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 four-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.
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 marvellous bunker shot, McIlroy played a big part by shockingly missing two short putts, the last one from just inside four feet for par on the final hole. He closed with a 69.
“Rory was going on a heater, and he slipped up a couple on the way coming in, and I just kept staying the course,” DeChambeau said. “I can’t believe that up-and-down on the last.”
McIlroy wasted no time making his escape. He climbed into an SUV in the players’ parking lot, his clubs loaded in the back, and briefly spun the tires in the gravel as he left without taking any questions from the media.
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.
WATCH: DeChambeau claims 2nd U.S. Open:
Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open championship Sunday finishing at 6-under, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy of Ireland.
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 four feet.
And that’s where this U.S. Open took a devastating 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 four feet.
And he missed again.
WATCH: Conners’s 9th-place finish earns spot at Olympics:
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finishes tied for ninth place at the U.S. Open to capture the second Olympic spot for Canada in men’s golf. Conners will be joined in Paris by Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., who secured the top spot.
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.
Conners, Taylor Olympic-bound
Lost in all the excitement of DeChambeau’s victory and McIlroy’s shocking implosion was the steady and quiet even-par round of Canada’s Corey Conners.
The 32-year-old from Listowel, Ont., tied for ninth with Americans Davis Thompson and Sam Burns. The trio each earned $502,391 US for their efforts.
Conners also earned a trip to the Paris Olympics this summer.
He and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., had their Olympic berths made official Monday morning when the world golf rankings were updated to reflect the U.S. Open’s results.
“It would be quite a thrill to get back to the Olympics,” said Conners on Sunday before it was made official. “Very much would love to be on that team.”
Conners needed to finish 11th or better in the U.S. Open to earn an Olympic berth. It helped that the player he was trying to catch for the final Canadian spot, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, missed the cut at Pinehurst No. 2.
Conners, who competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, finished 13th in individual stroke play. American Xander Schauffele won the gold medal.
‘Solid week’
Taylor was 35th in the world golf rankings on Monday, Conners was 37th, and Hadwin was 38th.
“It was a solid week overall,” said Conners, who made the cut at the U.S. Open for the first time in six tries. “I was certainly motivated to improve on my record at the U.S. Open.
“It would have been nice to get a little higher up the leaderboard, but it was a really solid week.”
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., needed to finish third or better at the U.S. Open to bump Hadwin, but tied for 16th at 3 over with England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Akshay Bhatia of the United States. The three players each pocketed $299,218.
Pendrith moved nine spots up the world rankings on Monday into 56th.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is currently in a position to return to the Olympics. She was 14th in the world rankings after a tie for 34th at the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday.
The women’s Olympic field will be finalized next Monday after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third women’s major of the year.
Henderson tied for 29th at the Tokyo Olympics and also represented Canada at the 2016 Games in Rio.
