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Royal Portrush set for 'McIlroy Mania' as R&A address Turnberry's uncertain Open future
By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
Masters champion will have crowds flocking to home venue
McIlroy Mania’ at Royal Portrush this summer will see 278,000 fans - the second largest in the history of the event and officially set to be the largest sporting event in Northern Ireland - attend The 153rd Open.
The 41,000 increase from the tournament’s return to the County Antrim venue in 2019 was announced by Mark Darbon, The R&A’s new chief executive, at a media day for this year’s Claret Jug event, which will be staged on July 17-20.
McIlroy, who shot a course-record 61 on the Dunluce Links as a 16-year-old amateur, suffered a disappointing missed cut on home soil six years ago after hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds.
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'You’ll see a lot more great golf out of Rory McIlroy' - Jack Nicklaus
By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
Six-time Masters champion ‘delighted’ to have new member of ‘Career Grand Slam Club’
Jack Nicklaus is expecting to see “a lot more great golf out of Rory McIlroy” after the Northern Irishman joined him in golf’s ‘Career Grand Slam Club’.
Six-time Masters winner Nicklaus had always felt confident that McIlroy would eventually get his Green Jacket to complete the set and it was mission accomplished on Sunday in his 11th attempt to become just the sixth player to win all four majors.
“I’m delighted for Rory,” said Nicklaus, speaking on Golf Central Live From The Masters. “I know that he’s had a lot of pressure on him. He’s had the world on his shoulders.
“It was wonderful to see him win. This will take the world off his shoulders and I think you’ll see a lot more great golf out of Rory McIlroy.”
The Northern Irishman became the first player to win at Augusta National after running up four double bogeys while he also joined Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2005) in overturning a seven-shot deficit after 18 holes.
“It takes a really talented player to win with some of the shots that he hit,” added 18-time major winner Nicklaus. “Four double bogeys (for the week) and to win the golf tournament is incredible, the talent he has is enormous.”
Paul McGinley, Mcllroy’s winning captain in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, was also delighted to see the 35-year-old return to winning ways in the majors after an 11-year drought.
“I think it’s a different Rory. I think it’s an evolution of Rory,” he said in his role as a Golf Channel analyst. “There is mental resilience there that might not have been there. He’s got strategies, he digs deep, and he can win when he’s not right on it...he’s on a path to maybe win more.
“Now that he’s climbed Everest, does he lose a little bit? When you reach something you’ve desired so much, you kind of soften...but I don’t think so. I think he’s going to keep going.
“I’ve said if he’ll win one major, he’ll win three or four. I don’t think he’s done winning majors this year. He’s got some great chances to add to it – maybe a double, a triple, or maybe even a Grand Slam this year? How about that (laughing)?”
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Rory McIlroy's golfing immortality - enjoy something very special and the hard graft to achieve it
By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
New Masters champion opens up on his 11-year journey to a career grand slam
He’d found himself on the floor so many times over the last 11 years. Some had been from punches landed by others while he’d shot himself in the foot a few times as well.
Time and time again, though, Rory McIlroy had picked himself up, refused to believe that he would never win another major and gone again.
Heaven knows what scars would have been left if it had ended up badly for him again at Augusta National on Sunday and he did his best for that to happen. Thankfully, though, we will never know.
At the end of possibly the most dramatic day in golf’s history, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman achieved his Holy Grail. No longer will he be referred to as ‘career grand slam-chasing Rory McIlroy’.
In beating his Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose to win the 89th Masters, McIlroy joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to have won the game’s four majors.
It all seemed so easy for McIlroy when, ironically, of course, a couple of months after blowing a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta National, he landed the 2011 US Open by eight shots at Congressional Country Club.
He then added the PGA Championship the following year by the same margin at Kiawah Island and was absolutely flying when winning The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014 then, a few weeks later, a second PGA Championship at Valhalla.
All that was standing between him and immortality was a Green Jacket and, at the 11th attempt in terms of completing that grand slam and 17th in total, he’s got one - a 38 regular, for the record.
“There's been a few,” replied McIlroy in his post-event press conference to being asked what had been the low point during his major drought, having tied five players, the most recent being Woods, with the longest gap between wins in the game’s marquee events.
“It's hard because, like, I've played so much good golf. It's hard to call the second-place finishes. St Andrews (where, after his putter turned cold, he was denied by a brilliant last round from Cameron Smith in the 150th Open in 2022) was a tough one to take because you only get a few opportunities there, you know, during the course of your career.
“The US Open last year (when he missed a couple of short putts late on and lost out to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst) was awful. But, yeah, the losses are hard, and you know, again, just so proud of myself that I keep coming back and putting myself in positions to win these championships.”
Wearing his new Green Jacket, Rory McIlroy shows off the trophy with daughter Poppy and wife Erica at Augusta National Golf Club
In terms of The Masters, McIlroy had tried everything you could think of to see if it would do the trick. In the end, it was a combination of some outstanding golf and being resilient that got the job done but, as he admitted, extraordinary achievements like this one don’t come easy.
“You have to be the eternal optimist in this game,” he added, having joined Seve Ballesteris, James Braid, Brooks Koepka, Byron Nelson, J.H Taylor and Peter Thomson on the five-major mark. You know, I've been saying it until I'm blue in the face. I truly believe I'm a better player now than I was ten years ago.
“You know, it's so hard to stay patient. It's so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done. There were points on the back nine today, I thought, ‘have I let this slip again?’ But I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and really proud of myself for that.
“It's been an emotionally draining week for a lot of reasons, a lot of just roller coaster rounds and late finishes. So just absolutely thrilled to be sitting here at the end of the week as the last man standing.”
On an extraordinary day, the world No 2 lost a two-shot lead over playing partner DeChambeau straight away after starting with a double bogey before then falling behind as the American birdied the second. Helped by back-to-back two-shot swings, it was advantage McIlroy again and, at one point, he was four ahead.
A shocking wedge shot at the 13th that led to a double-bogey 7 would have haunted him forever if it hadn’t worked out the way it did, but a jaw-dropping 7 iron around the trees at the 15th, a stunning approach at the 17th and then an equally good one at the 18th in the sudden-death play-off with Justin Rose meant it was McIlroy’s time at the Georgia venue at last.
“I would see a young man that didn't really know a whole lot about the world. I would,” he replied to being asked about 2011, when he looked crushed as a wayward tee shot at the tenth led to one of the most-crushing disappointments of his career.
Rory McIlroy reacts on the 13th green after running up a double-bogey 7 in the final round
“Yeah, I'd say I probably would see a young man with a lot of learning to do and a lot of growing up to do. Maybe I probably didn't understand myself. I didn't understand why I got myself in a great position in 2011, and I probably didn't understand why I let it slip in a way. But I think just having a little more self-reflection.
“You know, that experience, going through the hardships of tough losses and all that, and I would say to him, just stay the course. Just keep believing. I've literally made my dreams come true today, and I would say to every boy and girl listening to this, believe in your dreams, and if you work hard enough and if you put the effort in, that you can achieve anything you want.”
Quail Hollow, a happy hunting ground for him, is next up in the majors for the PGA Championship while a home gig awaits at Royal Portrush in the 153rd Open in July. For now, though, let’s just enjoy something very special indeed and the hard yards it’s taken to achieve it.
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Rory Mcllroy - Masters Champion
Runner-up Justin Rose MBE once again showed his class throughout, reflecting his PGA Recognition Award in 2023 in honour of his outstanding contribution to golf.European golf is in good hands heading into this year's Ryder Cup!
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Bob MacIntyre bitten on Masters return as amateur urinates at Augusta National
By Martin Dempster - The ScotsmanScot ‘disappointed’ with opening 75 after three-putting from three feet and skying a driveAugusta National, eh? It charms you with its beauty but, boy, does it bite. Just ask Bob MacIntyre, who was going along nicely on his Masters return after a two-year absence before being made to look stupid by three-putting from three feet on the par-4 seventh.
“It kills you,” admitted the Oban man afterwards of what that had done to him mentally, costing him a double-bogey 6 after being one under to that point, in the first round of the event’s 89th edition.
Then there was the par-5 13th, possibly the most beautiful hole in golf, but, not even if he played it 100 times would MacIntyre have believed where he would be playing his second shot from on this occasion.
His drive wasn’t what he intended at all and, though actually getting a bit lucky, he was closer to the 12th green than the one he was playing to. “I tried to sneak it around the corner and I just got underneath it - a cardinal sin,” he said of that episode.
In the end, the 28-year-old had to settle for a three-over-par 75 - his second-worst score here in nine rounds. It wasn’t what he’d been looking for in his first major round of the year. “It’s not a disaster,” he admitted, “but it's not good. I actually felt I've played nicely, but I was just hitting it too far away from the hole.”
His only birdie of the day came at the par-5 second, with other spillage in addition to that double bogey coming in the shape of bogeys at the 12th, where he found the front bunker, and the 13th, having looked as though he could get out of there with a par only to three putt.
“I came here the last two times I've played it and I think I've made a hell of a lot of birdies, and today I've just played completely the opposite and been defensive and made a couple of bogeys from being on the safe side of the hole but miles away from it,” he declared. ”Just disappointed with the day.”
Having returned here as a double PGA Tour winner and sitting inside the world’s top 20, MacIntytre’s name was being mentioned before he teed off in the company of American duo Billy Horschel and Nick Dunlap in the 11th match of the day.
“The commentators have been talking about the lefty from Scotland,” declared the buggy driver taking this correspondent on the journey from the Press Building at the Georgia venue down to the drop off area close to the first tee.
In truth, the RBC Canadian Open and Genesis Scottish Open champion looked very comfortable indeed over the opening few holes only to be punched in the guts by coming up just short with his approach at the seventh and walking off with a 6 after playing a nice bunker shot.
“Actually reminded me of the momentum swing that I had when I was leading in Denmark, when I think I was two or three ahead and then I make a triple and my back is against the wall,” he said of letting a chance to win the Made in Denmark event slip from his grasp earlier in his career. “I was annoyed, but I didn't let it keep going. But it's like a shock to the system. It brings all the energy out of you.”
On a day when world No 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler started ominously by signing for a four-under-par 68, MacIntyre conceded there had been a “lot of good in there” and, importantly in terms of momentum heading into the second circuit, he holed a six-footer for par at 17th after racing the first one past then making a good two-putt down the slope at the last.
“Yeah, it's all right,” he said of the day’s work, which was watched by his mum and dad Dougie and Carol, as well as his two sisters, Gillian and Nicola. “Three-over par is not that rough. I've had bad scores to start before. Just gets me over a touch where I want to be.
“I had actually done the hard part in the first seven holes. My job from four to seven was to try and limit the bogeys, and I actually did the hard part. The tee shot on seven was the last piece of the jigsaw, and I then hit a lovely wedge but just pulled it.
“You think, ‘oh, I can be a bit aggressive with this putt, and I try and do that and it misses, and now you're left with a four or five-footer coming back. Then you try and dribble that one in and it moves as much as you thought the first one was going to move. It's just the way this golf course is.”
Spanish amateur Jose Luis Ballester pictured at Augusta National Golf Club
MacIntyre may have been disappointed with his score, but he fared a lot better than Dunlap. The man who won as an amateur on the PGA Tour last season then repeated the feat as a professional a few months later signed for a 90, limping home in 47.
“I've played with him a few times this year, and what a great player, what a great guy,” said MacIntyre of the young American. “To be honest, as much as he was struggling out there today, his attitude was solid. He didn't get in the way. He didn't lay off anything that was going to affect his two other playing partners because we've got a job to do. I feel for him today, but he'll come back.”
Aaron Rai, the 2020 Genesis Scottish Open champion, marked his Masters debut with a two-under 70. “Yeah, definitely beyond expectations,” admitted the Englishman of an effort that contained six birdies.
Bidding to claim a third Green Jacket in four years, Scheffler was bogey-free, holing a 62-footer for a birdie at the fourth then rolling in one from 42 feet for another 2 at the 16th.
“Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it's a really good thing,” he said of achieving the feat in the first competitive round on the course since hundreds of trees were lost when the Augusta area suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Helene last September.
If there had been a few more trees around, it might have hid Spanish amateur Jose Louis Ballester, one of Scheffler’s playing partners, urinating into a tributary of historic Rae’s Creek as he played the 12th hole and being applauded by some patrons as he did so.
“I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box,” he admitted afterwards. “I'm like, I really need to pee. Didn't really know where to go, and, since JT (the other player in the group) had an issue on the green, I'm like, I'm just going to sneak here in the river and probably people would not see me that much and then they clapped for me. It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.”
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Former Scottish Open champion Justin Rose off to another strong start in Masters
By Martin Dempster - The ScotsmanEnglishman equals best round at Augusta National as Rory McIlroy rues two late slip upsFormer Scottish Open champion Justin Rose is out in front after the opening round in The Masters for the fifth time in his career - and this time the Englishman is determined to stay there and claim a Green Jacket.
On a fascinating opening day in the event’s 89th edition at Augusta National, the 44-year-old carded a seven-under-par 65, matching his lowest round at the Georgia venue.
It earned him a three-shot lead over defending champion Scottie Scheffler, last year’s runner-up Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners, who has recorded three top-ten finishes in seven starts here.
Rose either led on his own or shared the lead in 2004, 2007 and 2008 - three successive starts - then again in 2021 while he finished runner-up in both 2015 and 2017.
The 2014 Genesis Scottish Open winner had been happy to come into this edition feeling he was under the “radar”, but he’s not in that position any more. Not after a sparkling effort that contained eight birdies, with his sole dropped shot coming at the last.
“Yeah, obviously delighted to get off to such a great start and it definitely happened out of the gates,” he said of opening with three birdies before making another hat-trick from the eighth then adding gains at the 15th and 16th as well.
“It was a really good day's golf on a golf course that was a stern test,” said the former US Open and Olympic champion. “I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there. A lot of quality shots, and delighted the way I played.
“This year I've been saying to people, my good is good. When I have been playing well, I feel like I have been competing at a high level. My consistency maybe has not been as high this year, but my good is good again.
“So I'm excited about that. I played a lot of golf here at Augusta National, so to come away with my equal best score is certainly an achievement for me.”
Rose, who did a brilliant job mentoring Bob MacIntyre on the opening two days in the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, has topped the leaderboard after more rounds - nine - than anyone who has yet to win this event.
“I feel like I've played well enough (to do it),” insisted Rose. “I just don't have the jacket to prove it.I've played a lot of good rounds of golf here. Got a lot of crystal, which is obviously always nice.
“But, ultimately, you want to be the last man standing on Sunday. I guess Sergio [Garcia] and I in 2017 (losing in play-off), that was a real 50/50. That could have gone any which way down the stretch.
“A little bit of Lady Luck here and there is always the difference here at times. But I've had my luck on occasion and been a champion. But you've got to be playing good golf to keep creating those opportunities, and obviously the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard. I definitely don't shy away from it.”
Rose finished joint-second behind Xander Schauffele in last year’s 152nd Open at Royal Troon “I feel like I played good enough to win the tournament,” he said of that close call. “So I took a lot of confidence from it.”
On a good day for English golfers, Tyrrell Hatton (69), Aaron Rai (70) and Matt Fitzpatrick (71) also ended in red figures.
Career grand slam-chasing Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, had to settle for a level-par 70 after running up two double bogeys in the final four holes.
The world No 2 was closing in on second place when he sent his third shot into the water at the 15th, where Patrick Cantlay had did the same thing twice a bit earlier.
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is handily-placed on three under, but 2023 champion Jon Rahm had to settle for a 75, sitting alongside Bob MacIntyre in joint-63rd.
Bernhard Langer, who is making his 41st and final appearance, signed for a 74, three shots more than fellow former winner Fred Couples, who holed out for an eagle-2 at the 14th.
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Scottie Scheffler opens up on winning Masters formula and reveals his secret spot at Augusta National
By Martin Dempster - The ScotsmanDefending champion offers fascinating insight about Georgia venue - both on and off the courseIt was a classic case of something in black and white on a transcript being used to come across in a totally different way and Scottie Scheffler probably wouldn’t have been too amused about how his comments about golf’s ongoing fractured state in a pre-Masters chat were relayed by some media outlets.
“If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys,” was the quote made into a headline from his response to a question about the players competing on the breakaway LIV Golf League. “Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together.”
As always, the world No 1 wasn’t being confrontational because he’s simply not that type and, though some might claim that he’s a bit of the boring side, this correspondent would say otherwise on the strength of having either been in the same room listening to him or doing so on a video call a fair few times over the past few years.
Like lots of other players I’ve come across over the years, Scheffler has gradually come out of his shell since he burst on to the scene in spectacular fashion three years ago and, while he’s never likely to become an all-dancing, all-singing sportsman, the 28-year-old is very likeable indeed and open at the same time.
As illustrated, for example, by the lengthy answer he gave to another question asked in the same press conference arranged by Augusta National Golf Club ahead of Scheffler’s second defence of The Masters title, having landed a first Green Jacket in 2022 then coming out on top again in the season’s opening major last year.
It was put to him that, due to Augusta National being such a special place, did he have a favourite spot on the property and, as a second part, were there any personal traditions he liked to carry out on every return trip there.
“I usually come in Sunday morning,” he said, tackling the second part first. “I typically hand out an award at the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship. That's always a fun thing for me to do and a fun thing that Augusta National does.
“Then it's tradition on Sunday at The Masters that past champions get to bring a guest to play. Last year it was one of my sisters and this year I think my mom is going to come play.
“And so I think that day is a good day for me to soak in being back at The Masters, enjoy the memories and have some fun with a family member or close friend and just enjoy the golf course, enjoy the day before the work week starts on Monday.
“As far as my favourite spot on property, I don't know if I really have (one). I think when you pull in the gates, I think that's the most special thing for me. When you pull in, it feels like we’re going into a different world and everything else just kind of melts away. I forget about a lot of stuff that's going on. I just kind of get really in tune to just try to play golf and get ready and prepare to play the golf course.”
He then remembered that he does have a favourite spot. “Outside of the locker room,” he added with a smile. “There's a little patio that's upstairs, and you can kind of loop around to the other side and you have a little view of the first tee and No 10 and the golf course and it's a pretty cool little spot to sit and watch. I kind of sit up there and just watch what's going on and nobody really knows that I'm up there.
“Just kind of sitting there watching the crowds, enjoying the sights and sounds of Augusta, and nobody really knows that you're there, so it's pretty nice. I kind of just gave myself away with that one.”
Scottie Scheffler of the United States celebrates on the 18th green after winning his second Green Jacket in three years
While career grand slam-chasing Rory McIlroy attempts to come up with a winning formula for The Masters, Scheffler has two triumphs in just five appearances, having also finished in the top 20 in his three other starts so far.
“Why does my game fit so well at Augusta National? It's a good question,” he admitted. “I think the golf course is really difficult. You have to manage your way around the course and I've done a very good job of managing my way around the course the last few years and hitting the appropriate shots when I need to and being in control of my ball.
“I think the best way I could describe it is when I'm in control of my golf ball, I have a very good strategy for playing the golf course. But, at the end of the day, you've got to hit the shots. That's what it is at Augusta. I could talk about it all day long about where to play it and the certain type of shot to hit.
“But, if you don't pull a shot off, you're going to be punished out there. And the last few years, I've been pulling off the shots I'm trying to hit.”
How different is Augusta National in terms of requiring the creativity of shaping shots as opposed to a regular PGA Tour venue? “I would say that there's definitely an aspect to that,” he added. “The golf course changes a good amount from soft greens to firm greens. We've had some wind the last few years.
“One thing that's different about Augusta National compared to a lot of the other major championship venues is the lack of rough. At the US Open or PGA Championship, you're playing a lot of hack-out shots if you are in the rough. When you miss the green at Augusta National, typically you're in the fairway, and there's always opportunity to play a shot.
“It just so happens that a lot of the shots around the greens are pretty tough because you've got elevated greens, and there's a lot of different variables in play there.
“I feel like around Augusta National, what makes the golf course so special is always the opportunity to pull off a great shot. I think that style of golf is a bit more exciting than just your typical event where you hit in the rough, and you see guys playing the same shot each time where they are just kind of hacking it out of the rough.
“At Augusta, there's a lot of run-off areas and closely mown areas around the green, and there's opportunity to play great shots, but also severe punishments for playing the wrong shot as well.”
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LIV Golf players earn new route into The Open
By Martin Dempster - The ScotsmanThe R&A joins USGA in introducing new exemption for players on breakaway circuitThe R&A has joined the USGA in introducing a new exemption to allow LIV Golf players to secure spots in The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
The leading player not already exempt in the top five five of the breakaway circuit’s 2025 individual season standings following the completion of LIV Golf Dallas will be awarded a place in this year’s Claret Jug event at the County Antrim venue.
The new exemption complements existing qualification routes through the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour and the International Federation Ranking for players competing on the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour.
Mark Darbon, Chief Executive at The R&A, said: “The Open is a global championship for the best men’s golfers and each year we review our exemptions to ensure that we offer pathways into the Championship based on results achieved on the leading professional tours.
“We acknowledge that players competing in LIV Golf should also have the opportunity to secure places in The Open through its individual season standings as well as existing pathways.
“We are proud to offer a wide range of opportunities to qualify globally and look forward to seeing which golfers will emerge to take their place at Royal Portrush in July.”
A similar exemption category was announced last week by the USGA for this year’s US Open at Oakmont.
“We thank Mark Darbon for his leadership and the R&A for taking this step for the benefit of moving golf forward,” said new CEO Scott O’Neil, who recently took over the reins from Greg Norman. “The Open Championship is one of the most prestigious events in all of sports.
“The acknowledgement that competitors from the LIV Golf League and The International Series will have the opportunity to play in golf’s original major is a true testament to the strength of fields and the R&A’s commitment to golf fans around the world.
“LIV will continue our mission to bring the best players to the four corners of the world to grow the game. We are excited for the future of this great sport.”
It’s been a good few days for LIV Golf because, on top of these announcements, events on the circuit are now being shown on ITV in the UK.
The R&A has also announced the schedule for the Open Qualifying Series in 2025, with 15 events in 11 countries offering places in the game’s oldest major.
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US Open goes down to the wire
- Bryson DeChambeau wins US Open Thriller
Bryson DeChambeau has won the US Open for a second time after beating Rory McIlroy by one shot in a thrilling finale.
The 30-year-old American, one of only a dozen players from LIV Golf in the 156-player field, lost his three-shot overnight lead before an intense and dramatic last few holes saw Rory McIlroy lose the championship when it looked like it was his.
McIlroy missed two tricky downhill putts with break from only three feet over the last three holes, including a heartbreaking miss from 2 and a half feet for par on the 72nd hole, that left DeChambeau needing only a par four at the last hole for the title. In a greenside bunker in two at the last with an extremely difficult shot - the 2020 Champion hit an incredible bunker shot to within four feet, where he the holed the winning putt.
DeChambeau signed for a one-over 71 to finish six-under for the week and one better than McIlroy in the 124th playing of America’s national championship that surely will rank among its most unforgettable. He became only the fifth player since the second world war to win the US Open more than once aged 30 or younger, joining a roll of honour including Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka.
“I still can’t believe that up-and-down,” DeChambeau said while taking in a replay during the trophy ceremony. “Probably the best shot of my life.” As for McIlroy, he cut a composed but despondent figure, declining interviews in the aftermath and leaving Pinehurst almost immediately after his rival’s final putt dropped.
The American had spent the week trading his familiar bomb-and-gouge style for a more patient, conservative golf he described as “boring”, but old habits die hard and he began to break that pledge approaching the turn, when he daringly hit a driver straight off the 7th tee.
The duo are divided by professional golf’s civil war but were united here by a brutally difficult course that had led dozens of the world’s best to fly the white flag. The pars felt like birdies and birdies felt like eagles on a baked-out back nine with every shot from hole to tee freighted with heart-pounding tension. The 15 scores under par after Thursday’s first round was down to six.
McIlroy finally went level with DeChambeau curling in his longest putt of the week from 27 feet for a second successive birdie on the 10th, sending the masses surrounding the green into hysterics - this was just the beginning of the thriller which was to follow.
DeChambeau nosed ahead on the 10th, hitting an excellent pitch close after a badly struck fairway shot and depositing for birdie, stopping between holes to sign an autograph for a fan. McIlroy could hear the cheers behind as he lined up a birdie putt on the 11th green, but missed by inches to remain one off the pace.
Moments after DeChambeau converted a dramatic par save on the 11th, McIlroy drained another hairy putt on the 12th to go seven-under and back into a tie for the lead. McIlroy’s third birdie in four holes set off even more rollocking chants. A fourth in five moved him two clear of DeChambeau at eight-under, the trophy suddenly in sight.
It wasn’t over yet. Right as McIlroy’s legion supporters were ready to exhale, he sent a drive off the 13th tee sailing into the pine straw right of the fairway. As he took his time cleaning up a drive into the natural area, DeChambeau narrowly missed an eagle putt on 13 before cleaning up for birdie to get within a shot of the lead. When McIlroy dropped a shot on the 16th, the leaders were all square at seven-under.
What appeared to be a decisive moment came on the 15th green. Shortly after missing a putt to retake the lead, DeChambeau missed a 4 foot putt for par to fall one stroke behind. But McIlroy failed to take advantage by missing from only 19 inches on the 16th.
McIlroy hit a driver into the scrub on the 72nd hole and could only hit his approach to the front of the green leaving a difficult up and down. He then chipped to within three feet but a second miss over the last three holes all but handed the title to DeChambeau. A bunker shot which will go down as one of the best ever shots hit in a Major all but secured the title after he calmy holed the winning putt.
They were the 497th and 498th putts from inside three feet that McIlroy had attempted this year. He’d made each of the previous 496, but it’s Sunday’s pair that will be remembered the longest.
“Rory is one of the best to ever play. Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special,” DeChambeau said. “For him to miss that putt, I’d never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way.”
DeChambeau brings home the winner’s share of roughly $4.3m (£3.39m) from the $21.5m (£16.8m) prize fund, a record for a major tournament.
McIlroy, whose last major triumph came in the 2014 US PGA when it was staged in August, has come the closest to ending his drought at the US Open. He’d arrived at Pinehurst on a string of top‑10s in his past five appearances, each of those finishes improving on the one before, including last year when he came in one shot behind Wyndham Clark.
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Jon Rahm withdraws from US Open with recurring foot injury
- There’s a lot of negativity towards Jon Rahm this week but I think he did 100% the right thing. He has a foot problem, but he’s an athlete, he wanted to do everything he could to play. Any sportsman knows that feeling.
So he came to Pinehurst and tried. BUT seeing that it wasn’t going to work out he withdrew early; giving the first alternate the chance to play.
Whatever his golf career decisions and whether we like them or not, Jon did the right thing.
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WOMEN'S US OPEN - Lancaster Country Club • Lancaster, Pa. • May 30 - June 2, 2024
- Japan's Yuka Saso overturned a three-shot deficit to became the youngest player to win two US Women's Open titles.
There had been a three-way tie heading into what became a dramatic final day, with Australia's Minjee Lee, American Andrea Lee and Thailand's Wichanee Meechai level at the top of the leaderboard.
Saso, 22, produced a run of four birdies in five holes on the back nine to snatch victory by three strokes.
"It feels great," said Saso. "I really wanted it, as well.
"Not just to get a second win but also to prove something to myself. I haven't won in two and a half or three years. I definitely had a little doubt if I can win again or if I won't win again."
Her two-under-par 68 saw her triumph on four under at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania, with compatriot Hinako Shibuno finishing second.
That gave Saso, who switched her international allegiance from the Philippines in 2022, her second LPGA Tour title - both coming at the US Women's Open.
Saso became the first Filipino player to win a major when she clinched her first US Women's Open title as a teenager in 2021.
"Winning in 2021, I represented the Philippines [and] I feel like I was able to give back to my mom," Saso said at her trophy presentation.
"This year, I was able to represent Japan, and I think I was able to give back to my dad. I'm very happy that I was able to do it."
She was obliged to renounce one of her two citizenships before she turned 22 and chose to take Japanese citizenship.
Saso suffered an early blow on Sunday when she followed a birdie on the second by four-putting the sixth for a double bogey.
But after steadying the ship she stormed clear as only two players finished under par, with Minjee Lee limping home in 41 for an eight-over 78 while Meechai struggled to a closing 77.
Andrea Lee posted a 75 to share third place with fellow American Ally Ewing, who surged through the field with a 66.
Saso is the third player to win major championships with their first two LPGA Tour titles, after after Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun.
Link to Final Leaderboard
https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/us-womens-open/results
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WOMEN'S US OPEN - Lancaster Country Club • Lancaster, Pa. • May 30 - June 2, 2024
- Link to live scoring
https://www.uswomensopen.com/
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