DeChambeau wins U.S. Open on final hole

Published 7:15 pm Sunday, June 16, 2024

PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open on Sunday for the second time with the best shot of his life for another memorable finish on the 18th hole at Pinehurst No. 2 — and another heavy dose of heartache for Rory McIlroy.

In a wild final hour of more blunders than brilliance, DeChambeau capped off a week of high entertainment by getting up-and-down from 55 yards out of a bunker, making a 4-foot par putt to close with a 1-over 71.

“That’s Payne right there, baby!” DeChambeau screamed as he walked off the 18th green.

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Payne Stewart famously made a 15-foot par putt on the final hole in 1999 at the first U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, beating Phil Mickelson by one shot. DeChambeau says he was inspired to go to SMU when he saw a mural of Stewart on campus.

The par putt wasn’t as long or as dramatic as Stewart’s in 1999. The celebration was every bit of that. DeChambeau repeatedly pumped those strong arms as he screamed to the blue sky, turning in every direction to a gallery that cheered him on all week.

McIlroy was in the scoring room, devastated by another close call in a major.

This one will string. As much as this U.S. Open will be remembered for DeChambeau’s marvelous bunker shot, McIlroy played a big part by shockingly missing two short putts, the last one from just inside 4 feet for par on the final hole. He closed with a 69.

He had the look of a winner for so long on Sunday, running off four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. He was a model of cool, the opposite of DeChambeau’s exuberance.

McIlroy was two shots ahead walking to the 14th tee. The chants grew louder — “Ror-EE! Ror-EE!” and DeChambeau could hear them.

McIlroy took bogey from behind the 15th green, but he stayed one ahead when DeChambeau, playing in the group behind him, had his first three-putt of the week on the 15th when he missed from 4 feet.

And that’s where this U.S. Open took a devasting turn for McIlroy. He missed a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole to fall back into a tie. On the 18th hole, McIlroy’s tee shot landed behind a notorious wiregrass bush. He blasted out short of the green and pitched beautifully to 4 feet.

And he missed again.

McIlroy was watching from the scoring room as DeChambeau escaped from an awful lie left of the fairway — a tree in his back swing, a root in front of the golf ball — and punched it out into the bunker. He expertly blasted a shot from the soft sand that rolled out on the crispy green to set up the winning putt.

“I still can’t believe that up-and-down,” DeChambeau said as he watched a replay from the video screen during the trophy presentation. “Probably the best shot of my life.”

McIlroy spun his tires in the gravel as he left quickly without comment. Since he won the U.S. Open at Congressional in 2011, he has seven top 10s without a victory — it’s been more than 100 years since anyone did that well without going home with the trophy.

DeChambeau becomes the second LIV Golf player to win a major, following Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship last year.

An image of Stewart’s famous pose was on the pin flag at the 18th, and DeChambeau put on a Stewart-inspired flat cap during the trophy presentation, later replacing it with his “Crushers” cap from LIV.

He finished at 6-under 274.

Patrick Cantlay lingered around this duel all afternoon, unable to get the putts to fall at the right time until he missed a 7-foot par putt on the 16th hole that ended his chances. He closed with a 70 and tied for third with Tony Finau, who matched a Sunday best with 67 without ever having a serious chance of winning.

Cantlay would have needed a runner-up finish to get the fourth American spot in the Olympics. That goes to Collin Morikawa. Corey Conners closed with a 70 to move past Adam Hadwin and claim an Olympic spot for Canada.

DeChambeau earned $4.3 million — more than he gets from winning a LIV event — from the record $21.5 million purse.

SundayAt Pinehurst No. 2Pinehurst, N.C.

Purse: $21.5 millionYardage: 7,548; Par: 70

Final Round

Bryson DeChambeau, United States 67-69-67-71—274
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland 65-72-69-69—275
Patrick Cantlay, United States 65-71-70-70—276
Tony Finau, United States 68-69-72-67—276
Matthieu Pavon, France 67-70-69-71—277
Hideki Matsuyama, Japan 72-66-70-70—278
Russell Henley, United States 70-70-72-67—279
Xander Schauffele, United States 70-69-72-68—279
Sam Burns, United States 73-67-73-67—280
Corey Conners, Canada 69-70-71-70—280
Davis Thompson, United States 70-72-70-68—280
Ludvig Aberg, Sweden 66-69-73-73—281
Sergio Garcia, Spain 69-71-71-70—281
Thomas Detry, Belgium 69-67-76-70—282
Collin Morikawa, United States 70-74-66-72—282
Akshay Bhatia, United States 68-71-73-71—283
Tommy Fleetwood, England 70-75-70-68—283
Taylor Pendrith, Canada 71-70-70-72—283
Shane Lowry, Ireland 74-71-70-69—284
Aaron Rai, England 69-74-68-73—284
Daniel Berger, United States 73-70-73-69—285
Max Greyserman, United States 71-74-72-68—285
Brian Harman, United States 71-71-71-72—285
Stephan Jaeger, Germany 70-70-73-72—285
Min Woo Lee, Australia 73-69-72-71—285
Zac Blair, United States 70-69-75-72—286
Tyrrell Hatton, England 68-71-70-77—286
Tom Kim, South Korea 71-68-71-76—286
Chris Kirk, United States 71-71-72-72—286
Brooks Koepka, United States 70-75-71-70—286
Neal Shipley, United States 70-73-71-72—286
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa 72-71-72-72—287
Keegan Bradley, United States 74-70-72-71—287
Si Woo Kim, South Korea 71-72-74-70—287
Denny McCarthy, United States 75-67-72-73—287
J.T. Poston, United States 73-71-71-72—287
Isaiah Salinda, United States 70-72-73-72—287
Adam Scott, Australia 70-72-76-69—287
Cameron Smith, Australia 71-72-72-72—287
Sahith Theegala, United States 77-68-72-70—287
Frankie Capan, United States 71-70-76-71—288
Luke Clanton, United States 76-69-69-74—288
Harris English, United States 70-73-74-71—288
Emiliano Grillo, Argentina 70-72-73-73—288
Billy Horschel, United States 73-67-74-74—288
Tom McKibbin, Northern Ireland 74-71-71-72—288
Scottie Scheffler, United States 71-74-71-72—288
Jordan Spieth, United States 72-71-74-71—288
Tim Widing, Sweden 71-68-76-73—288
Nicolai Hojgaard, Denmark 72-69-74-74—289
Mark Hubbard, United States 74-69-70-76—289
Matt Kuchar, United States 72-71-75-71—289
Justin Lower, United States 72-73-74-70—289
Nicolas Echavarria, Colombia 72-69-78-71—290
David Puig, Spain 76-68-69-78—291
Brian Campbell, United States 73-70-75-74—292
Wyndham Clark, United States 73-71-71-77—292
Ryan Fox, New Zealand 73-72-76-71—292
Seonghyeon Kim, South Korea 69-72-83-68—292
Ben Kohles, United States 77-68-76-71—292
Greyson Sigg, United States 76-69-75-72—292
Sepp Straka, Austria 70-72-78-72—292
Adam Svensson, Canada 73-70-74-75—292
Matt Fitzpatrick, England 73-72-79-69—293
Martin Kaymer, Germany 70-73-77-73—293
Francesco Molinari, Italy 73-72-77-71—293
Brendon Todd, United States 74-71-74-75—294
Cameron Young, United States 73-72-75-74—294
Dean Burmester, South Africa 74-71-76-74—295
Gunnar Broin, United States 75-68-81-72—296
Brandon Wu, United States 74-71-78-73—296
Sam Bennett, United States 69-72-77-79—297
Jackson Suber, United States 69-73-81-75—298
Austin Eckroat, United States 72-72-78-78—300