That was a fantastically entertaining final day at Torrey Pines. For a while, it felt like half the field was in with a shout, but it was Jon Rahm who seized the day with a couple of sensational putts at 17 and 18. This US Open was won, not lost. Congratulations to Rahm, and commiserations to Louis Oosthuizen, who once again comes up just short at a major. Hey, you can’t say the big Spaniard’s major breakthrough hadn’t been coming, after a tie for fifth at the Masters and another top-ten finish last month at the PGA. A most deserving victor. Thanks for reading these live hole-by-hole reports, it’s been good to have you along for the ride. See you next month for the Open at Sandwich, yes? Great, it’s a date! Nighty night!
-6: Rahm
-5: Oosthuizen
-3: English
-2: Migliozzi, Koepka, Morikawa
-1: Grace, Berger, Casey, Schauffele, Scheffler, McIlroy
E: F Molinari, Henley
+1: Cantlay, Streelman, Wolff, Hughes
+2: Reed, Garcia, Schwartzel, Harman, Spieth, Thomas, Johnson
Then the Father’s Day bit, as he thanks his family. “Even though Father’s Day is on a different day in Spain, I’m forcing him to celebrate it today! And man, we’re going to have fun, because there are three generations of Rahms on this green right now, even if one of them doesn’t really know what is going on! But I am glad he is going to see it in the future and enjoy it!”
Yes sir. Happy Father’s Day to everybody. A small golfing tale about it here, just in case you missed it earlier.
Rahm is asked how he did it. “You hear about many people saying: all you need to do is hang on and let others make mistakes. That simply wasn’t happening. I missed two short putts on 13 and 14, and told my caddy, two fours and two threes wins the tournament. It’s incredible I finished the way I did. Sometimes you have to attack a golf course. This is the power of positive thinking. I was never resentful for what happened [at Memorial] and I don’t blame anybody. It’s been a difficult year, and unfortunately Covid is a reality and has affected a lot of people. I got the best possible hand, because nobody in my family got sick. I barely got any symptoms. I have to mention that we lost a lot of people back home, we have lost some friends. We still have to be aware. Take care of yourself and everybody around you, so we can get over this as quick as possible.” He dedicates his win to an unnamed journalist friend who passed away from the virus.
That was painful. Oh USGA! But does Rahm care? Of course he doesn’t! He waits patiently, politely, then receives his medal and trophy. He hugs the big pot, a huge grin across his boat, a picture of blissed-out happiness. So nice to see for a player who went through the ringer recently at the Memorial. The golfing gods have settled their debt!
Before the trophy can be handed over, farcical scenes as Mike Davis, the outgoing CEO of the USGA, promises a flyover by a couple of F-18 jets. The planes don’t arrive on cue. They don’t arrive at all. An uneasy silence. Ah, eventually, here they come.
Rahm celebrated in hearty fashion when he curled in those putts on 17 and 18. For a while, as he waited for Oosthuizen to determine his fate, he looked a little stunned. He remained so when being interviewed by NBC. But now he’s back in party mode, a huge smile across his face, hugs with his wife and small baby, then mum and dad on Father’s Day! He’s off to get his trophy!
Oosthuizen makes his birdie putt to end with a 71. Folk will probably wonder why he didn’t throw caution to the wind and go for the green with his second shot, but there it is. Yet another second-place finish at a major for the South African. Unlike 2015 at Chambers Bay, at least he’s got second to himself this time. Par meanwhile for Mackenzie Hughes, whose shoulders understandably sagged after his ball got stuck up a tree at 11. He signs for 77.
-6: Rahm
-5: Oosthuizen
-3: English
-2: Migliozzi, Koepka, Morikawa
-1: Grace, Berger, Casey, Schauffele, Scheffler, McIlroy
Jon Rahm, US Open champion, is immediately interviewed by NBC! “I’m a big believer in karma. After what happened a couple of weeks ago, I stayed really positive, knowing big things were coming. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place, I know I got my breakthrough win here, and it’s a very special place for my family. The fact my parents were able to come, I got out of Covid protocol early, I just felt like the stars were aligning. I can’t even believe I made the first two putts! This was definitely for Seve. I know he tried a lot, and wanted to win this one most of all. I just don’t know how to explain it! I don’t know why, but every time we land here, we are happy. We’re in our spot!”
The last roll of the dice for Louis Oosthuizen. Can he chip in from 69 yards? He lands his ball 20 feet past the flag, spins it back a few feet, and ... the ball slowly grinds to a halt. JON RAHM IS THE 2021 US OPEN CHAMPION!
Oosthuizen is forced to lay up. He’ll have to hole out from the fairway if he’s to deny Rahm. Nevertheless, Rahm isn’t tempting fate. Off he goes to the range, just in case.
McIlroy misses another birdie putt. He signs for a dreadfully disappointing round of 73. Once the clouds clear, he’ll be able to build on his first experience of proper involvement on a Sunday in a major for a while. It should stand him in good stead come Sandwich. Meanwhile a sad end for Russell Henley, who misses a short one that drops him down to level par and a tie for 13th. He’s still not finished in the top ten at a major, in other words. A shame.
Oosthuizen’s drive squirts into the thicker stuff down the left. His ball hasn’t disappeared completely, so he might be able to take a shy at the green. Up the hole, outgoing champion DeChambeau pars for a 77, then McIlroy wedges his third into the heart of the green and screws back to ten feet. Too little, too late.
He can’t make it. He hits it dead on line, a gentle left-to-right slider, but he’s given it a little bit too much juice, and it stays on the high side. Bogey, and now he needs to eagle the last, as he did yesterday evening, to force a two-hole play-off. In the clubhouse, Rahm is pictured doing his level best not to smile. He’s not being smug or triumphalist; you can tell by the nervous look in his eyes that he’s just excited, and the last thing he wants to do is tempt fate with his dream so close.
-6: Rahm (F)
-4: Oosthuizen (17)
Oosthuizen takes his penalty drop ... and maybe this isn’t over yet at all! He caresses his wedge straight at the flag, his ball coming to a screeching halt ten feet from the flag. If he knocks that in to escape with a par, he’ll have an extra spring in his step ... and walking to a hole he eagled yesterday. First things first, though, and he prowls around this must-make putt.
The tin lid on McIlroy’s dispiriting back nine comes at 17. He screws a glorious wedge to six feet, then misses the birdie putt. Not that it really matters any more, when the win is all he cared about, but a birdie-birdie finish would have taken him into a tie for third. Now he’ll have to eagle the last if he’s to match Harris English’s -3 mark.
It could be over. Oosthuizen pulls his drive at 17 into the penalty area down the left. A huge mistake. One bounce breaking left, and his ball disappears into a bush. Poor Louis. Unless he has a magical long-range escape up his sleeve, this could be an anti-climactic end to a very exciting final round. Like Jon Rahm will care!
One thing we already know: the six-year run of US winners is about to come to an end. Are we going to be celebrating the first Spanish winner in Jon Rahm, or will Louis Oosthuizen join Gary Player, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen as a South African champ? For a second, it looked as though the odds on the latter were lengthening, as Oosthuizen left his first putt on 16 six feet short. But in went the par putt, and he remains one behind. Two holes to find a birdie, with the 18th the easiest hole on the course.
Oosthuizen’s tee shot at 16 finds the green. He’ll face a long putt for birdie, but avoiding trouble at this hole is the watchword. Meanwhile on 17, a quadruple-bogey 8 for the defending champion DeChambeau, who one way or another is going to be very entertaining at the Open next month. He’s +3, and he’ll always have Winged Foot.
McIlroy finds a bunker at 16, from which he can’t get up and down. A low-energy bogey. He knew the jig was already up. It’s probably been that way ever since that miserable three-putt at 11, followed by the shank from the bunker at 12. He’s -1. Meanwhile Oosthuizen gets up and down from the front of 15 to remain a shot off Rahm’s lead at -5.
Two huge putts on 17 and 18 by Rahm. Talk about seizing the day! He signs for a final round of 67. Oosthuizen meanwhile, having surely heard the tumult, leaves his approach at 15 short. A reminder that should a play-off be required, the US Open is no longer decided by a full round on Monday. It’ll be a two-hole affair, down 7 and 18, followed by sudden death over the same holes if it’s not decided by then.
Rahm rolls another perfectly judged left-to-right curler into the centre of the cup! He wheels away in celebration, a huge smile, a vicious fist-pump! The gallery crackles again, volume all the way up to 11! His would be a popular victory, especially after his terrible fortune at the Memorial! He’s a shot clear at -6, and can only wait now. He meets wife Kelley and tries to lift baby Kepa, but Kepa has a handful of Mum’s hair and won’t let go. He’s got his old man’s strong grip, that’s for sure.
-6: Rahm (F)
-5: Oosthuizen (14)
-3: English (F)
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Oosthuizen splits 15 with his drive. Exactly what he needed. Up on 18, Rahm opens the face of his wedge as far as it will go, aims right of the flag, then splashes 20 feet past, the camber taking it back round towards the hole a little. The best he could do from there. He had no other option.
Rahm lashes a long iron into 18 ... but catches the bunker to the right of the green. He’s left with a downhill lie, not a huge amount of green to work with, and a putting surface that slopes away towards the water. Nothing is certain.
Morikawa tidies up for his birdie and it’s a fine 70. He’ll rue that opening round of 75, ending the week three off the current lead at -2. On 15, McIlroy nearly chips in from the bottom of a swale, and should remain at -2. And on 14, Oosthuizen takes two careful putts for his par.
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Though would it have really mattered? Rahm steers in his left-to-right downhill curler from 25 feet on 17, and the gallery crackles with electricity as he celebrates his birdie with a huge roar and a couple of fist pumps! He joins Oosthuizen - who finds the green at 14 with an excellent second shot - at the top of the leader board ... then crashes a drive down the fairway at 18! Could it really be happening at long last for the big man?
-5: Rahm (17), Oosthuizen (13)
-3: English (F)
-2: Migliozzi (F), Koepka (F), Morikawa (F), McIlroy (14)
Then Morikawa finds 18 in two. He’s got an eagle putt to tie the clubhouse lead. It’s a 30-foot downhill effort, and it only just misses on the left. That missed tiddler on 8 seems so costly now.
Just a par for Schauffele down the last. He signs for a 71, and he ends the week at -1. Whatever happens, it’s yet another top-ten finish, five from five appearances, at the US Open for the 27-year-old from San Diego.
Oosthuizen sends his tee shot at 14 towards the cart path down the right. He smiles cheekily as he watches it fly towards the gallery. Up on the green, it’s a two-putt par for McIlroy. Then up on 17, Rahm whipcracks a delicious wedge from the sand to 25 feet, an excellent result from where he was. You’d imagine this is now most likely to be decided between Rahm and Oosthuizen, with English and McIlroy retaining an interest for differing reasons. All of which is a long-winded way of saying: anything could happen. Don’t go to bed!
Rahm comes close to draining a 20-footer on 16 for birdie. Just a par. Then he sends his tee shot at 17 into sand down the right. Back on 14, Oosthuizen rolls in his par putt, and that’ll feel good after being out of position as a result of that awful second shot.
Oosthuizen gets up there quickly, before the ball can think twice about toppling down the false front. He’s left with a 60-footer for birdie, and sends his ball six feet past. That’s going to be a nerve-tester. Meanwhile on 14, McIlroy wedges into the green, although not particularly closely.
Oosthuizen wedges towards the 13th green from the deep stuff. His ball lands on the fringe. It’s clearly going to topple down the false front, 50 yards back ... but somehow clings on! Shades of Fred Couples on 12 at the 1992 Masters! How on earth is that clinging on? Some gravity-defying nonsense! If Oosthuizen wins this US Open, you’ll see this one again and again!
McIlroy sends a 3-wood down the middle of 15. Up on 17, Morikawa gets up and down from thick stuff surrounding the green for a par, but like Schauffele, he’ll need eagle up the last if he’s to tie English in the clubhouse.
McIlroy nearly drains his eagle putt! But the ball breaks off to the right on its final turn, and he’ll have to settle for birdie. His dream of a second US Open title, and a first major in seven years, is not yet dead! Especially as Oosthuizen, back down the hole, has just sent his second into the deepest cabbage down the right. That ball’s disappeared. The final round of the US Open, everyone!
-5: Oosthuizen (12)
-4: Rahm (15)
-3: English (F)
-2: Migliozzi (F), Koepka (F), McIlroy (13)
-1: Grace (F), Berger (F), Casey (F), Schauffele (17), Morikawa (16), DeChambeau (13), Henley (13), Hughes (12)
Rahm races his long birdie putt on 15 at the hole. It hits the cup, leaps, and stays out. He looks distraught, but if anything that’s a stroke of luck; that ball was travelling, and could easily have ended up ten feet past. He taps in for a precious par. Schauffele can’t make one on 17, though, and at -1 his chance has gone ... unless he can eagle the last to join English in a share of the clubhouse lead.
Rahm finds the green at 15 in two blows. He’s not close to the hole, but pars are at a premium right now, and he’ll be more than happy with that. On 13, McIlroy, having split the fairway with his drive, whistles his fairway wood into the heart of the green! He’s pin high, 25 feet to the left. What he’d give to sink the eagle putt now! And back on the tee, the leader Oosthuizen finds the short stuff, though he might not be far enough down the hole to reach the gree in two.
-5: Oosthuizen (12)
-4: Rahm (14)
-3: English (F)
-2: Migliozzi (F), Koepka (F), Henley (12)
DeChambeau clips down from the boozy bank at the back of 13. It’s a lovely delicate chip, but he can’t hold it, the ball rolling slowly, inevitably, down the slope and 30 feet away. He nearly makes the long putt coming back, but that’s a double bogey, and he’s -1. This could be the end of the defending champion’s bid to retain his title. A run of 4-5-7 looks to have prised his fingers off the trophy.
“Oh shoot!” DeChambeau blades his fourth shot at 13 out of the bunker, his ball disappearing into the gallery on the other side of the green and stopping beside a pack of Stella Artois. While he works out whether to turn it in and get stuck into the lagers, Rahm misses his birdie putt on 14, then sends his tee shot into the punters down the right of 15. Two putts meanwhile for Oosthuizen too, while Hughes, who ended up with a double bogey at 11, compounds the error with bogey at 12. He’s -1. Everyone has got extremely scrappy at exactly the wrong time. Harris English can be forgiven for flinging his shoes up onto the table, cigar on, to watch the rest of this very strange, very entertaining final round unfold. He couldn’t, could he?
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While it’s not beyond the realms that Harris English could win this US Open by stealth, after his superb 68, this could also turn into a battle royal between Oosthuizen and Rahm. Both have set up 12-foot looks at birdie, at 12 and 14 respectively. DeChambeau continues to hack his way up the right of 13, his third finding a greenside bunker. And Schauffele is hanging on in there, with a two-putt par on the tricky 16th. He’s -2.
An awful finish to the round for Brooks Koepka, who won’t be winning his third US Open this week. He sends his second at 18 into thick bother to the right of the green, then fluffs his chip into sand. He can’t get up and down, and it’s a closing bogey. He signs for a 69, ending the week at -2, alongside Guido Migliozzi in the clubhouse. Harris English, barely mentioned all day, working away from the white-hot heat of the gallery and the TV cameras, is still the clubhouse leader! Look at this, all of a sudden!
-5: Oosthuizen (11)
-4: Rahm (13)
-3: English (F), DeChambeau (12)
-2: Migliozzi (F), Koepka (F), Schauffele (16), Morikawa (14), Henley (12), Hughes (11)
Bogey for Oosthuizen at the par-three 11th, the result of his sending his tee shot down to DeChambeau Country. He’s -5. McIlroy shanks his almost impossible bunker shot, having to hack down on the ball like a half-cut butcher. He ends up with a double, and suddenly crashes down to -1. DeChambeau slips as he drives at 13 and hoicks his ball into thick rubbish down the right, then slashes his second into similar nonsense not particularly further up the hole. The back nine at Torrey Pines is beginning to bare its teeth.
Harris English is the new clubhouse leader! He’s just signed for a 68, having birdied 14, 17 and 18, doing nearly all of his business out of sight. Suddenly he’s set a mark at -3 ... and a lot of players are heading in the wrong direction. This couldn’t be a retread of Ben Curtis’s win at Sandwich at the 2003 Open, could it? Everyone looking the other way at the stars, a mark quietly set, the whole field coming backwards? You wouldn’t totally rule it out.
Hughes identifies his ball, then takes his drop, straight down below, onto the cart path. He’s allowed relief from there. He’ll be hitting three. A huge up-and-down attempt coming up. He’s given some time to thing about it. Eventually he punches a wedge onto the green that’s as average as his tee shot was unfortunate. He’ll have a long bogey putt. And it’s all threatening to unravel for McIlroy, as well, as he drives into a bunker down the left of 12, then sends his second into another, to the right of the green. It’s plugged, on a downhill lie, the lip at the back possibly limiting his backswing.
DeChambeau ships another shot, this time at 12, the result of an overly aggressive first putt. A shame, because having launched his drive into thick filth down the right of the hole, he’d powered to the front of the green with Olympian strength. He slips back to -3. Par for Koepka on 17, meanwhile. Better than nothing, with quite a few players heading in the wrong direction all of a sudden.
A preposterous stroke of luck for poor Mackenzie Hughes on the par-three 11th. He pulls his 5-iron well left. It hits a tree ... and stays up there. It’s wedged in between branches, on a nest of leaves. So sad. The punters congregate at its foot to take pictures of this super-rare nonsense. Looks like he’ll be taking an unplayable ... providing he can identify it. “Shake that tree! Shake that tree!” chant the gallery, trying their best to help. Not allowed, sadly.
A three-putt bogey for McIlroy at 11. That’s a huge blow at the wrong time. A decent iron into the par-three, too, but he left his first putt well short, and always looked fidgety over the second. He slips to -3. Meanwhile Morikawa nearly escapes 13 with bogey after a fine chip to 12 feet, but the putt lips out. He clatters down to -2.
Real bother for Morikawa at the par-five 13th. Having stumbled through deep rough along the way, he shanks his fourth shot from the bottom of the false front over the green. It settles down in deep rough. He’s down the bottom of a swale, short-sided. He needs some magic here if he’s not going to abruptly take his leave of The Mix.
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Koepka can’t make his. He slips back to -3. DeChambeau misses as well, tumbling back to -4. And it’s a bad time to drop a stroke, because Oosthuizen, fresh off his first birdie of the day, makes a second in a row! He rolls a straight-ish 30-footer across 10, and all of a sudden, the 2010 Open champion has a two-shot lead!
-6: Oosthuizen (10)
-4: Morikawa (12), Rahm (12), DeChambeau (11), McIlroy (10), Hughes (10)
-3: Koepka (16)
Sergio Garcia has been abysmal in the majors since winning the Masters in 2017. He’s played in 15 of them, missing the cut on 11 occasions. But he’s shot a final-day 68, and at +2 has a great chance of finishing in the top 20. Baby steps, all that. Meanwhile DeChambeau and Koepka take turns to whip chips up onto their respective par-three greens, at 11 and 16, and face 12-foot putts to save their pars.
McIlroy is always out of position coming up 10. As a result, he’s left with a 12-foot par putt ... and he makes it, pumping the air discreetly in celebration. A par save that will feel like a birdie. The sort of thing that you need on the back nine at a US Open. He remains one shot off DeChambeau and Oosthuizen’s lead at -4.
Koepka pulls his tee shot left of the tricky par-three 16th. He’s in the lap of the golfing gods there. His pal DeChambeau is also playing a par-three ... and sends a dreadful tee shot down the bank to the right. No shout of fore either, which is his MO, we shouldn’t be surprised. And is this a belated bid from Schauffele, who started slowly but has birdied 9, 10 and now 13 to move into red figures for his round, and up to -2 overall.
Well that didn’t take long! On 15, Koepka steers a delicate left-to-right downhill 12-footer for another birdie. He moves to -4, just one off his old buddy DeChambeau, who can’t make a 15-foot birdie effort across 10. Back on 9, Hughes joins the group in second with his second birdie in three holes, then Oosthuizen makes his first birdie of the day with a right-to-left tickler from 12 feet. So with the final group having reached the turn ... welcome to the start of the 121st US Open!
-5: DeChambeau (10), Oosthuizen (9)
-4: Koepka (15), Morikawa (12), Rahm (11), McIlroy (9), Hughes (9)
-2: Migliozzi (F), Scheffler (10), Henley (9)
There’s a bit of a lull in hot leader board action, as the leading groups make their way through the difficult stretch between 9 and 13. Nobody making any great, or decisive, moves right now. Give it time. A breather’s no bad thing.
Pars for McIlroy and Henley at 9. “Can Rory win a major wearing that outfit?” wonders friend of the hole-by-hole report, David Tindall. “That’s my only concern. Colours are a bit ‘round two’.”
There’s a new clubhouse leader in the exciting 24-year-old Italian Guido Migliozzi! He birdies the last - after nearly slam-dunking his approach into the cup for albatross - and signs for an excellent 68. He’s -2.
It’s been another disappointing day for 48-year-old Richard Bland. A short par putt horseshoes out on 18, and it’s a 78 that follows yesterday’s 77. But he’s still enjoyed one heck of a month. His first victory on the European Tour last month, and a place in the record books as the oldest 36-hole leader in US Open history. He’s been immense, one of the stars of a very entertaining tournament. He ends a special week at +8.
DeChambeau can’t steer his downhill birdie putt at 9 into the cup. Just a par. He remains at -5. His playing partner Scheffler tickles his in from similar range, though, and the birdie means he turns in level-par 35. He’s -2. Meanwhile trouble for Koepka as his second at 14 looks like bounding into bushes to the left of the green. But the ball snags in the rough ... and then he clatters his chip onto the base of the flag, the ball somehow refusing to drop! He’d have taken a par when watching his ball disappear towards the junk, but he’s a maelstrom of irritated disbelief right now. He remains at -3.
A triple bogey seven for Dustin Johnson at 10, and that’s any lingering hopes of a second US Open gone. He’s +3. Also suddenly out of it: Paul Casey, who follows bogey at 11 with double at 12. He’s level par. Rahm meanwhile tidies up for his birdie at 9. Coming behind, DeChambeau sends his third to eight feet. He’ll have a chance to extend his lead in a minute.
-5: DeChambeau (8)
-4: Morikawa (10), Rahm (9), McIlroy (8), Oosthuizen (8)
-3: Koepka (13), Hughes (8)
-2: Henley (8)
Russell Henley can’t make his long par saver on 8. It’s all going wrong for the 32-year-old from Georgia, who slips to -2. Daniel Berger meanwhile has signed for a final round of 68, and joins Branden Grace in the clubhouse lead at -1.
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Rahm - who will have been fearful of taking six, seven or even eight as he watched his drive disappear towards the boundary fence at 9 - lands his third onto the shoulder of a bunker to the left of the green. The ball takes a big turn right, and nearly trundles in for an absurd eagle! He’ll have a look at birdie from three feet. This might be the hole, and the sequence of events, that makes him think: this is my time!
Great news for Rahm! A steward had signalled that his ball had crept under the fence down the left of 9 and sneaked out of bounds. But some mesh kept it in play! He’s able to advance his second up the hole. That could be a huge break. Meanwhile a momentum-shifter on 7 for Hughes, who sends a tramliner into the cup from next week. A birdie that brings him back to -3. And also returning to -3, Brooks Koepka, who finds greenside rough at the par-five 13th with a massive fairway wood, then gets up and down for birdie.
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Like Justin Thomas before him, Jon Rahm snap-hooks a drive out of bounds! Thomas sent his over the fence at 10; Rahm’s done it at 9. Oh Jon. Also threatening to unravel: Russell Henley, who sends his 8-iron straight into the face of the bunker at the front of the par-three 8th. He punches out well, but his ball topples back down a ridge running across the green, leaving him with an awfully long par putt. It may be early days, but with such a packed leader board, he might have to sink this.
DeChambeau dinks his birdie putt into the cup at 8. He’s now the sole leader. McIlroy has the chance to join him, having landed his approach at 7 to eight feet, but leaves his birdie putt on the high side. Bogey for Henley. Meanwhile up on 9, Morikawa gets up and down from sand for birdie. He’s one off the lead, and that’s a good response to that missed tiddler at 8.
-5: DeChambeau (8)
-4: Morikawa (9), McIlroy (7), Oosthuizen (6)
-3: Rahm (8), Henley (7)
A bad break for Henley at 7. His drive heads into sand down the left ... and plugs in the face. He has to take his medicine and hack back out onto the fairway. He finds the green with his third, but will have to sink a 25-footer to save his par. Meanwhile another of the overnight leaders continues to struggle, as Hughes makes his third bogey of the day at 6. He slips to -2.
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DeChambeau is the width of one dimple away from acing the par-three 8th! Three bounces, straight at the flag. The ball then rolls out and looks like dropping, before putting the breaks on. Such a shame! If there was a roof on Torrey Pines, it’d be coptering towards Texas right now. He’ll tap in to take the lead by himself at -5, and that’s a cast-iron Guardian guarantee! You can take it to the bank!
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Rahm’s birdie putt is always missing on the left. A shame, but it wasn’t the gimme of Morikawa a few minutes ago. He’ll dust himself down and move onto the par-five 9th having made his par to remain one off at -3.
Rahm flushes a 9-iron straight over the flag at 8. He’ll have an eight-footer coming back for birdie. Back on 7, DeChambeau sends his second down a swale at the back of the green. He opts to putt up the hill and onto the dancefloor. He judges a huge left-to-right swinger almost perfectly, and will tidy up to save his par. Meanwhile on 12, a heavy-handed long birdie effort by Koepka leads to a three-putt bogey. He tumbles back to -2, a painful and needless momentum-checker.
Two putts for par for McIlroy at 6. Henley can’t wedge close, though, and bogey is the price for that wayward drive. All of a sudden, it’s a four-way tie at the top!
-4: DeChambeau (6), McIlroy (6), Henley (6), Oosthuizen (5)
-3: Koepka (3), Casey (10), Morikawa (8), Wolff (7), Rahm (7), Hughes (5)
-2: Migliozzi (15)
Morikawa makes his bird... aw no. He pulls his two-foot putt at 8 to the left. That’s such a shame, because the tee shot was a beauty. Par. Back on 5, Hughes also misses a tiddler, prodding with great uncertainty at a downhill four-footer. Bogey.
Morikawa will surely be joining the group tied for second in a minute. At the par-three 8th, he swishes his 8-iron to a couple of feet. So sweet by the 2020 PGA champion. Back on 6, McIlroy finds the green in regulation, but his partner Henley is in a spot of bother having driven into thick rough. He can only thrash back out onto the fairway, 50 yards from the green. Unless he gets up and down from there, there could soon be a six-way tie at the top! Play-off between Brooks and Bryson, anyone?
Casey finds the par-five 9th in two big booms. He’s pin high, and his eagle effort from 20 feet stops a couple of dimples short. It was never enough. He taps in for birdie, though, his third in a row. He turns in 32, at -3 for the tournament. Meanwhile on the par-three 11th, Koepka sends a gentle fade to 15 feet, only to leave the birdie putt high on the left. He remains -3.
Oosthuizen can’t get up and down from 50 yards at 4. He breaks his early run of pars in a most unwelcome way. Bogey. He slips to -4. Meanwhile on 5, McIlroy lands his second onto the fringe, then comes within a dimple of guiding a long downhill left-to-right swinger into the cup! He sighs in frustration as he taps in for par. But on 6, Wolff rakes in a 30-footer for his second birdie in three holes, and he joins the group at -3, while Migliozzi, who had bogeyed 13, chips in from the back of 14 for birdie and performs his fist-pumping routine again. Good luck picking a winner from this lot!
-5: Henley (5)
-4: DeChambeau (5), McIlroy (5), Oosthuizen (4), Hughes (4)
-3: Koepka (10), Morikawa (6), Wolff (6), Rahm (6)
-2: Migliozzi (14), Casey (8)
Updated
Bryson tidies up at 5 for his first birdie of the day. He’s just one off the lead at -4. He was +5 at one point on Friday, before battling back into contention. If he retains his title, this will be one of the great comebacks. Back on the tee, McIlroy sends his drive into sand down the left. He should be OK from there. But on 4, Oosthuizen’s not good coming out of a bunker, catching one heavy and leaving his ball miles short of the green.
Updated
We have a new clubhouse leader. Branden Grace, who came so close at Chambers Bay in 2015, birdies 17 and 18 to sign for a blemish-free 67. He’s -1. And it’s back-to-back birdies at 7 and 8 for Paul Casey, who at -2 isn’t finished quite yet. This is great fun, with putts dropping and flags being peppered everywhere ... DeChambeau wedging his second at 5 from 100 yards to four feet.
McIlroy sets his birdie putt down the glassy green. A big left-to-right swing. It’s always dropping! Perfectly paced. Meanwhile that hook OB at 10 has done for JT: a double that crashes him back down to level par. With holes running out, his race is run. This is a very interesting leader board now!
-5: Henley (3), Oosthuizen (3)
-4: McIlroy (4), Hughes (3)
-3: Koepka (9), Morikawa (9), Rahm (5), DeChambeau (4)
-2: Wolff (5), Scheffler (4)
Another birdie for Brooks, this time at 9. He turns in 32, and at -3 is suddenly right in the mix! No birdie for Oosthuizen on 2. No birdie for DeChambeau at 4, either, and then coming behind him, McIlroy enjoys almost exactly the same break! His ball, heading right, twangs off the grassy knoll and launches left. He’ll have a similar bonus look at birdie.
Updated
It’s all suddenly gone very wrong for Justin Thomas. A huge stroke of ill fortune at the par-five 9th, as his second topples slowly off the back of the green and down a huge swale, turning two putts for birdie into a par scramble. He makes a par that’ll feel like a bogey ... then snap-hooks his drive at 10 over a fence down the left and out of bounds. He’s currently -2, but not for much longer.
A garden-variety par for McIlroy on 3. He remains at -3. But Henley tidies up for a richly deserved birdie, and he’s back in a tie for the lead at -5. For how long we’ll soon find out, because Oosthuizen has left himself a ten-foot uphill birdie putt on 2. Meanwhile an absurd stroke of good fortune for DeChambeau on 4; he sends a wedge wide right of the green, only for his ball to take a violent bounce straight left, the camber of the green gathering it towards the flag. He’ll have a bonus 15-foot look at birdie.
It’s fair to say it’s all happening right now, as a bunched leading pack jostle for position. On 12, the extremely entertaining Guido Migliozzi hits a 40-foot putt from the fringe that would still be going now had it not hit the hole flush and dropped. A birdie, and he celebrates in the classic Italian style. Not quite Rocca at St Andrews or Tardelli at the Bernabeu, but expressive enough. Yeah! [punch air] Huh! [punch air] C’mon! [punch air] You know, that sort of thing. He’s -2.
McIlroy can’t convert his good birdie chance at 2. He shoves it wide right, one of those that never looked like dropping. He remains at -3. Rahm, short of 4 in two, fails to hit his putt up the slope, and ends up with bogey. He hammers the head of his putter in frustration. Bogey for Schauffele at 5. Birdie for Wolff at 4. And on 3, Henley sends his tee shot to three feet, setting up a wonderful chance to take back the shot he dropped at 1.
Henley shaves the hole at 2 with his birdie effort from 20 feet. A par that will stop a few nerves jangling after that opening bogey. Also dropping a shot at 1: Hughes, whose chip from the cabbage at the back stops well short. Two putts for Oosthuizen, and suddenly he’s the sole leader of the US Open!
-5: Oosthuizen (1)
-4: Rahm (3), Henley (2), Hughes (1)
Hughes sends an adrenaline-fuelled second over the back at 1. He’s in the thick stuff. Oosthuizen finds the centre of the green, pin high, but not particularly close. Up on 2, Henley finds the green in nerve-settling regulation, while McIlroy goes close, twirling his wedge gleefully after landing it five feet away. And on 3, Scheffler nearly aces; he’ll tidy up for a birdie that’ll bring him back to -2.
Brooks Koepka has been quiet since that birdie at 2. But he’s just flashed his tee shot at the par-three 8th to kick-in distance. Smooth as you like. He’ll be moving to -2 soon enough. Meanwhile on 4, another former champion makes a move, Dustin Johnson teasing in a 20-foot downhill birdie putt. He’s -2 as well. And it’s another birdie for Morikawa, who is peppering the flags with his approaches this afternoon. This one, at 4, brings him to -3.
It’s an opening bogey for Henley, who can’t get anywhere close with his bunker shot, having been short-sided. McIlroy tidies up for his par, as does Rahm on 3. That’s one hell of a scramble for the big Spaniard, an up-and-down that will feel as good as the first two birdies.
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen
-4: Rahm (3), Henley (1)
-3: DeChambeau (1), McIlroy (1)
-2: Thomas (8), Schauffele (4), Morikawa (3)
Rahm’s not reached the penalty zone, but his ball is stuck on the rough-covered bank. And he’s short-sided. He whips a high lob into the sky, landing his ball on the fringe, sending it slowly rolling to six feet. Lovely soft hands. McIlroy rolls his 40-footer back on 1 to kick-in distance. And back on the tee, the outgoing USGA CEO Mike Davis is given the mic to announce the final pairing of his final tournament. Louis Oosthuizen and Mackenzie Hughes both find the fairway.
Henley’s second at 1 finds the bunker to the right of the green. McIlroy, from the sand, sends his second onto the fringe at the front. Meanwhile Rahm’s fast start looks like coming to an abrupt end, as he pulls his 6-iron at the par-three 3rd - playing much longer at 200 yards today - down the bank to the left. There’s a penalty area down there; if he hasn’t reached it, he’ll be in thick rough. Either way, not good.
Here comes the 2011 champion Rory McIlroy! He sends his tee shot into sand down the right. His playing partner Russell Henley watches his ball disappear into thick rough down the same side. Up on the green, it’s a par for Bryson DeChambeau, but bogey for Scottie Scheffler, the result of a very weak chip up from the front. And on 2, Rahm starts the final round of a major with back-to-back birdies for the first time in his career! He’s now just a shot off the pace, the gap at the top closed in double-quick time.
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen, Henley
-4: Rahm (2)
-3: DeChambeau (1), McIlroy
-2: Thomas (7), Schauffele (3), Morikawa (3)
Birdie for Collin Morikawa at 2, reward for screwing his wedge from 100 yards to a couple of feet. He joins the pack at -2. Plenty of movement at the top of the leader board now.
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen, Henley
-3: Rahm (1), McIlroy, DeChambeau
-2: Thomas (6), Schauffele (3), Morikawa (2), Scheffler
-1: Berger (10), Migliozzi (9), Koepka (5), Molinari (5), Poulter (5), Bezuidenhout (3), Johnson (2), Wolff (1)
Bogey for Rahm’s partner Matthew Wolff, though. Wolff is looking to become only the seventh man in US Open history to win the year after finishing second. If he does it, he’ll match the feats of Alex Smith, Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson ... and Bobby Jones, who did it three times! Not a great start for the 22-year-old Californian, though, the dropped shot coming after dumping his second into a bunker to the right of the green. He slips to -1.
Updated
Here comes Bryson! He’s looking to become only the fourth man since the war to retain the US Open, following Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and ... Brooks Koepka. His first bomb ends in a bunker to the left of the fairway, though does it really matter where it ends up? It rarely seems to make much difference to him. Up on the green, Rahm, having landed his second four feet from the flag, knocks in for an opening birdie. He’s got to win a major championship soon, surely. Could this be his time? He’s -3.
Birdie for Daniel Berger at 9. It follows birdies at 1 and 8, and he’s hitting the turn in 32, -1 for the tournament. The 28-year-old Floridian’s best showing at the US Open was at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, when he jointly led after 54-holes and finished in a tie for sixth. Russell Henley led after the first round that week, incidentally, not that it means anything. But he did do that.
Back-to-back birdies for Justin Thomas! He rakes a long putt across 5, and joins the group at -2. Xander Schauffele races an excitable birdie putt well past the hole at 2, but makes the one coming back to remain in that group. Pars meanwhile for Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa at 1, while behind them, Jon Rahm and Matthew Wolff take turns to find the fairway with booming drives. Just three groups left to tee off!
A two-putt par at 6 for Brian Harman. A vast improvement on yesterday’s monstrosity. Meanwhile here’s John Cook from county Donegal, with more reflections on Father’s Day: “My dad passed away last September. He wasn’t a golfer. But my grandfather was, and 27 years ago as he approached the end of his life he birdied the long 3rd par 3, which happened to be where the course was closest to his own home, just a hundred metres or so. He picked up his ball and told his sons who were playing with him that that was that. No way to improve. And off he went.” Marvellous. Go out on a high, no need to outstay your welcome. That’s showbiz!
Updated
Local lad Xander Schauffele has played in four US Opens to date. Here’s his record: T5-T6-T3-5. That is astonishing. A fair chance he’ll be keeping that up today, and maybe improving on it, because he’s arrowed his approach at 1 to four feet, and rolled in the birdie putt. A flying start, and it’s worth remembering that the 27-year-old from San Diego wasn’t on it at all during the last couple of rounds, yet still shot 71-72. He’s now -2, just three off the lead. There are still five matches yet to tee off, but already this is beginning to bubble up nicely!
Branden Grace rattles a 50-foot tramliner into the cup at 12 for his second birdie of the day. Mr 62 is +1 for the tournament. Birdie for Ian Poulter at 2, and he moves into the red at -1. He’s alongside Justin Thomas, who makes one at 4. A little movement now on the leader board, as we get closer and closer to the business end of this US Open.
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen, Henley
-3: McIlroy, DeChambeau
-2: Scheffler, Rahm, Wolff
-1: Thomas (4), Koepka (3), Poulter (2), Johnson, Morikawa, Bezuidenhout, Schauffele
E: Berger (8), Migliozzi (7), Harman (6), Molinari (2), Casey (1), Streelman (1)
The exciting Italian youngster Guido Migliozzi is going along nicely, having birdied 2; he’s one under for his round through six holes today, and level par for the week. He’s going around with the man who pipped him for the British Masters title last month, the record-breaking 48-year-old Richard Bland. Becoming the oldest 36-hole leader in US Open history was the high point for the English veteran, who stumbled to a 77 yesterday, and has bogeyed 1 and 3 this morning to slip to +3. A bit of a shame, but it’s been an unexpected - and pretty great - ride since winning that first-ever European Tour title. A month to remember, and a place in the US Open record books to boot.
No left-handed player has ever won the US Open. Brian Harman would have been in with a shout today, had he not managed to four-putt from eight feet at 6 yesterday, turning par into triple bogey in one piping-hot rush of blood. To be fair, the poa annua greens aren’t the easiest to read, bumpy and inconsistent. But still. Birdie at 5 this morning brings him up to level par, just in time to have another crack at 6. Godspeed!
An early birdie for the two-time winner Brooks Koepka. The 2017 and 2018 champion started the day at level par for the week, still in with a shout, certainly if the leading trio falter. He sends his second at 2 to five feet, then makes his putt to move into red figures.
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen, Henley
-3: McIlroy, DeChambeau
-2: Scheffler, Rahm, Wolff
-1: Koepka (1), Johnson, Morikawa, Bezuidenhout, Schauffele, Streelman
E: Migliozzi (6), Harman (5), Thomas (2), Molinari (1), Poulter (1), Casey
Here’s someone else who has a locker at Augusta National, and could cash in his final round for a few coins were it possible. Patrick Reed is the new clubhouse leader at +2 after a closing round of 67, equalling the best of the week. And what a finish: birdie at 14, another at 17 after holing out from a bunker, and inches away from eagle at 18. Those in the leading pack will be casting envious glances, hoping Torrey Pines will see them produce more of the same later.
The Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama is in with a 68. He could sell that to the leaders for a few quid. At +3, he’s the very early clubhouse leader. The week promised much more after his opening round of 69, but a 76 on Friday put paid to any notions. His compatriot Rikuya Hoshino is going along nicely, too: bouncing back from a bogey at 2, he’s birdied 4, 8 and 9 to hit the turn in 33. The 25-year-old, making his second start at a US Open and his first appearance over the weekend, is well positioned for a high finish at +1.
Here’s how Jordan Spieth spent his time warming up this morning. The ground on the practice range being a bit firm, you see.
Interesting technique 🤔
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 20, 2021
Jordan Spieth was seen taking divots out of the range ahead of his final round at the #USOpen!
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports Golfpic.twitter.com/Pb3goievM8
Anyway, the 2015 champion needs something special if he’s to win today. Starting out at +1, he’s most likely a couple of shots too far back, but you never know if he shoots a best-of-week round. He’d have to go pretty low, too, on a course that’s shown no signs of giving up a total in the mid-to-low 60s. He opens with a couple of pars, not the flying start he needed.
Seeing we’re on the subject of beloved senior figures, here’s news of Phil Mickelson. Plenty of us had been hoping for Lefty to follow up his outlandish win at Kiawah in the PGA with a career-slam-completing victory here this week, at the one major missing on his stellar CV. Looking back, we were just being greedy, it could never be. As if breaking a record that stood for 53 years to become the oldest major winner in history wasn’t enough for 2021. Anyway, he’s left the stage in characteristic style, flaying his drive at 18 into thick filth, then sending his second over a tree, behind the leader board, and up against a fence. Shades of Winged Foot in 2006, only with much less to lose. A free drop, a chip into sand, then three more strokes for a closing bogey. A 75. It wasn’t to be his week, and he ends it at +11. The US Open still remains elusive, although to be honest, there’s something more romantic about that section of his CV containing six second places rather than one win. Perfection is over-rated.
As ever, Sunday at the US Open coincides with Father’s Day. A fair chance we’ll hear a heartfelt speech from whoever wins later this afternoon ... but please let me get there first and grab a small slice of that emotional pie. Because this particular Father’s Day also coincides with the closure this afternoon of the course I used to play on with my dad as a child. In an act of environmental, architectural, aesthetic, cultural, sporting and spiritual vandalism, Basingstoke Golf Club has been sold to housing developers. A beautiful parkland course designed by the five-time Open champion James Braid, and opened by Braid and six-time Open winner Harry Vardon in 1928, is now gone forever, soon to be covered in little boxes. Other fields were available.
I took a sentimental journey back there last week, for one last spin around the old track. A farewell birdie in memory of the old man, gone a quarter of a century now, please! Just one. Please. No emotional pressure. Lip-outs at 7 and 8, hitting the flag at 9, nearly chipping in at 15, a final near miss at the par-three 17th. A phlegmatic sigh and a smack of the lips. Ah well, with only the uphill 491-yard par-five left, the entrance to its green narrow and unwelcoming, it wasn’t meant to be. I came close, though. I tried, Dad. I really did try.
Reader, I birdied 18. Drive down the middle. A fairway wood that nearly toppled into a bunker, taking with it any last sliver of hope. A wedge from 110 yards to 15 feet. A right-to-left putt, our last act at our old course, steered unerringly into the cup. A kiss to the heavens. That one’s for you, mate. Love you. A little kid again, just for one glassy-eyed, never-to-be-forgotten moment. Sometimes sport is just golden.
So happy Father’s Day to all you dads, wherever you are. Right, what’s happening at Torrey Pines?
Preamble
The denouement of the 121st US Open at Torrey Pines will be played out by one hell of a cast. Please show your appreciation for …
- A couple of 54-hole leaders who have never before finished in the top ten at a major, one missing his last five cuts on Tour
- Another leader who has completed a career slam of second-place finishes, and whose only major win was 11 years ago
- One of the biggest stars in the game, currently looking to scratch a seven-year major itch
- The defending champion, a man whose bomb-and-gouge policy is redefining US Open golf
- Three young major champions in waiting
- The world number one, who narrowly avoided missing the cut at a major for the third time in a row, but is now in the mix for a second US Open
I mean, we could go on, and for some time at that. We’ve only just started on the one-overs! But there’s a live tournament to cover, so let’s get on with it and natter later. Here’s how the top of the leader board looked after 54 holes …
-5: Hughes, Oosthuizen, Henley
-3: McIlroy, DeChambeau
-2: Scheffler, Rahm, Wolff
-1: Johnson, Morikawa, Bezuidenhout, Schauffele, Streelman
E: Casey, Poulter, Molinari, Im, Koepka, Thomas, English
+1: Spieth, Kaymer, Baker, Griffin, Harman, Westwood, Migliozzi, Bland
… and here is the order in which the players will go out (USA unless stated, times local, add eight hours for BST). Plenty of them are already on the course, and we’ll hear what they’ve been up to in a minute. It’s on!
06.30 Wilco Nienaber (Rsa)
06.41 Fabian Gomez (Arg), Jimmy Walker
06.52 Matt Jones (Aus), Kyle Westmoreland
07.03 Phil Mickelson, Greyson Sigg
07.14 Rick Lamb, Taylor Montgomery
07.25 Tom Hoge, Marc Leishman (Aus)
07.36 Stewart Cink, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
07.47 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Patrick Reed
07.58 Troy Merritt, Wade Ormsby (Aus)
08.09 Akshay Bhatia, Patrick Rodgers
08.20 Charley Hoffman, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
08.31 Rafael Cabrera (Spa), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
08.42 Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Gary Woodland
08.53 Kevin Kisner, Shane Lowry (Irl)
09.04 Adam Hadwin (Can), Dylan Wu
09.15 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
09.26 Branden Grace (Rsa), Bubba Watson
09.37 Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Chez Reavie
09.48 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa)
09.59 Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott (Aus)
10.10 Si Woo Kim (Kor), J. T. Poston
10.21 Daniel Berger, Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
10.32 Richard Bland (Eng), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
10.43 Brian Harman, Lee Westwood (Eng)
10.54 Chris Baker, Lanto Griffin
11.05 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Jordan Spieth
11.16 Harris English, Justin Thomas
11.27 Sung Jae Im (Kor), Brooks Koepka
11.38 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Ian Poulter (Eng)
11.49 Paul Casey (Eng), Kevin Streelman
12.00 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Xander Schauffele
12.11 Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa
12.22 Jon Rahm (Spa), Matthew Wolff
12.33 Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler
12.44 Russell Henley, Rory McIlroy (NIrl)
12.55 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
