In a unique experiment which saw the U.S. Women's Open contested over the very same golf course only four days later, the United States Open returned to the No.2 Course at Pinehurst in 2014 - but to rather a different layout than that which had previously hosted the Open in 1999 and 2005.  This was because of a significant restoration/renovation performed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, a major undertaking that included the rebuilding of greens and bunkers, and the replacement (with native sand and wire grass) of the rough which had usurped Donald Ross' splendid sand-strewn playing corridors over the decades.  The result was a striking layout which, it could be boasted, utilizes nearly 75% less water than before - a wonderful environmental advancement certainly, but really only a drop in the bucket relative to so many extra acres of maintained turf required of most championship courses due the USGA's failure to regulate modern equipment.  Especially in its enhanced state, Pinehurst's 7,562-yard, par-70 layout would prove rather a different sort of Open site, with its wide fairways (and lack of punishing rough) enouraging more aggressive driving, and the often steep pitch of its greens mandating a somewhat more lenient setup in terms of speed and firmness.  In theory, it was a golf course that might produce a wider-than-usual array of contenders.  But in the event, it was strictly a one man show.  Martin Kaymer took control of this U.S. Open on Thursday when, after watching some lower-than-expected scoring on television in the morning, he methodically took Pinehurst apart in the afternoon with a stunning round of five-under-par 65.  He opened with a birdie at the 402-yard 1st and, save for a bogey at the 424-yard 7th, never looked back, eventually playing Pinehurst’s vaunted final five holes in three-under par, logging birdies at the 473-yard 14th, the 528-yard par-4 16th and the 202-yard par-3 7th.  And it would be this late run which gained him separation from the field as his lead was three strokes over 2010 Open winner Graeme McDowell, Brendon de Jonge, the recently hot Kevin Na and 49-year-old journeyman Fran Quinn, whose last U.S. Open start came way back in 1996.  In broadcaster parlance Saturday is “moving day,” but it was on Friday that Kaymer simply left the rest of the field behind, posting a second consecutive 65 (this time bogey-free) to set a new 36-hole Open scoring record and, more importantly, extend his lead to an imposing six shots.  This margin itself tied a record (set by Tiger Woods in 2000 and Rory McIlroy in 2011) and in the process Kaymer became only the sixth player in the event’s 114 playings ever to reach double digits under par.  Though scoring was not dramatically low overall, Kaymer’s barrage may have inspired the USGA to toughen things up on Saturday, with two-time Open winner Retief Goosen (who shot 71) suggesting that “Some of the pins look like they’re about to fall off the greens.”  And on a day when scores did indeed climb, Kaymer suffered through several semi-anxious early moments, bogeying the long 2nd before having to take an unplayable lie off a wayward drive at the long par-4 4th, then ultimately holing a clutch 15-footer for bogey.  But if so one-sided an event could have anything resembling a turning point, Kaymer provided it at the par-5 5th when, after driving into a native area, he laced a 7 iron inside six feet, then converted the putt for an eagle to regain both of his lost strokes.  Three more bogeys would follow but with his lead trimmed to four, Kaymer recorded a clutch birdie at the 451-yard 18th, thus ending the day with his cushion relatively intact at five strokes.  Putting to rest any chance for a Sunday collaspse, Kaymer's closing 69 was the sole sub-70 round turned in by anyone in the final eight pairings.  And while nobody ever moved closer than four strokes throughout the day, there were, at least a few moments of semi-suspense in the latter stages of the front nine.  This came about when Kaymer, who had already birdied the driveable par-4 3rd, made bogey after driving into the native sand at the 7th, then lay shy of the green at the 502-yard par-4 8th after again missing the fairway off the tee.  With Compton at that moment sitting on four under par, the potential for the lead to dwindle to three was apparent.  But Kaymer got it up-and-down at the 8th, Compton bogeyed the 9th, and Kaymer promptly birdied the 9th by stuffing an eight iron to within four feet, pushing the lead back to five and, for all intents and purposes, slamming the door.  His stroll home was an easy one and when he holed a 15-footer for par at the last, Kaymer emerged as both the first German and the first continental European ever to claim the American championship.  He also became only the seventh wire-to-wire winner in the Open’s history and joined Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Seve Ballesteros and Ernie Els as the only players to win two Major championships before their 30th birthday since the onset of the Official World Ranking in 1986.  As Rickie Fowler so succinctly put it: “Martin was playing his own tournament.”  And so he was.