Bryson DeChambeau wins 2024 Open Open Sunday. second time with the best shot of his life for another memorable finish on the 18th hole at Pinehurst No. 2 – and another big dose of heartache for Rory McIlroy.
In a wild final hour that featured more fouls than brilliance, DeChambeau capped the best entertainment of the week by going up and down the bunker 55 yards and making a 4-foot par putt to finish with a one-over 71.
Payne Stewart famously made a 15-foot par putt on the final hole at Pinehurst No. 2 in the first US Open in 1999 to beat Phil Mickelson by one stroke. DeChambeau says he was inspired to go to SMU when he saw a mural of Stewart on campus.
Bryson DeChambeau celebrates winning the US Open golf tournament on Sunday, June 16, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
The par putt wasn’t as long or as dramatic as Stewart’s in 1999. The party had it all. DeChambeau pumped those strong arms several times as he shouted to the blue sky and turned every which way to the gallery that had cheered him all week.
McIlroy was in the score hall, devastated by another close call in a major.
This string. As much as this U.S. The Open is remembered for DeChambeau’s stunning bunker shot, with McIlroy playing a big part as he shockingly missed two short putts, the latter just 4 feet from the final hole. He finished with a 69.
He looked like a winner for so long Sunday when he rattled off four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. He was the epitome of cool, the antithesis of DeChambeau’s exuberance.
McIlroy was two shots ahead when he walked onto the 14th tee. The chants grew louder — “Ror-EE! Ror-EE!” and DeChambeau heard them.
McIlroy birdied the 15th from behind the green but fell one behind after DeChambeau, playing in the group behind him, made his first three-putt of the week on the 15th when he missed from 4 feet.
And that’s where the US Open took a disastrous turn for McIlroy. He missed a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole and fell back to even par. On the 18th hole, McIlroy landed behind the fairway’s infamous steel green. He blew off the green and got up nicely to 4 feet.
And he lost again.
McIlroy watched from the scoreboard as DeChambeau dodged a terrible lie on the left side of the fairway — a grove of trees, right in front of the golf ball — and hit it into the bunker. He expertly blasted a putt out of the soft sand that rolled onto the crisp green to set up the winner.
Bryson DeChambeau holds the trophy after winning the US Open golf tournament on Sunday, June 16, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
“I still can’t believe it,” DeChambeau said as he watched a replay on a video screen during the trophy presentation. “Probably the best shot of my life.”
McIlroy spun his tires in the gravel as he sped away without comment. Since winning the 2011 US Open at Congressional, he has gone seven top 10s without a win – more than 100 years since anyone did so well without coming home with the trophy.
DeChambeau becomes the second LIV golfer to win a major, following last year’s PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka.
A picture of Stewart’s famous pose was on the pin banner on the 18th, and DeChambeau donned a Stewart-inspired flat cap during the awards ceremony, later replacing it with LIV’s “Crushers” cap.
He finished at 6-under 274.
Patrick Cantlay hung in that duel all afternoon and couldn’t get the putt in time until he missed a 7-foot par putt on the 16th hole that ended his chances. He finished with a 70, tied for third with Tony Finau, who shot a Sunday-best 67 without ever having a significant chance to win.
Cantlay would need second place to be the fourth American in the Olympics. It’s about Collin Morikawa. Corey Conners shot a 70 to pass Adam Hadwin and earn Canada’s Olympic berth.
DeChambeau earned $4.3 million on a record purse of $21.5 million, more than he will receive for winning the LIV event..
