Heartbreak for McIlroy as DeChambeau wins US Open on final hole at Pinehurst

American Bryson DeChambeau pipped Rory McIlroy at the death at Pinehurst.

Mon, 17 Jun, 2024 - 07:32

Scott Michaux, Pinehurst, North Carolina

Add Bryson DeChambeau and Pinehurst No. 2 to the litany of major miseries Rory McIlroy has endured.

McIlroy turned a three-shot deficit at the start Sunday into a two-shot lead after he walked off the 13th hole, but he bogeyed three of the last four holes including short missed putts inside four feet on 16 and 18 to open the door for DeChambeau to win his second U.S. Open championship.

DeChambeau saved par from under a magnolia tree and out of the fairway bunker on the last, draining a 4-footer to win after a brilliant sand shot from 55 yards after McIlroy cleared the stage in front of him. He got up-and-down for a winning par a la Payne Stewart 25 years ago, leaning back and letting out a massive roar that may soon be immortalized in a bronze statue of its own behind the 18th green.

“I got out of trouble really well, and then, man, I can't believe that up-and-down on the last,” said DeChambeau, who added the 2024 triumph in front of crowds to the 2020 covid championship. “That was overall probably the best shot of my life.

“I was just trying to land it pretty much where I landed it and run it out to the right. I remember Payne's putt and how it broke up there, and I knew that was obviously huge to get up-and-down to win this prestigious championship that will be the highlight of my life. I still can't believe it. It's unbelievable.”

No media for Rory McIlroy, as he loads up the car and quickly leaves the premises. pic.twitter.com/z9FzEoq0hB
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGolf) June 16, 2024

McIlroy, who peeled out of the parking lot without comment, will have to deal with more scar tissue that may have calcified into permanence as his growing desperation to change the narrative will need to start with the monologue going on between his ears.

DeChambeau shot 71 on Sunday to finish 6-under, one shot better after McIlroy’s 69 left him 5-under and two ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay on third at 4-under.

It was an excruciating conclusion for McIlroy – even worse than coming up one-shot short a year ago to Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club when he concluded with 36 putts. At Pinehurst on Sunday, he was cruising with four birdies in a five-hole stretch from 9 to 13 to claim his first outright lead of the week. He walked to the 14th tee two up with five to play.

But once he grabbed the lead, the collar seemed to tighten on McIlroy’s powder blue shirt. He made a nervy save at 14 but bogeyed 15 and 16, missing a two-and-a-half foot putt on the latter to fall back into a tie at 6-under with DeChambeau, who minutes before had lipped out a short putt of his own on 15.

While McIlroy tried to scramble for par saves on 17 and 18 – the first successfully from a greenside bunker and the second unsuccessfully from behind a gnarly tuft of wire grass – DeChambeau failed to capitalize on good birdie looks at 16 and 17 behind him.

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the fairway on the 10th hole. Pic: Matt York

But McIlroy will be haunted by another miss from just under four feet at the last after putting himself in position to put the pressure on DeChambeau in trouble under a tree behind him. Suddenly needing only a par to win instead of force a two-hole aggregate playoff, DeChambeau chopped out into the fairway bunker and hit a clutch shot from 55 yards to 4 feet. He didn’t miss.

McIlroy had been trending toward a breakthrough at the U.S. Open since 2019, finishing T9, T8, T7, T5 and runner-up heading into Pinehurst.

But he failed to do one better, with self-inflicted mistakes under the pressure of trying to put an end to a 10-year major championship drought that now includes 21 top-10s and four runner-ups.

McIlroy’s putter heated up like the North Carolina summer on Sunday – until it malfunctioned at the worst time. He rolled in a 21-footer on the first to set the tone for the day. The roar delivered the message back to the tee box to 54-hole leader DeChambeau that the Northern Irishman was coming.

Despite some miserable luck after two seemingly perfect shots on the par-5 fifth hole ended up trundling down the slope into a bad lie and led to bogey, McIlroy didn’t get down on himself.

Birdie putts of 15, 27 and 21 feet on 9, 10 and 12 found the bottom of the hole and lifted McIlroy all square with DeChambeau at 7-under.

While DeChambeau got in trouble off the tee on 12 and suffered bogey, McIlroy got up and down from over the back on the drivable par-4 13th for his fourth birdie in five holes, draining a 5-footer for a two-shot swing as chants of “ROR-EY! ROR-EY!” echoed across the sandhills.

DeChambeau, however, wasn’t deterred and hit a towering 3-wood that bounced up onto the 13th green and left him a 28-foot chance for eagle. His putt was on line but not hard enough and settled for birdie to get back within one as McIlroy scrambled to save par up ahead on 14.

“Ultimately on 13, I knew I had to make birdie there to give myself a chance because Rory was going on a heater, and he slipped up a couple on the way coming in,” said DeChambeau. “And I just kept staying the course, focused on trying to hit as many fairways as I could, even though I didn't. I was not great today with that.”

With the pressure intensified on every shot, the par-3 15th hole bit McIlroy again and triggered his demise. He pounded his tee shot well over the back and into a tough lie in the native area, doing well just to pitch it out and onto the green 32 feet away from the hole. He walked off with bogey on it for the third straight day and fell back into a tie with DeChambeau at 7-under.-30- But right behind him, DeChambeau showed nervous cracks of his own, making his first three-putt of the week after hitting a nice tee shot to 26 feet – lipping out a 4-foot comebacker to fall back to 6-under.

McIlroy returned the favor minutes later, missing from two-and-a-half feet on 16 for a three-putt bogey of his own. Whatever confidence he’d had with the putter most of the afternoon was gone.