DeChambeau wins US Open as McIlroy’s major misery continues

Rory McIlroy walks off the 18th green with caddie Harry Diamond after a bogey putt during the final round of the US Open at the Pinehurst No 2 course on 16 June 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Erik S Lesser)

By Reuters

17 Jun 2024

American Bryson DeChambeau won his second major with a dramatic one-shot victory at the 2024 US Open.

Bryson DeChambeau came out on top in a dramatic final-round, back-nine battle with Rory McIlroy to win the US Open by one shot on Sunday as the Northern Irishman’s major misery continued at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

Poised to end a decade-long major drought, McIlroy collapsed at the finish with bogey’s on three of his final four holes, including a heart-breaker at the 18th where he missed from inside four feet.

At the same time, playing in the final pair, DeChambeau sent his tee shot into the rough but held his nerve with a brilliant up-and-down to save par for a final-round one-over 71.

That was good enough to earn the LIV Golf standard bearer a heart-stopping victory with a six-under 274 winning total.

“Oh, man, I didn’t want to finish second again,” said DeChambeau, runner-up at last month’s PGA Championship. “PGA really stung.

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates his winning putt on the 18th green during the final round of the US Open at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina on 16 June 2024. (Photo: Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)

“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 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.”

McIlroy had a final-round 69 to finish alone in second, one ahead of Americans Patrick Cantlay (70) and Tony Finau (67).

Second major

It was the second career major win for DeChambeau, his first coming at the 2020 US Open.

The 30-year-old American started the day at the top of the leaderboard three clear of the chasing pack that included McIlroy but trailed the world No 3 by two with five holes to play.

“Ultimately on 13, I knew I had to make birdie there to give myself a chance because Rory was going on a heater,” said DeChambeau, who collected his last birdie of the day at 13.

Bryson DeChambeau hits his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of the US Open on 16 June 2024. (Photo: Sean M Haffey / Getty Images)

“He (McIlroy) slipped up a couple on the way coming in, and I just kept staying the course.”

DeChambeau had looked headed for another second place until McIlroy’s sudden collapse.

McIlroy had used a red-hot putter to snatch the lead, but with the finish line in sight, suddenly went cold on the greens, missing from 30 inches at the 16th and from inside four feet at 18, leaving the Northern Irishman shell-shocked as he walked off the course and quickly into his car, putting the disaster in his rear-view mirror.

The US Open thriller showcased golf’s best, giving fans something they have been regularly denied since the sport split into two camps with the PGA Tour on one side and Saudi-backed rebel LIV Golf circuit on the other.

The final round on a tricky Pinehurst No 2 layout featured two of the game’s more intriguing personalities, with McIlroy, long one of golf’s most popular players, and the big-hitting DeChambeau, one of the most entertaining.

Along with the silver trophy and a record $4.3-million winner’s purse, golf bragging rights were also on the line, with a LIV golfer again claiming a major title.

“I hope this can bridge the gap between a divided game,” said DeChambeau. “All I want to do is entertain and do my best for the game of golf, execute and provide some awesome entertainment for the fans.

“From at least what I can tell, that’s what the fans want, and they deserve that. Let bygones be bygones and go figure it out.”

McIlroy drives off

After throwing away a glorious chance to end a decade-long hunt for a fifth major, a devastated McIlroy high-tailed it from Pinehurst Resort on Sunday without speaking to the media and before DeChambeau was awarded the trophy.

Usually a gracious competitor in defeat, McIlroy could not stomach this latest setback nor escape Pinehurst fast enough as he loaded up his car, got behind the wheel and left the property.

It marked the fourth runner-up finish in a major for the Northern Irishman, including at last year’s US Open, but none came in a more crushing fashion.

McIlroy began the day three shots back of 54-hole leader DeChambeau but, bolstered by a sizzling stretch around the turn where he had four birdies across five holes, had a two-shot lead with five holes to play.

The wheels started to come off when McIlroy bogeyed the par-three 15th where he failed to get up and down after his tee shot rolled off the back of the green.

US Open McIlroy Rory McIlroy walks off the 18th green with caddie Harry Diamond after a bogey putt during the final round of the US Open at the Pinehurst No 2 course on 16 June 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Erik S Lesser)

He then made a second consecutive bogey when, for the first time all season, he missed a par putt from inside three feet.

McIlroy left the door open for DeChambeau when he missed the fairway at 18, advanced it just off the front of the green with his next shot, chipped it just past the hole and then watched his par putt from inside four feet lip out.

“For him to miss that putt, I’d never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way,” said DeChambeau.

As DeChambeau scrambled brilliantly for par on the final hole to seal the win, McIlroy, watching from inside a scoring tent, quickly cut a dejected figure and headed to his car.

The scene of McIlroy leaving Pinehurst was in stark contrast to last month’s PGA Championship where runner-up DeChambeau went back to the 18th green to congratulate Xander Schauffele after a closing birdie sealed his win.

“At the end of the day we are all human,” said Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, who finished fifth at the US Open, three shots behind DeChambeau.

“Rory has been chasing another major since many years. He is one of the best players in the world, a true champion. It shows you how tough it is.

“The more you want it, the tougher it gets, and the highest expectation you have for yourself, the tougher it gets, the more pressure you got into.

“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.”

McIlroy’s next shot at winning his first major title since the PGA Championship in August 2014 will be at the British Open from 18 to 21 July. Reuters/DM

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Second major

McIlroy drives off