Martin Kaymer lapped the field at Pinehurst, building a big lead on Thursday and Friday, and then maintained that lead on the weekend to win the U.S. Open.  In case you missed the final round, here are some highlights.

Kaymer’s win helped him climb the Power Rankings from 28th to 8th (or now the third highest ranked male golfer behind Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott).

It will be interested to see how the women fair on Pinehurst this week, and also to see what differences the USGA makes in the course setup.

This week has some good news for the corporate golf world in that Tiger has been spotted hitting full shots. The hope is he might be ready to play competitively by the British Open at Royal Liverpool. If Tiger manages that timetable, expect The Open to have incredible television ratings (as opposed to the record low ratings that the U.S. Open just attained).

As for my own game, I was back at Puslinch Lakes GC again this past Saturday.  We teed off at 7am and were finished before 10am, which is the way golf should be played. We were so quick we had time to make it to a diner 45 minutes from the golf course in time to still get the “Early Bird” breakfast special.

I managed to make it around the course without missing a single shot right (although I did have a couple of big hooks off the tee).  The key was driving my weight shift off the inside of my right foot, thus keeping me from throwing my right hip toward the ball, and allowing me to swing from the inside of the target line more easily.

So I hit the ball pretty well, but my putting was terrible.  I had 39 putts, which is unacceptable. My lag putting was the main culprit and I just never felt comfortable with the pace of the greens.

Enjoy the U.S. Women’s Open this weekend and hit ’em straight.