[Letitroll98]

Another factor was that Rose can hit a 2 iron or 3 wood much farther than some other players in the lead, thus could get away with taking less club out of the bag.

[jsaliga]

Jason Day is a bigger hitter than Justin Rose with pretty much any club in the bag.  Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan are not. 

But driving distance is much less important at the U.S. Open than driving accuracy.  Both Corey Pavin and Tom Kite proved that, and neither of them were big hitters.  It is extremely difficult to put the ball on the green if you can't put it on the short grass off the tee at a U.S. Open, and it is almost impossible to get it close from the deep stuff.  Justin Rose is ranked 7th in driving accuracy and 6th in greens in regulation this year through the U.S. Open.  His game tee to green has always been strong.  It is the flat stick that has been his Achilles heel.  He is currently ranked 137th in putts per round and if he played to that statistic this past weekend he would not have won the U.S. Open.  He elevated his putting game and made wise course management decisions that gave him excellent opportunities to make par (and pars are what wins the U.S. Open...not birdies).  Drive for show and putt for dough.

--Jerome

[BobM]

Thinking like the "common man golfer", hitting fairways is at best a 50-50 proposition on our weekend outings. We get lots of practice hitting out of the rough, and yes it is harder to get on the green from the rough. Hell, it's hard enough to get close to the green from anywhere.

For a pro, they are looking to land in a particular spot so the ball gets close to the hole. If they can get in that 10-15 foot range they stand a good chance of one putting. From 10-15 feet we are more often looking at a 2 putt. Hell, I'll take 10-15 feet from the hole every time. I'm usually looking at 40 feet, or a chip to 15 feet then putting.

And their greens are far faster and harder to hold than anything we play on a public course. Accuracy for them is everything. Getting lucky, for us, is everything.  So it's a no brainer that someone with great tee to fairway and greens hit in regulation stats would win a tournament. The US Open demands this more than anything else.