289 (+9)--$9,918

Steve Elkington: 72-70-74-73

Wayne Riley: 73-69-74-73

Tommy Tolles: 77-68-71-73

Scott Simpson: 70-71-76-72

Bob Ford: 69-77-72-71

Lucas Parsons: 75-71-73-70

J.L. Lewis: 76-69-73-71

Corey Pavin: 73-70-72-74

Kirk Triplett: 70-73-72-74

Loren Roberts: 72-73-69-75

290 (+10)--$6,619

Justin Leonard: 71-76-67-76

Michael Bradley: 71-74-71-74

Kelly Gibson: 71-73-71-75

Kenny Perry: 73-71-75-71

Bob Gilder: 73-72-75-70

Wayne Westner: 72-75-74-69

Jeff Sluman: 70-74-74-72

Joey Gullion: 73-72-73-72

Hale Irwin: 72-71-73-74

Alexander Cejka: 74-70-72-74

291 (+11)--$5,825

Dennis Harrington: 75-71-71-74

Bill Murchison: 76-68-74-73

Steve Stricker: 74-71-75-71

Bill Porter: 73-75-72-71

Steve Lowery: 73-74-73-71

David Gilford: 74-69-74-74

291 (+11)

a-Randy Leen: 77-71-70-73

292 (+12)--$5,645

Peter O’Malley: 75-73-70-74

Frank Lickliter II: 75-71-73-73

Jumbo Ozaki: 69-72-77-74

Andrew Morse: 76-72-74-70

David Duval: 75-72-75-70

Paul Azinger: 69-74-78-71

Costantino Rocca: 71-74-73-74

Bob Tway: 72-75-68-77

Wayne Grady: 71-75-72-74

David Ogrin: 72-74-72-74

Curt Byrum: 70-76-71-75

Jim Gallagher Jr.: 71-72-73-76

293 (+13)--$5,505

Ian Woosnam: 72-72-74-75

Michael Christie: 72-75-72-74

293 (+13)

a-Trip Kuehne: 79-69-73-72

294 (+14)--$5,415

John Huston: 73-72-76-73

Tom Kite: 76-71-72-75

Brad Faxon: 70-72-76-76

Neal Lancaster: 74-67-74-79

Scott McCarron: 72-72-75-75

Kent Jones: 71-74-76-73

Skip Kendall: 77-71-73-73

294 (+14)

a-Tiger Woods: 76-69-77-72

295 (+15)--$5,305

Jay Haas: 73-72-74-76

Jack O’Keefe: 72-71-76-76

Craig Parry: 70-76-75-74

Javier Sanchez: 71-76-74-74

296 (+16)--$5,235

Anthony Rodriguez: 71-77-76-72

Tom Pernice Jr.: 74-72-74-76

Phil Mickelson: 76-71-73-76

297 (+17)--$5,165

Jim Thorpe: 75-71-78-73

Philip Walton: 69-73-78-77

Blaine McCallister: 71-75-76-75

Jeff Maggert: 75-69-81-72

298 (+18)--$5,105

Omar Uresti: 76-72-74-76

Olin Browne: 73-70-76-79

299 (+19)--$5,075

Gary Trivisonno: 69-75-78-77

300 (+20)--$5,055

Mark Wiebe: 74-74-75-77

301 (+21)--$5,035

Rich Yokota: 79-67-76-79

301 (+21)

a-Steve Scott: 71-73-81-76

302 (+22)--$5,015

Mike Burke Jr.: 78-70-77-77

309 (+29)--$5,000

Shawn Kelly: 73-75-79-82

a-Amateur