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The golfing world was nearly turned upside down, we almost drowned in tears of emotion - not the rains - but in the end a PGA Tour journeyman was crowned a major champion.

couldn't quite give us a winner ranked nearly 900 in the world, couldn't quite get over the line - again - at a . Five runner-up finishes for Lefty now, for Duval an utterly unexpected return to golf's top table.

But no one would have predicted as the winner when this elongated week began. Anyone who says they did is surely speaking with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

The 29-year-old from South Carolina was last man standing and to come home on a breezy US Open course in level par was just the sort of golf that wins US Opens.

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There's no questioning now which half of the draw has been favoured by the extraordinary this week.

The greens staff performed a remarkable job to prepare the course for Friday's uninterrupted action and the greens were not as soft and prone to bumpiness as had been expected.

So the guys in the late/early portion of the draw could make hay in close on perfect conditions while Tiger Woods and co could only watch on with a mixture of frustration and deep envy.

They were also preparing themselves for more rain on Saturday which will coincide with their return to action. Perhaps the only consolation for those on the wrong side of the draw is the fact that proved it possible to win from such a position at last year's Open.

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Who would want to be in the spikes of boss David Fay? There's not much he can do about the weather - but it didn't stop disgruntled fans having a go as he filled up his car on the way home from the rain-affected first day at Bethpage.

Spectators who had paid around $100 for tickets were treated to just three-and-a-quarter hours of early morning golf and haven't been holding back in making it known they feel somewhat short-changed.

"I heard it last night when I was pumping gas," Fay admitted. "I must say I'm glad I had a coat on because the comments weren't very positive. And I heard it again this morning at Dunkin' Donuts. But we're trying to come up with a solution that is fair."

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Here's a good idea. Let's get the world's best golfers together but take away pretty much every opportunity they have to demonstrate their ability to control the ball.

In other words take a golf ball, add a lump of mud and ask a player to hit it where they want it to go through the wind and rain. That's what the are doing here at Bethpage, home of the 2009 running of their .

Of course, you can't do anything about the weather - if it's coming in sideways, that's all part of the game. But when the fairways are soft the balls get covered by random amounts of mud.

Thereafter those Titleists, Callaways, Taylor Mades and Srixons might as well be those coloured spheres with numbers that bounce about in boxes on Wednesday and Saturday nights because it becomes a lottery.

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It was impossible to be anything other than impressed with the way dealt with the toughest news conference of his life.

Despite the early hour - it was 8am - it was virtually standing room only in the interview room for Mickelson's appearance ahead of his 19th attempt to win the .

Of course the backdrop to this year's championship is like no other for Lefty as his wife Amy prepares for treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Inevitably these circumstances dictated the line of questioning. Mickelson knew it and treated every enquiry with respect and honesty. He didn't duck a question and didn't lose eye contact with any of his inquisitors. It was the performance of a genuine class act.

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Having a British player third best in the world at tennis seems to have brought on a serious bout of , but a UK a golfer at the same elevated level doesn't appear to have had a similar effect.

Paul Casey isn't overly concerned, though, at any lack of recognition for what he's achieved this year. His victory at the was his third win of 2009 and no player has earned more world ranking points in this period.

While Murray heads to Wimbledon trailing only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the tennis standings, the Arizona based Casey comes into the US Open with only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson above him .

"I'm absolutely fine with what's happening," Casey told me. "I'm not out here looking for recognition. I'm out here to play with the best players in the world week in week out and trying to beat them as often as I can.

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Nick Faldo's knighthood is a long overdue honour for him and the game of golf.

Our golfers often seem to be overlooked when it comes to the honours system, lagging behind the cyclists, yachtsmen and cricketers, who seem to be celebrated far more readily.

Had a modern-day British tennis player ever matched his level of achievement - or even a sixth of it - would they have had to wait so long for a knighthood?

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Do you remember ? It's not often you start a golf blog talking about a fictitious cop, I know, but on this occasion indulge me because I think he's pertinent to the upcoming , New York.

Sipowicz was a no-nonsense lead character in the long-running TV drama NYPD Blue and his blunt straight-talking tell-it-like-it-is style was a wonderfully observed take on New Yorkers.

There's a risk of serious stereotyping here but the inhabitants of this huge metropolis seem to know how it is; they are discerning people and know a fake or phoney when they see one. That was certainly the case with the unsmiling Det. Sipowicz, anyway.

This, in golfing terms, can tell us a lot because there was no more popular figure at Bethpage than the last time the US Open was staged there in 2002 when he was runner-up to Tiger Woods.

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Travelling to and from the on the weekend of the I listened to football fans vigorously debating on Five Live's 606 the merits of using video technology to decide goal line decisions.

Departing Celtic Manor, I'm reflecting on how the use of video evidence in golf can fuel rather than quell controversy.

While Florent Malouda might have scored an FA Cup final goal had there been the chance of a second look, .

John Paramor, probably the most respected official in the game, had been alerted to pictures of Ramsay using his foot on the damp fairway as he was preparing to place his ball on the eighth hole of his late evening third round.

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It's one of those subjects you introduce to a conversation with caution. Mention the workings of and it's a fair bet you'll see eyes starting to glaze over soon after.

But for professional golfers there are few things more important than their standing amongst their peers across the globe. Their world ranking is the key to where they are able to play and it is often the trigger for bonus payments from sponsors.

And according to the world number 180, the system currently used to calculate rankings is causing major problems for the game because it encourages top players to compete in fewer tournaments.

Despite his current lowly standing, still carries plenty of influence in the European game. His is a voice that's always worth listening to - even when the subject is the mathematical ins and outs of the pro game.

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