PINEHURST, N.C. — Golf has a new hero. Bryson DeChambeau captured his second US Open on Sunday, holding off a back-nine charge from Rory McIlroy to tame the treacherous Pinehurst.
In an epic battle, DeChambeau and McIlroy headed to the 18th hole tied at 6 under. McIlroy, leading, missed a four-foot putt for par, opening the door for DeChambeau. Only it took some wizardry from DeChambeau to make it happen.
After a wayward drive left him cowering under a tree, forcing him to swing into a green-side bunker, DeChambeau hit the bunker shot of his life, dropping it to within four feet.
Unlike McIlroy, he wasn’t going to miss, and a second US Open championship was his.
“I can’t believe this is the last up and down,” DeChambeau said. “Probably the best photo of my life.”
For McIlroy, it’s another big win without lifting a trophy, this one perhaps as bitter as any in the 37 (and counting) since his last major win at the 2014 PGA Championship. He missed two putts within four feet in the final three holes. McIlroy looked into the scoring tent as DeChambeau’s putt fell and understandably looked as dejected as ever.
For DeChambeau, who switched from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf two years ago, he has suddenly become the darling of the galleries, drawing cheers and chants of “USA!” guides him every step of the way. What this means for the ongoing split between the PGA Tour and LIV remains to be seen, but it’s clear that DeChambeau is now one of the game’s top draws, especially after making good on his post-round promise to give everyone the 18- inch long to touch. Sterling silver winners trophy.
How we got here
Entering the week, Scottie Scheffler reigned as the No. 1 player, No. 1 betting favorite and No. 1 story. After his win at the Memorial – his fifth in his last eight tournaments – Scheffler was approaching Scottie-versus-the-field status. The assumption was that Scheffler would work the field and on the course as he did at Augusta, and as he probably should have done at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, and then we would all wonder if the Louisville police had detained Scottie of winning a grand slam.
Spoiler: Scheffler won’t win the grand slam this year, and the Louisville Police Department had nothing to do with that. Scheffler ran headlong into the other big story of the week: Pinehurst No. 2 itself. The bad combination of the Turtleback Greens, the rough sand grass and the heat of the blast furnaces brought Scheffler to the level, and quite a few other big names as well.
“The game of golf can be a mental torture chamber at times,” Scheffler said after Saturday’s round, “especially the U.S. Open.”
On the other hand, the US Open offers entry to literally anyone who can survive the grind of qualifying, and that always leads to incredible stories of everyday people mixing it up with the pros. One of this year’s best: Colin Prater, a high school biology teacher from Colorado who qualified for the tournament. Prater didn’t last long – he carded a 79-78 and missed the cut by twelve strokes – but he will have memories that will last the rest of his life.
Tuesday’s total media blitz didn’t contain a lot of news, but it did yield two important stories. McIlroy announced that he and his wife Erica have called off their divorce, which may or may not have affected McIlroy’s playing. Jon Rahm showed up to his media session with a bandage on his toe, which certainly had an impact on his week; later in the day, Rahm announced that he had withdrawn from the tournament altogether.
Rahm’s absence robbed the US Open of its 2021 champion as well as significant star power, but given his 2024 season thus far, it’s questionable how well even a healthy Rahm would have handled Pinehurst No. 2. As it is, LIV Golf literally stood with the US. Open rankings, from DeChambeau at the top to Phil Mickelson at the bottom. Not only that, the USGA appears willing to invite more LIV Golf players to the US Open regardless of whether the world rankings back them up.
Cantlay and Åberg set the pace
And then, as always during an important week, Thursday arrived and all worries about the outside world disappeared. The standings remained remarkably consistent, with most of the Thursday leaders hanging around throughout the weekend and into Sunday afternoon. Cantlay set the pace on a surprisingly forgiving Thursday, tying the record for the lowest round ever at a Pinehurst US Open at -5. A few hours later, McIlroy matched him to share the lead. Ludvig Åberg made a move back, and Matthieu Pavon and DeChambeau were two behind the leaders.
Åberg, who has played two majors in his entire career, was the story on Friday, putting together a steady round that allowed him to take the solo lead. But Cantlay, McIlroy, Pavon and DeChambeau all stayed within two strokes.
In another sign of the generational change in the golf world, Tiger Woods once again failed to finish, but this time he went a step further and hinted that he might be done with the US Opens. Mickelson also stumbled during the week, leaving Pinehurst early, though few in the gallery saw him leave.
Saturday served as a reminder of how tough a U.S. Open can be, and how good DeChambeau can be. Collin Morikawa set the stage early in the day by throwing down a round of -4, putting him in the top 10 at sunset, but the day really belonged to DeChambeau, who battled his way to -7 while taking the sent the gallery into a frenzy. Shouts of “USA!” accompanied every DeChambeau drive and birdie, and on Saturday there were plenty of both.
DeChambeau vs. McIlroy
The first combinations on the final day of the US Open started almost seven hours before DeChambeau and Pavon. For example, Scheffler closed out just as the leaders walked onto the first green and left town with a score of +8. More than likely, Scheffler was happy to be done with the “mental torture chamber” that is the US Open.
The USGA placed the US Open trophy just to the right of the first tee, meaning each player had to look at it as he walked to the tee. However, none of the leaders glanced at it, even those who had won the victory before.
Most players walked from the putting green sideways in front of the clubhouse to the first tee. But DeChambeau emerged from a tunnel beneath the clubhouse and rose into the light and through a crowd three rows deep on either side, like a heavyweight boxer walking into an arena for a title fight.
Before DeChambeau even had a chance to tee off, he lost a stroke of his lead. Further down the first green, McIlroy sank a 20-foot putt, and the roar from the gallery echoed back towards the tee. With the leaders finally gone, the US Open went into high gear.
On the fourth, playing the second-toughest hole of the day, DeChambeau recorded his first bogey that dropped to -6, and Pavon his second that dropped to -3. One hole ahead of them, McIlroy struggled through the par-5 fifth, a beautiful 5-iron approach that slid from the green to the wire grass below. McIlroy’s long par putt slipped just past, and DeChambeau’s lead returned to two strokes.
DeChambeau’s early game on Sunday clearly lacked the power of Saturday, but McIlroy, Cantlay and Pavon were unable to put any more pressure on him. For every moment of brilliance and linkage that McIlroy summoned, he had an equally squirrely approach that took him out of position.
But as the leaders neared the turn, things became increasingly tense. McIlroy rolled a 15-foot birdie putt on 9 to get to -5, and behind him, DeChambeau, at -6, had to work his way to a 10-foot putt for par. As the putt rolled well, the gallery thundered and DeChambeau pumped his fist to keep McIlroy back one punch.
So when DeChambeau made the turn, he was at -6, with a one-stroke lead over McIlroy, a two-stroke lead over Cantlay, and a four-stroke lead over a trio of players.
On the 10th, McIlroy leveled the US Open – at least temporarily – with a 26-foot putt that curled in for birdie to take him to -6.
But DeChambeau remained relentless and chipped to within four feet on the same hole, posting the first birdie of his round. Lead back to one.
But McIlroy wasn’t done yet. He left off a 22-footer for birdie at 12 to catch DeChambeau again, then carded another short birdie at 13, his fifth of the day. That, combined with a bogey by DeChambeau at 12, gave McIlory the solo lead for the first time.
“RO-RY! RO-RY! RO-RY” the crowd erupted as McIlroy walked into the 13th with a two-stroke lead.
Then came DeChambeau, who answered McIlroy by driving the 316-yard 13th to within 28 feet. His Eagle Putt was dead, but about three throws short. The little bird brought him back in one time.
And when McIlroy bogeyed No. 14, the two were tied… again, but only for a moment.
DeChambeau had a birdie opportunity at 14, but blew it five feet wide of the hole. Then he missed the comebacker for par.
The pressure of the moment did not fall solely on DeChambeau, as just seven minutes later McIlroy missed his own par putt from within three feet. Draw, again.
It would come down to the last hole.
Both found dirt on their drives. McIlroy, one group ahead, had a short putt for par but missed. He hadn’t missed a putt within five feet all week; he missed two in the last three holes.
Behind him, Dechambeau huddled under a tree branch, a terrible lie/posture after another wayward ride. Unable to make a full swing, DeChambeau hit a shot into a bunker on the green side, still 55 yards between his ball and the hole.
And then he hit the shot of his life, leaving him five feet shy of the title. This time he wouldn’t miss.
