Dechambeau wins second US Open, McIlroy comes up short in final holes

by Liam Fitzgerald

This year, the US Open was held at the iconic North Carolina golf course Pinehurst 2. This course is characterized by its wide fairways, bunkers for rough, and glass-like greens. The US Open is known as the hardest tournament in golf. Held at a prestigious course, the US Open almost always involves shrunk fairways and greens that are nearly impossible to stick.

This week at Pinehurst was no different; the course played insanely difficult. The cut line was six over for the tournament; the last US Open at Los Angeles Country Club had a cut line at two under.

There were many major golfers to miss the cut: Victor Hovland, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickleson, Justin Thomas, and Tiger Woods. The course made them look like inexperienced golfers, especially Justin Thomas who shot 11 over in two rounds, unheard of for someone of that skill level.

The highest score before the cut was by Charlie Reitier who shot 20 over in two rounds. Eight golfers were under par. Of those eight, only one was from the LIV tour, Bryson Dechambeau. Dechambeau had a score of seven under to be placed in the last group with Mathew Pavon, who finished fifth place at three under. McIlroy was in the second-to-last group at four under and interestingly paired with Patrick Cantlay, a golfer that McIlroy has a rough history with.

During the Ryder Cup, Cantlay sank a long putt to keep the United States in the running for the cup. While loudly celebrating, Cantlay and his caddie ended up stepping in Rory McIlroy’s putt line. McIlroy reacted angrily to this disrespectful behavior, and a fiery exchange ensued on the 18th green that resulted in a subsequent confrontation between McIlroy and Cantlay’s caddie in the parking lot. When McIlroy and Cantlay were paired up in the US Open, they ended up not speaking to each other.

The tournament came down to the last few holes, with McIlroy bogeying three of his last four holes and missing two putts inside four feet. If McIlroy had made these putts he could have won the tournament or at least forced a playoff with Dechambeau. McIlroy was visibly upset when Dechambeau made his immaculate up-and-down on the eighteenth hole to win the championship.

On 18, Byrson hooked his drive into the sand of the rough to the left of the fairway and ended up against a tree root. Dechambeau then sent his approach shot into a bunker about 60 yards away from the green. Dechambeau is not known for his short game, so most assumed he would make bogey (and a playoff between Dechambeau and McIlroy would follow). But in a newfound swagger, Dechambeau made an excellent sand shot to leave him with a short putt to win the US Open.

Pinehurst 2 is a par 70 course, so it made for fewer par five holes and thus less opportunity for scoring. In second place, Rory Mcllroy recorded rounds of 65, 72, 69, and 69. Dechambeau posted a score of 6 under to win the US Open by one stroke. He had performed all week with rounds of 67, 69, 67, and 71.

The fans surrounding the 18th green went crazy as Dechambeau received the trophy. All tournament long he had interacted with fans, signing autographs and giving away balls, which led him to become loved by the crowd by the end of the tournament. This all made for an epic celebration with Dechambeau and fans on the 18th green as Dechambeau was named a US Open champion for the second time this decade.