Hole of the day
No. 18 484 YARDS PAR 4
Played as the toughest hole on the course yesterday and there's a reason why it's tough to catch someone by needing a birdie on 18 at Oakmont during the U.S. Open.

It's a picturesque closing hole, with a nice walk up the fairway to the green and white Oakmont clubhouse, but the hole is a nightmare for golfers. Let's look at the top three in the final standings of the Open to see how tough this par-4, 484-yard hole truly is.

For the week, this trio played the hole at a collective 3 over, with Tiger Woods being 2 over on 18 for the week. The fact that he needed to birdie 18 to tie Angel Cabrera and force a playoff isn't a lot of comfort even to the best player in the world.

The stroke average yesterday at the closing hole was 4.603 and it surrendered only five birdies all day. Players reached the green in regulation just 52.9 percent of the time and the putting average at 18 was 1.87, the highest on the course yesterday. By placing the pin on a slight mound and back right, the approach needed to be just left of the hole and in the slot that feeds down to the hole.

That didn't happen much at 18 and when you're trying to make a move, most players needed to do it long before the final hole of the day.

Mr. big shot
Angel Cabrera, Hole No. 15, 9-iron
It has to be from our Open champion, Angel Cabrera, who birdied the huge (500 yards) par-4 15th hole yesterday. After a booming drive down the right side, Cabrera took out a 9-iron and from 160 yards he promptly deposited his shot 3 feet from the hole, making birdie and putting him at 3 over for the tournament. As it turns out, he needed that birdie because bogeys at 16 and 17 put him back to 5 over, where he finished a stroke ahead of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk.

Hey, I've done that
Aaron Baddeley, Hole No. 1
Sometimes it doesn't pay to get out of bed, even when you're leading the U.S. Open. Aaron Baddeley, he of the two-shot lead and 2-over 212 through three rounds of the tournament, started off in about as bad a way as possible. There he is on the world stage, playing with Tiger Woods when he blasts his drive into the harsh rough. From there he plays out to down near the par-4, 482-yard hole. He chips off the green, chips on to the green and then promptly three-putts. Triple-bogey and he never is really in the tournament after that. We can all relate to those first-hole jitters (or hangovers) when it comes to playing a bad round.

Statistic of the day
The USGA moved up many of the par 4s in the hopes the players would shoot for the greens and thus be rewarded with birdies or a possible eagle, or be put in "jail" for firing it through the green and into the rough and bunkers surrounding those holes. There is no more intriguing hole than the par-4 17th, which played at 306 yards yesterday. So how did it do with that moved up tee box?

14th toughest hole on the course

4.095 average

61.9 greens in regulation, the fourth easiest on the course

1.71 putts, tied for seventh toughest on the course

And here's the kicker: 13 birdies and 17 bogeys. Nary an eagle to be found.

Among the top finishes: Woods got his par there with a 5-foot putt to save it. Cabrera and Furyk bogeyed the hole.