Nick Dougherty had his fair share of memorable moments
during his golfing career, but none more so than when he led
the US Open at Oakmont in 2007.
Not only that, he went on to play alongside Tiger Woods in the third round.
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Dougherty played the third round alongside Tiger Woods before a tied-7th finish at Oakmont in 2007
Dougherty, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour and now
the face of Sky Sports’ major golf coverage, held the overnight
lead after the first round, firing a two-under round of 68 while Angel
Cabrera was one behind.
Those two were the only players in the field to
break par on a torrid Thursday.
Although Dougherty went on to finish in a tie for seventh, five
strokes behind champion Cabrera, the Bootle-born star looks
back on his best major performance with great fondness, with
the highlight being a front-row seat to watch Tiger Woods at his
peak in the third round.
“It was a great week for me obviously,” he said in an exclusive
interview with talkSPORT.com.
“There were a lot of firsts for me that week and some pretty awesome experiences.
“In my career, it’s one of my favourite memories and the day I played with Tiger Woods is probably my favourite golfing day of my career.”
Dougherty was surprised to recently learn that his first-round
efforts did not go down well with the Oakmont membership,
who demanded the toughest of tests for the elite field.
“I listened to a Fried Egg Golf podcast and they were talking
about Oakmont in ’07.
Apparently, there was uproar among the members on the first day over the scoring, even though only two of us broke par.
“There was something like 45 complaints from members. They
are known for complaining when it’s not hard enough, and they
want the greens ridiculously fast and way beyond ‘normal’
speed.
“There was a reaction from the USGA on the second day. They
purposely firmed it up and it was very noticeable. I actually got
off to a great start and I birdied the 13 th – my fourth hole of the
day – to get three under, and I was the only player in the field
under par.
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Dougherty led the way after the first round of the 2007 U.S Open at Oakmont
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The brutal church pew bunches are sure to catch many out
“But then the shots started to go. I made mistakes that weren’t
terrible, and at most other venues I’d have had a fair chance to
save most times, but mistakes at Oakmont get punished. I shot
seven over, and and know it sounds like a ridiculous thing to
say, but I really didn’t play badly!”
The ’reward’ for shooting 77 was a third-round date alongside
Tiger Woods, a 12-time major champion at the time, and
Dougherty relished the chance to lock horns with one of the
greatest sportsmen in history.
“Tiger was great, he was really good to play with and actually
quite chatty,” added Dougherty.
“He called me ‘mate’ all the way round, which was a nice thing because Americans don’t say ‘mate’.
“Of course, it was intimidating playing with Tiger because he’s
the best player, for me, that’s ever played the game.
“It was the third round of the US Open, and I’m in contention on a really hard golf course, so there were a lot of things to be fearful of, but Tiger was a pleasure to play with. And, as a competitor, he was playing a different sport to me!
PGA star Shane Lowry reveals he once walked off Oakmont golf course after only 5 holes
“Of all the guys that I’ve played with, and I’ve played with most
of the greats, Tiger was the one that I watched and thought ‘I
don’t recognise that’! I always thought I could hang with anyone
I played with, but watching Tiger play Oakmont, it was tough to
fathom how he was making it look so easy.
“He missed one fairway, one green, shot 69 and made it look
ridiculously simple. I was actually level par after 14 holes, so I
was still in the tournament and keeping up with Tiger. I dared to
think about beating him, but I made the mistake of playing him
instead of the course.
“I dropped four shots over the last four holes, and I ended up
finishing five shots behind Cabrera. That finish to my third
round cost me the chance to contend down the stretch, but
finishing seventh was still a great result for me.”
Even the most established Tour pros struggled to control their
nerves when paired with Woods, regardless of the tournament
and the course, but Dougherty insists he did not suffer any first
tee nerves.
On the tee…..
Notable 1st and 2nd round tee times
7.29am, 1.14pm – Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau
7.40am, 1.25pm – Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy
1.14pm, 7.29am – Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson
1.25pm, 7.40am – Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
“I was more excited than nervous, to be honest.
“I was playing the best golf of my career in 2007, I was oozing confidence, and my feelings on the first tee at Oakmont were anticipation and excitement.
I’m sure I was trembling with Tiger looking on, but it wasn’t through fear.
“It was just the buzz of everything you play the game for as a kid. I’m out there with Tiger Woods, playing in front of immense galleries amid an incredible atmosphere on a Saturday afternoon at the US Open.
“If that doesn’t give you a buzz, nothing will.”
