SB Nation St. Louis - 2012 U.S. Open Golf Results: Webb Simpson Wins His First Major In Comeback Victory

2012 U.S. Open Golf Purse: Webb Simpson An Even Wealthier Man After Win

2012-06-20T12:00:52Z

The 2012 U.S. Open is (obviously) open to amateurs, but that's not to say the professional golfers are in it strictly to uphold the Olympic ideals—the purse for the finishers is planty big, and it's served to make surprise winner Webb Simpson an even wealthier man than he was last year, when he nearly topped the PGA's money list. Simpson gets $1.4 million out of an $8 million purse for his U.S. Open victory—and some endorsement deals, I'd imagine, besides. Michael Thompson and Graeme McDowell, the unlucky second-place finishers, only have $695,916 with which to salve their wounds.

Tiger Woods earns $86,348 for his 21st-place finish, while St. Louis native Scott Langley will take home $53,168, which probably sits a little heavier in his bank account than it would the other guys I just mentioned. The complete money list is available over at ESPN, but here are the top 10 (or so) finishers, for convenience's sake:

1. Webb Simpson—$1,440,000
2. Michael Thompson, Graeme McDowell—$695,916
4. Padraig Harrington, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, David Toms, John Peterson—$276,841
9. Ernie Els—$200,280
10. Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood, John Senden, Casey Wittenberg, Kevin Chappell—$163594

U.S. Open 2012 Golf: Webb Simpson Means Ratings Spike For NBC, Makes Up For Belmont Stakes

2012-06-19T21:13:56Z

I'll Have Another's exit from the Belmont Stakes was bad news for NBC earlier this month, but Webb Simpson proved to be exactly the antidote the slumping network needed for its sports coverage—ratings for the 2012 U.S. Open were up significantly from last year, according to a report from Bloomberg News, and Webb Simpson's strong performance down the stretch probably had a lot to do with it.

Simpson probably wasn't quite the draw a Tiger Woods resurgence would have been, but after Tiger's disappointing finish over the weekend, he was the next best thing—neither an established name nor a total unknown, an up-and-comer who could become more famous and more bankable as the years go on. Simpson's big 2011 season meant he had all the golf-star bona fides except a major; now that he has that you can bet that he'll have a ton of TV time devoted to him over the next several majors.

For more on the U.S. Open champion and the rest of the action on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's dedicated golf hub, where Webb Simpson's strong performance was no surprise at all.

2012 U.S. Open Golf Results: On Strange Leaderboard, Scott Langley Finishes Strong

2012-06-18T16:07:02Z

The 2012 U.S. Open leaderboard looks only a little like we thought it would going into last Thursday's opening round—Tiger Woods fell off after a strong start, and Jim Furyk, atop the leaderboard as the last round began, couldn't quite stave off winner Webb Simpson's strong finish. And after a first round that made him a longshot to make the cut, St. Louis native Scott Langley finished on the leaderboard, tied for 29th at three over. Strong second and third rounds helped him to his best finish of the PGA season—and a $53,168 prize, which can't hurt, either.

Langley made his name as an amateur at the 2010 U.S. Open, when he finished tied for 16th (and low amateur status) thanks to a Round 2 69. Langley, 23, was born in Manchester, Missouri and played golf as a collegian at the University of Illinois.

For a complete look at the leaderboard, check out USOpen.com's detailed recap. For more on Scott Langley and the rest of the Missouri sports landscape, stay tuned to us here at SB Nation St. Louis. But only if you want to. I mean, there's nothing keeping you here.

2012 U.S. Open Golf Prize Money: Webb Simpson's Victory Worth $1.4 Million

2012-06-18T14:31:14Z

What's a U.S. Open victory worth? Well, for Webb Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open winner, the answer is $1,440,00. That was Simpson's slice of the $8 million purse, which he earned by finishing one-over par and one shot ahead of second place finishers Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson. Those two took home $695,916 each after shooting two-over for the tournament.

There were five fourth place finishers— including Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk and David Toms— all of whom took home $276,841 for finishing three-over. Ernie Els shot a 72 on Sunday, dropping him to four-over and ninth overall, where he took home a check for $200,280. The five tenth place finishers— a group that includes Retief Goosen and Lee Westwood— left San Francisco with $163,594.

For a full list of prize winnings, click here.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open Golf 2012 Leaderboard: Webb Simpson Tops Jim Furyk After Tiger Woods Falters

2012-06-18T13:59:17Z

After Tiger Woods fell apart in round three the top of the 2012 U.S. Open leaderboard was Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell's for the taking, but neither of them could quite fill the power vacuum—a great weekend by Webb Simpson was enough to leave him just over par for the tournament, and being just over par was enough to give the 26-year-old his first career major victory. It's a push into the spotlight for a golfer who already made himself known among golf fans by finishing near the top of the money list in a breakout 2011 season.

The win makes him one of the main competitors for golf's overall power and publicity vacuum; the $1.5 million prize leaves Simpson fifth in the World Golf Rankings, up from No. 14. With the major tournaments spread so widely—15 in a row have been won by different golfers—nobody's yet been able to consolidate their post-Tiger-Woods power. Maybe Simpson, who was impressively consistent in 2011, will be the one to do it.

For more news and analysis, check out the SB Nation Golf Hub, where they knew about Webb Simpson much earlier than I did, for one.

U.S. Open Golf 2012 Results: Webb Simpson Tops Furyk, McDowell On Leaderboard In Final Upset

2012-06-18T02:32:31Z

After Tiger Woods fell apart it looked like Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell would battle alone at the top of the 2012 U.S. Open leaderboard—but the results are in, and Webb Simpson is the surprise champion, a 26-year-old who finished 14th at the Open last year in his breakout 2011 season. The major victory—his first—establishes him for good as a real force on the PGA Tour, a year after he made over $6 million with 12 top 10 finishes. Furyk and McDowell narrowly missed forcing a playoff, with Furyk falling down the leaderboard on his last few holes; Michael Thompson, with a 66 and a 67 flanking second and third rounds of 75 and 74, pulled in at second place.

Simpson started the tournament back in the pack, shooting 72 and 73 over the first two rounds, but his weekend was outstanding—he shot 68 in both rounds, leaping up seven spots on the last day. St. Louis native Scott Langley finished tied for 29th at +9, after shooting a 73 on Sunday.

For a complete look at the leaderboard, check out USOpen.com.

US Open 2012 Leaderboard: Furyk Holds Lead Early In Final Round

2012-06-17T23:04:48Z

While Tiger Woods has continued to slump down the leaderboard following his tough finish to the third round, there is still a strong group of golfers in contention at the 2012 US Open at The Olympic Club.

Jim Furyk, who began the round as a co-leader with Graeme McDowell, is now solely in the lead through three holes. Furyk has shot even par and remains at -1. McDowell had an early bogey and now sits a stroke behind Furyk. Furyk maintains a three shot lead over Lee Westwood and Fredrik Jacobson, who are tied at +2.

A group of seven golfers sit at +3 and +4, including Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. Woods, who was in contention heading into the weekend, has slumped to +9, while Phil Mickelson finished the tournament at +16.

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.

U.S. Open 2012: Live Updates, TV Schedule, Watch Online And More

2012-06-17T15:11:20Z

Tiger Woods will always be the top story at every major tournament, but 2012 U.S. Open leader Jim Furyk is probably enjoying the relative anonymity. Furyk entered Saturday's third round tied atop the leaderboard with Woods and David Toms, and with everyone's attention firmly on Tiger's quest to win his first major since 2008, Woods shot +5 and fell to 14th, while Furyk shot even and maintained a tie for first.

He shares that lead with Graeme McDowell, who shot two-under on Saturday to tie Furyk. The two of them hold a two shot lead over Fredrik Jacobson, who shot two-under as well on Saturday to lower his overall score to +1.

Date/time: Sunday, June 17, 11:20 p.m. CT

Location: Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif.

TV: NBC (coverage begins at 3 p.m. CT)

Streaming: USOpen.com

For all your news and updates in the run up to the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub. Be sure to head over to USOpen.com for even more coverage from the event.