Graeme Mcdowell

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Graeme McDowell beat Webb Simpson in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage on Sunday. McDowell was 4 shots behind at Harbour Town when the final round started, but he rallied with a 69. His only bogey of the day was on the 72d hole, forcing a playoff. McDowell's approach shot on the extra hole landed about 15 feet away; he two-putted for par. Simpson missed a 10-footer for par.   European Tour VALENCIA, Spain - Raphael Jacquelin made a five-foot birdie putt to win a Spanish Open playoff over Maximilian Kieffer on their ninth try at the 18th hole at Parador de El Saler.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Golf's superstars couldn't handle the final round of the U.S. Open and the menacing greens that lurked throughout the Pebble Beach Golf Links. The power-hitting young leader also was no match for the Sunday pressure. So it was Graeme McDowell, a late-blooming, ninth-year pro from Northern Ireland, who handled his nerves throughout four hours of constant stress by the sea and became the first European since 1970 to win the U.S. Open. McDowell, 30, hit some stray shots on the back nine but held on and carded a 3-over-par 74, good for a 72-hole score of even-par 284 and a 1-stroke victory.

WHAT DO Johnny Miller, Roger Maltbie, Peter Jacobsen and Gary Koch have in common? Yes, all four are golf analysts for NBC Sports, but they also played Merion the last time the East Course hosted the U.S. Open in 1981. Few know the Ghosts of Merion better. Miller tied for 23rd, Jacobsen tied for 37th, Maltbie tied for 41st, and Koch missed the cut. With their unique insight into today's tour and their first-hand knowledge of golf's course-of-yesteryear, each has a favorite or two to capture the trophy on Sunday.

An interesting feature of this U.S. Open: The driving range is on another golf course. The range is over on Merion's West Course, just over a mile away, which means golfers have to shuttle over to their starting tees, No. 1 and 11 on Thursday and Friday. (No. 11 is much closer to the clubhouse than 10, causing that funky arrangement.) "I don't think I've ever played in a tournament where before the tournament starts they're already saying guys will miss tee times," Graeme McDowell said.

Jim Furyk looked forward to playing in the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, near his hometown of Lancaster, but finished up an abbreviated trip Friday with the worst 36-hole score he had ever carded in an Open. Furyk, who was born in West Chester, shot a second-round 79 to finish two unproductive days at 156, 16 over par, and missed the 36-hole cut by at least 8 strokes. "To come back here is a bummer," he said. "I played well across the state at Oakmont [in the Open]. Later in my career, at 43, there's not going to be another tournament her at Merion through my career.

What: 38th Ryder Cup matches When: Today through Sunday Where: The Twenty Ten Course at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, is the first golf course designed specifically for the Ryder Cup. The course combines nine new holes created by European Golf Design and nine renovated holes from the Wentwood Hills course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Water comes into play on half of the holes. It plays 7,378 yards at par 71. Format: Four matches of fourballs (better ball)

Switzerland's Roger Federer reached his 100th career final by beating David Ferrer , 7-5, 6-3, Saturday in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London. The win put Federer in position to win his 70th title overall and a record sixth at the season-ending tournament for the world's top eight players. On Sunday he will play France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , who beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-5, in the other semifinal. Ferrer's victory over Ferrer sent him past Andy Murray to No. 3 in the year-end rankings, trailing No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal . GOLF: Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell shot an 8-under 64 in better-ball play to give Ireland a 2-stroke lead in the World Cup. McIlroy and Graeme McDowell had a 21-under 195 total on Mission Hills' Blackstone Course in Hainan, China.

NEW ORLEANS - Vijay Singh made a 25-foot birdie on the 18th hole yesterday to win the rain-delayed HP Classic, denying Masters champion Phil Mickelson his second straight victory and Joe Ogilvie his first title. Singh overcame a 6-shot deficit on the last eight holes at English Turn Golf and Country Club, using an eagle on No. 15 to shoot 29 on the back nine for a round of 63. Singh finished at 266 and became the first three-time winner on the tour this season. He also won the Houston Open and the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

DUBLIN, Ohio - Steve Stricker holed out from the fairway for one of his two eagles Saturday, then wound up with a 3-under 69 on a steamy afternoon at Muirfield Village and finished with a 3-shot lead in the Memorial. But right when it looked as though Stricker might leave everyone in his wake, he missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole that threw his round into reverse. He is 12-under 204, 3 shots clear of Jonathan Byrd.   European Tour NEWPORT, Wales - Alexander Noren kept his lead at the Wales Open after defending champion Graeme McDowell slumped to 11 strokes off the pace following a stunning collapse at Celtic Manor.

Jim Furyk looked forward to playing in the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, near his hometown of Lancaster, but finished up an abbreviated trip Friday with the worst 36-hole score he had ever carded in an Open. Furyk, who was born in West Chester, shot a second-round 79 to finish two unproductive days at 156, 16 over par, and missed the 36-hole cut by at least 8 strokes. "To come back here is a bummer," he said. "I played well across the state at Oakmont [in the Open]. Later in my career, at 43, there's not going to be another tournament her at Merion through my career.

An interesting feature of this U.S. Open: The driving range is on another golf course. The range is over on Merion's West Course, just over a mile away, which means golfers have to shuttle over to their starting tees, No. 1 and 11 on Thursday and Friday. (No. 11 is much closer to the clubhouse than 10, causing that funky arrangement.) "I don't think I've ever played in a tournament where before the tournament starts they're already saying guys will miss tee times," Graeme McDowell said.

The Daily News covers the Open: Check out PhillyDailyNews.com's U.S. Open page for our coverage of the tournament in Merion .   ZIGZAGGING his way through Ardmore's tony neighborhood streets on the way to the Merion practice range, Graeme McDowell thought of home. Like Merion, his home course of Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland is rated as one of the best in the world. Like Merion, Royal Portrush has hosted a major - the 1951 Open Championship, the only British Open in the 145-year history of the tournament to be held off the main island of Great Britian - but the game's governing body has been reluctant to return.

WHAT DO Johnny Miller, Roger Maltbie, Peter Jacobsen and Gary Koch have in common? Yes, all four are golf analysts for NBC Sports, but they also played Merion the last time the East Course hosted the U.S. Open in 1981. Few know the Ghosts of Merion better. Miller tied for 23rd, Jacobsen tied for 37th, Maltbie tied for 41st, and Koch missed the cut. With their unique insight into today's tour and their first-hand knowledge of golf's course-of-yesteryear, each has a favorite or two to capture the trophy on Sunday.

One in a series of articles getting you ready for the U.S. Open at Merion, June 13-16.     SO, 2010 U.S. OPEN champion Graeme McDowell, what did you know about Ardmore's Merion Golf Club before you played it last year? "[Ben] Hogan, 1 iron," he said, with a sheepish smile. "That's it. " He's likely not alone. The Open hasn't been back to Merion - which has hosted more USGA events (18) than any other venue, most recently the 2009 Walker Cup - in 32 years. That means there's an entire generation of players and fans who really don't know much about the course that was ranked sixth (up one spot)

FOR ALL THE big moments in Graeme McDowell's career, his resume was short on PGA Tour victories. McDowell relished what he called his first authentic tour win, defeating fellow U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson in a playoff at the RBC Heritage on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, S.C. McDowell has been at the center of some of golf's biggest moments, from his rousing triumph at Pebble Beach in 2010 to capturing the winning point for Europe in that year's...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Graeme McDowell beat Webb Simpson in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage on Sunday. McDowell was 4 shots behind at Harbour Town when the final round started, but he rallied with a 69. His only bogey of the day was on the 72d hole, forcing a playoff. McDowell's approach shot on the extra hole landed about 15 feet away; he two-putted for par. Simpson missed a 10-footer for par.   European Tour VALENCIA, Spain - Raphael Jacquelin made a five-foot birdie putt to win a Spanish Open playoff over Maximilian Kieffer on their ninth try at the 18th hole at Parador de El Saler.

DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods is hitting his stride on a march to the Masters. Woods had full control of his game Sunday and never let anyone get closer than 3 shots until he had locked up his 17th World Golf Championship title. He closed with a 1-under-par 71 to win the Cadillac Championship. Woods won by 2 shots over Steve Stricker, who could claim a share of this trophy. Before the tournament, Stricker spent 45 minutes on the putting green with Woods, helping him with his posture over putts.

TIGER WOODS is hitting his stride on a march to the Masters. Woods had full control of his game Sunday and never let anyone get closer than three shots until he had locked up his 17th World Golf Championship title. With a conservative bogey that didn't matter on the final hole, he closed with a 1-under 71 to win the Cadillac Championship at Doral, Fla. For the first time in 5 years, Woods has two wins before the Masters. It was 1 year ago at Doral that Woods withdrew after 11 holes in the final round because of tightness in his left Achilles' tendon, creating uncertainty about his health and whether he could ever get his game back.

DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods struggled on the practice range, and he didn't feel much better two holes into his second round Friday at the Cadillac Championship. He would not have guessed this would be the day to set a personal record for birdies, much less wind up with a 2-shot lead. "All I need is one shot," he said. "And as soon as I feel it on one, I can pretty much carry through. And I did that today. " It was a 4-iron on the par-3 fourth hole, the toughest on the Blue Monster.