I am so EXCITED for the 2010 US Open Final round tomorrow.  The course has been tough but fair and the players who are on top of their games are right their in the mix.  Looking at the leader board they’re some great stories and I will break down each players story in the top 3 and tell you what they have to do tomorrow to be successful.

Leader – Dustin Johnson -6

Dustin is the longest hitter on tour and is on top of his iron game as well as his putting.  He got of to a fast start today shoting a 3 under 32 on the front nine.  He is 3 shots clear of 2nd and 5 shots clear of Tiger who is at -1.  Playing with this lead at a US Open can be tough as you can lose a lead in a hurry if your lose concentration for a slight moment.

Dusting has to come out of the gate early and play fairly aggressive and try to make a few birdies to extend his lead.  If he extends his lead early to 5 or 6 it will force the other players to push the envelope and gamble.  Doing so could result in big numbers and drop shots which would only further extend his lead.  He has to be smart about when to play aggressive and which  areas are the best places to miss.

If Dustin wins this will really be great for the game as I think he has all the tools to contend and win more majors.  Unlike John Daly, Dustin capitalizes on his distance with a a killer wedge game and a deadly putter.  Ok, too much talk about killing and deadly but you get the point!

2nd Place – Graeme McDowell

No European player has won the US Open since 1969 when Tony Jacklin did it.  That is a long time and the names of Euros over the years who failed to win this event is impressive.  Could McDowell of Northern Ireland do so?  Absolutely but he needs to play solid to do so.  He has to shot 71 or better and hope the Johnson is unable to deal with the pressure.  His best chance of shooting 71 or better is to play within himself and simply play the golf course.  He’ll need to relax and be calm all day which is what he did all day today.

If he can stay around par for most of the round and take advantage of a few key birdie holes down the stretch, he will be there late on the back 9.  He doesn’t need to play aggressive by any means unless Johnson roars out of the gates. Trailing by 3 shots with 3 holes to play is nothing so he has to realize that he doesn’t need to press early on.

3rd Place – Tiger Woods

If you were to tell me coming into this week that Tiger would be in contention heading into the final round I would have hugely disagreed with you.  Tigers swing and mental game wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be heading into this week and even to today’s round.  Somehow someway he mustard up some good swings and magical putts on the back 9 for a 5 under par 66 and is right there.  The thing that I was more impressed with was that Johnson and McDowell did not back down and falter after seeing Tiger post a good number.

For Tiger to win tomorrow he will have to back up his round today with a 68 or better which can be hard to do in a US Open.  He will need to focus on his swing tempo and not swinging to hard.  Of course he will have to make some putts on Pebble’s treacherous greens that he early in the week called “awful”.

If Tiger wins it’ll will go down as one of the most impressive victories on the game given the past 8 months of his life.

None the less it shall be a great Fathers Day Sunday at Pebble and I want to wish all the Dads out there a happy Fathers Day.  To my father Lloyd, thank you so much for everything you did for me