US Open: Bryson DeChambeau wins second major after Rory McIlroy’s late horror | CNN

CNN
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American Bryson DeChambeau won his second US Open title on Sunday, edging out Rory McIlroy in a heartbreaking final at No. 2 Pinehurst in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

LIV Golf star DeChambeau carded a final-round score of 71 to finish one shot ahead of his Northern Irish counterpart at six under overall and add to his first major victory of 2020.

This resigned world number 3 McIlroy to another heartbreaking near miss as his 10-year wait for a fifth major title continues. The 35-year-old played brilliantly to go from three shots behind to two in front of DeChambeau, only to miss two putts inside four feet over the final two holes.

Needing to close with par to win, DeChambeau kept his composure to triumph and exorcise the demons of falling one stroke short of the PGA Championship to compatriot Xander Schauffele last month.

As his victory fell on Father’s Day, an emotional DeChambeau began his victory speech by dedicating the trophy to his father Jon, who died in 2022.

“First of all, I want to wish all the fathers a happy Father’s Day,” DeChambeau said.
“This one is for him.”

This makes the 30-year-old the second golfer after last year’s PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka to win a major after leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm joined the Saudi-backed tour following their victories at the 2022 Open Championship and 2023 Masters respectively.

Once maligned by some fans, DeChambeau – whose personal YouTube channel continues to rack up subscribers – has become a crowd favorite in the majors this year and has further cemented that reputation at Pinehurst.

The California-born golfer mixed exciting play with regular fan interaction, wooing fans one last time by fulfilling the promise in his winner’s speech to let them touch the trophy and carry it around the crowds gathered on the 18th. green.

“I just can’t thank you enough for all your support this week,” he added to the crowd. “You mean everything to me. You are the best fans in the world and I can’t thank you enough.

The scenes of joy stood in stark contrast to the agony no doubt felt by McIlroy, who refused to speak to the media following his final round score of 69-under 69.

McIlroy has strived to end his major drought with remarkable consistency since his last triumph at the 2014 Open Championship, finishing in the top 10 in 20 of his subsequent 36 appearances at the four marquee events, including his last five consecutive at the Open Championship. US Open.

He has already been a major finalist three times, most recently against Wyndham Clark in last year’s tournament, but the fourth has the potential to haunt him the most given the context.

Three bogeys and a par on his last four holes, compounded by two horrible misses at close range, resigned him to a final 69. Even one better shot would have ultimately been enough to force DeChambeau into the playoffs.

McIlroy had made his previous 496 putts within three feet before missing par at the 16th, according to the PGA Tour.

The curtain falls on the 2024 men’s major calendar with the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland on July 18, where American Brian Harman will look to defend the Claret Jug.

Scottie Scheffler’s miserable week ended with another birdie-less round as world number one.
1 worked hard to finish tied for 41st at eight over par, his worst major performance in two years.

Five wins in his previous eight starts – including last week’s Memorial Tournament – had seen Scheffler arrive at Pinehurst as the heavy favourite, but he struggled to cope with the course’s firm, fast greens, the Texan’s frustrations, typically unflappable, seething as he barely scraped under the weight. cut line Friday.

A third-round 71 meant Scheffler had shot four consecutive rounds over par for the first time in a professional career spanning 120 PGA Tour events, and the unwanted streak extended to five as he signed with a 72.

April’s Masters champion had gone 168 rounds with at least one birdie before his second-round 74, and hadn’t finished outside the top 25 at a major since missing the cut at the PGA Championship 2022.

Both streaks extended to a tie for eighth at last month’s PGA Championship, a result achieved despite his arrest and release from prison during the major.

“I couldn’t break through anything. I couldn’t see the break on those greens,” Scheffler, who has since had all charges against him dismissed, told reporters Sunday.

“This week, the Greens kind of had my number. I felt like I made a lot of really good putts that did weird things to the cup that I didn’t expect them to do.

“I played a fair amount of golf,” he added. “I had a difficult event after a big event. I’m not really going to focus on it but focus more on my preparation.

Scheffler finished 12 strokes behind compatriots Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay, who shared third place at four under overall, one stroke behind McIlroy. Frenchman Matthieu Pavon finished one stroke further back.

A virtuoso third round 67, as entertaining as it was excellent, had propelled DeChambeau into the final 18 holes with a sumptuous – but unknown – three-shot cushion.

The Californian had never before held a 54-hole lead in a major championship. Although he finally won at Winged Foot six years ago, he was trailed by Matthew Wolff twice before the final round before breaking away from his compatriot in the home straight.

DeChambeau said Saturday that he aimed to play “boring golf” to get to the finish line, and appeared to have achieved his plan by making a steady — if unspectacular — start with six pars and a bogey over the course of the first seven holes.

Yet this strategy and its courage quickly came under scrutiny. Unlike Wolff four years ago, McIlroy showed no signs of decline. Far from it, it caught fire.

The steely-eyed Northern Irishman scoffed at the firm, fast greens that had humbled much of the field throughout the week. After two birdies beyond 20 feet, McIlroy lasered in his fourth on a five-hole stretch at the 13th.

With DeChambeau bogeying on the 12th^th, McIlroy headed to the next tee box with a two-shot cushion. The picture had completely changed in less than 20 minutes, but it took the same amount of time for it to reset as DeChambeau took advantage of a bogey from his rival to equalize just two holes later.

It set up a climax that would serve as the ultimate test of mettle and DeChambeau blinked first, a birdie opportunity turning into bogey as his four-foot par putt came out of the 15th cup.

Incredibly though, McIlroy would mirror the mistake more closely moments later to relinquish his lead and trigger a collapse to rival his infamous collapse at the Masters in 2011.

Yet the small consolation of this spiral at Augusta National was that the victory was all but gone shortly after its turn.

This time, the nightmare continued to the final two and a half feet, as a simple conversion for par on the 18th green would have forced DeChambeau to make birdie to avoid the playoff.

There was a glimmer of hope as DeChambeau went from a hook in the native zone to a bunker, but the American recovered superbly with a superb 55-yard approach to within four feet of the cup.

Watching anxiously on the clubhouse television, McIlroy could only watch as DeChambeau safely avoided making the same mistake he did.