Bryson bosses it at the end at Pinehurst as McIlroy misses out again

Bryson DeChambeau overcame some nervy moments and a pulled 18th hole drive to win the 124th US Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s Course Number 2 by a stroke over Rory McIlroy on Sunday on the 25th anniversary of his idol, the late Payne Stewart’s victory at the same venue, and by the same margin.

In 1991, Stewart needed an 18-foot putt to deny Phil Mickelson on the tournament’s 72nd and final hole. On Sunday, DeChambeau’s ask was considerably shorter – four feet – but the outcome was the same, McIlroy’s late charge falling just short after the Northern Ireland golfer, playing one group ahead, had missed two short putts to close out the matter.

But it was the shot prior to the putt that had set up victory, a spectacular 55-foot blast out of the greenside bunker after his attempt to emerge from the wayward drive found the sand trap. DeChambeau nailed the effort with his sand wedge, though he still needed to steady his nerves before finding the middle of the cup with his putter.

The result gave DeChambeau, 30, his second major win to go with the 2020 US Open title and left him richer by $4.3 million from a record prize purse of $21.5 million, It took him to 10th place on the world rankings, but still not good enough to earn a berth at the Paris Olympics after he was ignored for the Ryder Cup by US captain Zach Johnson.

“I'm so happy I got that shot up-and-down on 18,” DeChambeau said later. “Oh, man, I didn’t want to finish second again. PGA really stung. I wanted to get this one done, especially at such a special place that means so much to me.

“That bunker shot was the shot of my life. I’ll forever be thankful that I’ve got longer wedges so I can hit it farther, get it up there next to the hole. I don’t know what to think; it hasn’t fully sunk in yet.

“I just want everybody to enjoy it, as well. As much as it is heartbreaking for some people, it was heartbreak for me at the PGA. I really wanted this one. When I turned the corner and saw I was a couple back, I said, ‘Nope, I'm not going to let that happen.’ I have to focus on figuring out how to make this happen.

“I was a little lucky. Rory didn’t make a couple putts that he could have coming in. I had an amazing up-and-down on the last. I don't know what else to say. It’s a dream come true.”

In the battle for amateur honours, Masters Low Am medal winner Neal Shipley made it a ‘major’ double, beating out Luke Clanton with a closing 2 over par 72 and a 6 over 286 total to become the first player since Viktor Hovland (2019) to win amateur medals at both the Masters Tournament and US Open in the same season.

Behind the DeChambeau (6 under 274) and McIlroy (5 under 275), Tony Finau and fellow-American Patrick Cantlay shared third place on 4 under 276 while Matthieu Pavon (277) of France was by himself in fifth. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (2 under 278) took sixth and South Korean Joohyung Kim was the next-best Asian finisher in tied 26th on 6 over 286 alongside Shipley.

For the unfortunate McIlroy, it was a fourth runner-up finish in a major championship including back-to-back at the US Open and he now has six consecutive top-10 finishes at the US Open alongside Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus if that is any consolation. Post the result, McIlroy left without attending the customary press interaction.

In the year’s since his 2014 PGA title 37 major championships ago, McIlroy has recorded 21 top-10 finishes at the season’s four big events.

DeChambeau started out on Sunday with a three-stroke lead but needed to come through a gruelling back nine that saw him lose the lead McIlroy before executing that decisive bunker shot. Earlier, McIlroy, seeking his first major title in 10 years, missed a four-foot par putt for his third bogey over his final four holes, which would eventually make all the difference between victory and another consolation second place.

“At the end of the day we are all human,” Pavon said about McIlroy. “Rory has been chasing another major many years. He is one of the best players in the world, a true champion. The more you want it, the tougher it gets, and the highest expectation you have for yourself, the tougher it gets.

“Maybe this is a little bit of pressure that got him today for sure, but Rory is just a massive champion. I’m sure he will fight back and really soon.”