Congratulations to Matthew Fitzpatrick on adding the US Open to the US Amateur title he won at Brookline nine years ago! He was pushed all the way by Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler, but when it came to the crunch, he produced a moment of carpe-diem genius from a bunker at 18 that registered a full ten on the Sandy Lyle-o-meter. That’s a shot that’ll be remembered for a very long time, and one that deserved the reward of the US Open. Thanks for reading this report. Nighty night!
-6: Fitzpatrick
-5: Scheffler, Zalatoris
-3: Matsuyama
-2: Morikawa, McIlroy
-1: McCarthy, Hadwin, Bradley
E: Woodland, Dahmen
+1: Power, Rahm
Ewan Murray was at Brookline. His report has landed. Here it is!
Fitzpatrick talks to Sky Sports. “It’s incredible. It’s ten million times better than I thought it would feel. I never wanted to say it, but it felt like it was meant to be. I’ve played so well so many times and come up just shy. For it to happen here, it just felt right. Billy Foster was massive, so calm the whole day. It means even more to him than to me, given he’s been around so long. I know it was eating away at him, and to get it done for myself but for him as well is great.”
The new US Open champion talks! “No words. It’s what you grow up dreaming of. it’s something I’ve worked so hard for, for such a long time. There was a big monkey on my back, trying to win over here. All everyone ever talked about was that. To do it as a major for my first win, there’s nothing better. I had so much patience today. If I can hit 18 greens, I’d like to think I’ve got a good chance. I near as dammit did it. I got a couple of nice breaks on 15 and took advantage of it, and that’s what it took at the end. Me and Billy [Foster, his caddie] spent a lot of time talking about the 18th tee shot. Undecided. I hit 3-wood today into the bunker, and if there’s one shot I’ve struggled with this year that I just do not want, it’s a fairway bunker shot. Ha ha! I guess ability took over, and it’s one of the best shots I’ve hit of all time!”
“With a score of 274, the Jack Nicklaus gold medal for the winner of the 122nd US Open goes to Matt Fitzpatrick of England.” Will any words have sounded sweeter in Matt Fitzpatrick’s life? This is his first win in America, by the way. What a prize to bag! He’s handed the trophy, hoists it into the sky, and soaks up the applause. He’s a popular winner all right!
It’s Father’s Day, of course, and Fitzpatrick enjoys a moment with Pop. “How good is that?! How good is that?!” he guffaws as the pair hug ... but dads will be dad. “Just sign your card, alright, will ya?”
“Great play! Well deserved.” Will Zalatoris, despite the smile as he warmly shakes Matthew Fitzpatrick’s hand, will be bitterly disappointed. He’s also a gentleman. His time will come. But this is Fitzpatrick’s moment, and now he’s laughing hysterically, with tears of joy, as he collapses into the embrace of his family. This is such a sweet moment ... and one richly deserved. He becomes only the second man, after Jack Nicklaus, to win the US Amateur and the US Open at the same course!
Matthew Fitzpatrick wins the 2022 US Open!
Zalatoris looks to have made his birdie putt ... but it shaves the left-hand lip. He drops to his haunches in anguish. Fitzpatrick smiles, but for a minute nothing seems to register. Stunned delight!
-6: Fitzpatrick (F)
-5: Scheffler (F), Zalatoris (F)
Fitzpatrick’s downhill left-to-right slider is always missing on the left. Just a par. Just a par! He’d have taken that walking up to the bunker, for sure. It’s his third 68 of the week. Is it enough to win the US Open? Zalatoris has one throw of the dice. Can he make his birdie putt?
This is utterly sensational from Matthew Fitzpatrick! He’s up close to an island of grass in the middle of the bunker. Can he get over? There’s just enough room for a route to the green via the left-hand side of the island. He doesn’t faff around, and having decided to go for it, he really goes for it. With it all on the line, he flushes an iron into the heart of the green, 18 feet from the flag! That’s outrageous! Zalatoris follows him in with a much simpler wedge. He’ll have a look from 15 feet ... and he’ll get a read from Fitzpatrick. Not much use if Fitzpatrick makes his putt, but still. Here we go! It all comes down to this!
Updated
Up on the green, Jon Rahm concludes his title defence with a par to sign for a deflating final-day 74. He ends the week at +1, and he’ll always have Torrey Pines. A 71 for local lad Keegan Bradley meanwhile, and he finishes in the top ten at -1.
Zalatoris crashes a glorious drive down the left-hand side of the 18th fairway. That’s gone miles, over the bunker and the corner of the slight dogleg. The pressure’s suddenly turned up on Fitzpatrick, who takes 3-wood for safety ... but pulls it into a fairway bunker down the left. Not sure he’s got enough space to get over the lip and onto the green. Wow. This is far from over.
Zalatoris rolls his birdie putt straight at the hole on 17. It stops one turn short. Just the par. Fitzpatrick is faced with a slippery right-to-left curler and tickles it down to tap-in distance. Par for him too. And back to 18, where Scheffler taps in for his par and signs for a 67. Fitzpatrick is one hole away from glory.
-6: Fitzpatrick (17)
-5: Scheffler (F), Zalatoris (17)
Scottie Scheffler rolls a gentle downhill left-to-right slider towards the cup on 18. It looks all the world like dropping for birdie, but as it nears the hole, seemingly drifting to its destination on the right, it straightens up. It slides by, and Scheffler’s hand rises to his brow in sorrowful contemplation. So close ... but it might not be enough.
Fitzpatrick sends his second over the flag, landing 12 feet from the hole. He’s hoping the slope of the green will gather his ball back towards the cup, but there’s no real response. Still, he’ll have a look at birdie, albeit a downhill one. Zalatoris is up next, and he lands his ball a lot further back, generating spin and making more use of the slope. It rolls 12 feet past the hole, and he’ll look at birdie coming up the hill. As for where that Rory was earlier on? “Waiting for the wind to leave,” quips Michael Meagher.
Scheffler sends his second at 18 into the heart of the green. He’ll have a look at birdie from 25 feet. Back on 17, Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick whistle careful tee shots down the middle. This is going right to the wire!
Fitzpatrick nearly drains his long uphill birdie putt on 16. A perfect lag, and he taps in for his par. One step closer. But he’s also got one more player on his shoulder, because Zalatoris makes no mistake with his short birdie putt, and he joins Scheffler in second place.
-6: Fitzpatrick (16)
-5: Scheffler (17), Zalatoris (16)
Up on 18, McIlroy, having sent his drive into bother on the left for the second day in a row, launches a Hail Mary into the green. Pin high, ten feet away! Where was this Rory earlier on? We’ve asked this question before, haven’t we. Anyway, the birdie putt dies to the left, and it’s a frustrating 69, another frustrating close-but-no-cigar finish at a major. He ends the week at -2. Behind him, Scheffler splits the fairway.
Scottie Scheffler keeps the pressure on Matt Fitzpatrick! In goes the birdie putt on 17, and he’s on Fitzpatrick’s shoulder. Fitzpatrick responds by finding the heart of 16. Zalatoris isn’t quitting yet, either, and uses the camber on the right-hand side of the green to gather his ball to six feet!
-6: Fitzpatrick (15)
-5: Scheffler (17)
-4: Zalatoris (15)
Will Zalatoris can’t get up and down from the sand at 15. A second bogey in four holes ... and it could be extremely costly, because Matt Fitzpatrick pours in the gentle right-to-left slider for birdie! A huge putt made calmly under so much pressure!
-6: Fitzpatrick (15)
-4: Scheffler (16), Zalatoris (15)
-3: Matsuyama (F)
-2: Morikawa (F), McIlroy (17), Hadwin (17)
-1: McCarthy (F)
A sad finish to Denny McCarthy’s round, with bogey at the last. It’s his second 68 of the weekend, though, and at -1, he’s sure of a top-ten finish, by far his best result at a major. Meanwhile back on 17, Scottie Scheffler does exactly what he needs to do, crashing a drive miles down the track, then wedging to five feet to set up a huge birdie opportunity!
Zalatoris didn’t hit a perfect drive either, but it was much better than Fitzpatrick’s wild flay. However it bounced into the thick rough and he ended up with a much worse lie. That’s awful luck, but that’s also golf. He pulls his second into a greenside bunker, and suddenly the stars are aligning for Fitzpatrick. Remember that old pendulum, though. Things can swing back quickly.
McIlroy’s birdie putt at 17 never looks like dropping, always missing to the left. There goes that pipe dream! He remains at -2. Back on 15, it’s a huge break for Matt Fitzpatrick, whose ball rests on grass trampled flat by the gallery. He takes advantage by whip-cracking a long iron from over 200 yards straight at the flag! He’ll have a look at birdie from 20 feet or so, something that would have been beyond his wildest dreams when he was watching his wild drive slice towards bother.
McIlroy takes iron off the tee at 17 for position, then knocks his second pin high to 12 feet. He’ll have a look at that birdie he so desperately needs to keep his slim, slim, slim chances alive. Back on 16, Scheffler prowls the arena like a man who fancies making his long birdie putt from 30 feet. A seven percent chance, according to the stats caption. Scheffler does the 93-percent thing: perfect pace, but always missing on the right. He taps in for a par that keeps him one off at -4.
Scottie Scheffler at 16. He finds the green, but doesn’t get the bounce forward he wants, and so misses the tilt that would gather his ball towards the flag. He’ll have a long two putts for par. Back on the 15th tee, Matt Fitzpatrick sends a big slice towards a cart path on the right, while Will Zalatoris’s ball sinks into the second cut on the right. The pressures of the US Open, right here.
Scheffler lobs back onto 15 with delicate hands. A well-crafted effort, but it’s always dying to the right. Still, he’ll take his par to remain one behind the leaders at -4.
McIlroy plonks his tee shot at 16 into the bunker at the front. His effort to hole out from the sand teases the crowd, but bounds six feet past. He’ll have to make the one coming back if he’s to have any chance of pulling off a sensational smash and grab on the last couple of holes. And in it goes. It’s still not beyond the realms. I mean, we’re kind of dreaming here, but you can bet your bottom dollar McIlroy hasn’t given up hope yet. A birdie-birdie finish would at least ask a question of the leading trio.
Scheffler’s second at 15 flies out of the rough hot and over the back of the green. He’s in the cabbage, but fairly close to the flag, and will fancy his chances of delicately chipping close. Meanwhile back on 14, neither Fitzpatrick nor Zalatoris can make their birdie putts. Fitzpatrick’s effort sails four feet past and he does very well to ram home the par saver with confidence.
Another birdie for Rory McIlroy, this time at 15! This couldn’t be on, could it? No. Surely not. But he is -2, and he’s made some impressive, if ultimately futile, late lunges for the line before. Meanwhile Will Zalatoris screeches his wedge into 14 to ten feet, turning up the matchplayesque pressure on Matt Fitzpatrick again. Fitzpatrick doesn’t respond particularly well, sending a very average third to 25 feet.
Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris take turns to split the 14th fairway, then lay up with 3-wood and long iron respectively. Up on 15, Scheffler sends his tee shot into the second cut on the left. A brief period of calm before the upcoming dramatic storm.
Matthew Fitzpatrick is faced with a downhill left-to-right breaker from the best part of 60 feet. No bother! He smoothly steers the monster into the cup, one of those that looked destined to drop from a fair old way out! That’s a sensational moment, and one which takes this US Open in yet another direction! He punches the air in delight. The gallery roars. Can Will Zalatoris – who had bumped his third to 15 feet, giving himself an outside chance of scrambling par – respond? You bet he can! He rolls in the left-to-right slider, and what a save that is! Roar II. Meanwhile up on 14, Scottie Scheffler misses the shortest putt of the three, and will have to make do with par. The Masters champion looks stunned. The chance of grabbing back a share of the lead goes by.
-5: Fitzpatrick (13), Zalatoris (13)
-4: Scheffler (14)
-3: Matsuyama (F)
Another clumsy error here, this time by Scottie Scheffler. He’s just playing for position with his second at 14 ... but sends his ball into a patch of rough that splits the fairway. However – shades of playing out of the divot on 1 – he powers out of the cabbage into the heart of the green, his ball rolling serenely up towards the flag, pin high, just six feet to the right! Birdie chance, just as it all threatened to unravel!
Too little, too late for Rory McIlroy, surely, but he wedges to 12 feet on 14 and knocks in the birdie putt. He’s back into red figures at -1. Back on 13, Matt Fitzpatrick finds the green in regulation, but like Scottie Scheffler before him, faces a long two putts for his par. Will Zalatoris meanwhile is forced to take his medicine and hack out sideways ... but he does so clumsily, sending his ball across the fairway and into the second cut on the left. Bye bye spin!
Matt Fitzpatrick splits the 13th fairway ... but Will Zalatoris’s driving mechanism has suddenly deserted him, and he sends another tee shot wide right. Meanwhile up on 14, Scottie Scheffler does what needs to be done on the long par-five, and finds the short stuff off the tee. Denny McCarthy, incidentally, while not troubling the NBC coverage, is still hovering on the fringe of contention. A birdie at 12 brought him up to -2, where he remains through 14.
Zalatoris very nearly makes that putt! He rolls up and over the false front, and keeps it going straight at the flag until the very last turn, when it breaks left. He taps in for a bogey that could have been worse. Fitzpatrick can’t make his birdie, but he tidies up for par and is one closer. Meanwhile it’s a two-putt par for Scheffler up on 13, and par for Hideki Matsuyama on 18. He signs for a best-of-week 65, posting a new clubhouse lead that probably won’t be enough ... but you never know if the leading pack’s knees start to knock. This is the US Open after all.
-5: Zalatoris (12)
-4: Scheffler (13), Fitzpatrick (12)
-3: Matsuyama (F)
Zalatoris is in tall fescue down the right of 12. All he can do is gouge back out onto the fairway. He completes that task, but leaves the door slightly ajar for Fitzpatrick. He sends his second pin high but 30 feet wide of the flag. He’s got the upper hand, though, with Zalatoris’s third toppling back off the small false front of the green. His ball doesn’t roll all the way to the fringe, which is something, but bogey is likely unless he can rake in the putt coming back up.
That two-shot swing will hurt Matt Fitzpatrick. But the pendulum can swing both ways, and after watching Will Zalatoris send a hysterical slice into bother down the right of 12, he splits the fairway. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler reaches the 13th green in regulation, though he’s left himself a 30-foot putt with a lot of break. We’ve seen him make those, mind. Plenty of drama yet to unfold.
Hideki Matsuyama makes hard work of 17. He leaves his approach short, and though he gets up and down from an awkward position at the side of a bunker, it’s just a par on a hole that’s been giving up birdies. Meanwhile a huge matchplay-style moment on 11! Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick are side by side, facing almost identical 15-feet putts for birdie. Zalatoris is up first, and he drains his. That gives Fitzpatrick the collywobbles. He sends his effort three feet past, then pulls the one coming back to the right. All of a sudden, Zalatoris has a two-stroke lead!
-6: Zalatoris (11)
-4: Scheffler (12), Fitzpatrick (11)
-3: Matsuyama (17)
-2: Morikawa (F), McCarthy (13)
Finally, a birdie for Jon Rahm! He makes it on the short par-three 11th, reward for knocking his tee shot pin high, ten feet right. Keegan Bradley makes one as well, having very nearly aced. The crowd loved watching their local boy go close. Both players move back into red figures at -1, and while it’s a long shot, they aren’t quite kaput yet. Then the final group take to the tee. Both Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick send their wedges to Rahm Territory, and both will be thinking about birdie.
Will Zalatoris is one revolution away from draining his left-to-right swinger for birdie on 10. Just the par, although as Matt Fitzpatrick can’t make his par saver, he’s now got a share of the lead. Meanwhile up on 18, it’s par for the Open champion Collin Morikawa, who signs for a final round of 66. A whole 11 shote better than yesterday! He’ll think about Saturday at Brookline for a while. Still, he’s the new clubhouse leader at -2.
-5: Fitzpatrick (10), Zalatoris (10)
-4: Scheffler (11)
-3: Matsuyama (16)
-2: Morikawa (F), McCarthy (13)
Will Zalatoris was in complete control of his game yesterday, and it’s beginning to look like he’s rediscovered that mojo. Three birdies in the last four holes, and now he’s plonked his ball into the heart of two, from where he’ll have an uphill look at another bird. Meanwhile Matt Fitzpatrick pulls his second into sandy trouble. He clips out nicely to six feet, though he’ll be left with a left-to-right tickler to salvage his par. At the moment, all the momentum is with Zalatoris (and Hideki Matsuyama, of course).
Things started to go wrong for Scottie Scheffler yesterday afternoon at 11. He double bogeyed the hole, then made three further bogeys in a row. These things can get in your head, and today he three putts for his second bogey on the bounce. The old ticker will be going now. Meanwhile Hideki Matsuyama makes yet another birdie putt from distance, this time at 16, and he’s on course to posting something that will give the leaders pause for thought!
-6: Fitzpatrick (9)
-5: Zalatoris (9)
-4: Scheffler (11)
-3: Matsuyama (16)
Welcome to the start of the 2022 US Open! Yep, the last group has hit the turn on Sunday. It’s on!
Will Zalatoris sends his tee shot at 9 into the rough down the right. But he arrows his second into the green, leaving himself an uphill left-to-right swinger from 20 feet. In it goes for his third birdie in four holes! Matt Fitzpatrick meanwhile has to settle for par, despite clipping his second from 170 yards to eight feet. His putt stays stubbornly high on the right, and a chance to put a little daylight between himself and his pursuers goes by. Meanwhile on 17, Collin Morikawa wedges his second to tap-in distance, and he’ll really be cursing yesterday’s 77 now.
-6: Fitzpatrick (9)
-5: Scheffler (10), Zalatoris (9)
-2: Morikawa (17), Matsuyama (15), McCarthy (12), Dahmen (11)
Scottie Scheffler splashes out of the bunker to the back of 10 delicately indeed. His ball threatens to hit the pin, but rolls by the left-hand side and eight feet past. He can’t make the one coming back, and that’s his first dropped shot of the day. He’s -5, and Matt Fitzpatrick has sole ownership of the lead. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Rory McIlroy on 11, and at level par his race is run. And Denny McCarthy moves into a tie for fourth, steering in a left-to-right curler from ten feet on 12. He’s -2.
Potentially some bother for Scottie Scheffler on 10. His tee shot finds the first cut down the right. He lashes his second into the green, but he’s not getting any spin, and the ball bounds through and into a bunker at the back. He’s got a bit of green to play with, but it’s all on the downslope, so it’ll be a delicate splash out. Still, we’ve seen him get out of tighter scrapes before.
Matt Fitzpatrick’s eagle putt, a 25-foot right-to-left slider across 8, briefly considers dropping but doesn’t turn enough. He taps in confidently from a couple of feet for his birdie. Just the par for Will Zalatoris. Meanwhile another birdie effort goes by the hole for Rory McIlroy, this time at 10, then his tee shot at 11 only just finds the fringe. It’s not been his weekend. Next month at St Andrews, where he once shot 63, maybe.
-6: Scheffler (9), Fitzpatrick (8)
-4: Zalatoris (8)
-2: Matsuyama (14), Dahmen (11)
-1: Morikawa (16), McIlroy (10), Hadwin (9), Bradley (8), Rahm (8)
Scottie Scheffler is six inches away from birdie on 9 and a front nine of 30. Never mind, 31 will suffice on a major-championship Sunday! By contrast, the defending champion Jon Rahm just can’t get going, and another shot goes on the par-five 8th, where he was never in position. Once he vacates the green, Matt Fitzpatrick populates it with his ball, cracking a lovely second pin high. He’ll take his second look at eagle today.
It’s getting to that point where challengers need to make their move or forever hold their peace. Rory McIlroy nearly makes a 20-foot birdie putt on 9, but it’s just a par and he turns in 35. Will Zalatoris however nearly holes out from 160 yards on 7 for eagle. He’s happy enough to tap in, nevertheless, and he’s repaired all that early damage with back-to-back birdies. This is heating up nicely!
-6: Scheffler (8)
-5: Fitzpatrick (7)
-4: Zalatoris (7)
-2: Matsuyama (13), Dahmen (9), Rahm (7)
-1: Morikawa (14), McCarthy (10), McIlroy (9), Hadwin (8)
Scottie Scheffler holed out for eagle at 8 from 100 yards yesterday. Today, from 60 yards, he spins a wedge off the false front and back to his feet. Golf, ladies and gentlemen, right there! He executes much better second time round, wedging to six feet, then rolling in the par saver. That’s one hell of an up and down after making a dramatic mistake. Jon Rahm saves his par on 7 with two putts from distance. And on 13, Hideki Matsuyama rattles in another lengthy birdie putt to move into a tie for fourth! When Matsuyama’s putter gets hot, it gets molten, so watch out field.
Matt Fitzpatrick nearly sends a tramliner into the cup at 6. That would have been an outrageous birdie from 70 feet. But the ball rolls six feet past, and he lips out with the one coming back. He drops to -5. Coming the other way, his partner Will Zalatoris, who gets his reward for that fine tee shot and returns to -3. Meanwhile on 7, Jon Rahm sends a wedge into the green, albeit miles from the flag. He’s seething. He considers snapping his club over his knee, thinks better of it, EFFS and JEFFS with great feeling, then shoots daggers at someone in the gallery. A long, lingering stare. Whoever’s in receipt of that won’t be feeling too secure right now.
Just the par at 8 for Rory McIlroy, who once again doesn’t seem quite on top of his game. The wind is dropping, though, which might give him some succour; he’s notoriously poor when it blows. Coming up behind, Scottie Scheffler, whose second slams into the false front and rolls 50 yards back down the fairway. That’s where he holed out for eagle yesterday, mind, so no biggie.
Scottie Scheffler splits the fairway at 8. Further up the hole, Roy McIlroy zig-zags his way from rough on the left to bother on the right, but he gouges his third into the centre of the green and will have an inexplicable look at birdie from 15 feet. Meanwhile back on the par-three 6th, Matt Fitzpatrick finds the green, but with an adrenaline-fuelled tee shot that leaves him the best part of 70 feet from the flag, while Will Zalatoris gives himself the chance of a first birdie of the day with a fine clip to four feet.
Matt Fitzpatrick really goes for his snaking downhill eagle putt. So much so that when it shaves the lip, it rolls five feet past. He gathers himself and makes sure of the birdie putt. Par would have felt like defeat, but now he joins Scottie Scheffler in the lead. Bogey for Denny McCarthy at 9. He turns in 33 nevertheless. Meanwhile a monster birdie putt drops for Hideki Matsuyama on 12, and he moves into red figures at -1.
-6: Scheffler (7), Fitzpatrick (5)
-2: Dahmen (8), Rahm (6), Zalatoris (5)
-1: Morikawa (13), Matsuyama (12), McCarthy (9), McIlroy (7), Hadwin (7)
Collin Morikawa continues to heave himself back into contention! He whistles his second at 13 to kick-in distance, and suddenly the Open champion is -1! How he’ll be ruing that inexplicably poor 77 yesterday. A couple of wild hours may well have cost him this title.
It’s too early to say definitively, but early events are beginning to hint at a two-man tussle. The defending champion Jon Rahm bogeys 5, after finding thick rough from the tee. On 8, Rory McIlroy hoicks his tee shot into the second cut down the left, his ball disappearing from view. But then we go back to the par-four 5th, where Matt Fitzpatrick creams his tee shot into the heart of the green! He’ll have a look at eagle from 25 feet.
-6: Scheffler (6)
-5: Fitzpatrick (4)
-2: McCarthy (8), Hardy (7), Dahmen (7), Rahm (5), Zalatoris (4)
Scottie Scheffler is relentless. Almost flawless. He creams his tee shot at 6 pin high to 12 feet, then calmly makes the birdie putt. That’s four in the first six holes. By contrast, Rory McIlroy continues to oscillate up and down the standings. Bogey at 7, the result of yet another errant tee shot, and he’s played seven holes, making three birdies, three bogeys and a par. He’s -1 again, and could really do with hitting the fairway at the par-five 8th.
-6: Scheffler (6)
-5: Fitzpatrick (4)
-3: Rahm (4)
A downbeat finish for Justin Rose. Bogeys at 16 and 18, and the 2013 champion signs for a final round of 72. He finishes the week at +7, and the promise of that opening-day 68 feels an awfully long time ago.
Rory McIlroy makes another bounceback birdie! He clips his tee shot at 6 to ten feet, and rolls in the left-to-right slider to move to -2. Again. Only a par for Scottie Scheffler at 5, the result of sending his drive into a bunker guarding the front of the green. And this year’s low amateur is 22-year-old Travis Vick from the University of Texas. He signs for a 73 today, and a finish of +8 overall.
Matt Fitzpatrick sends his blind approach into 3 over the flag to eight feet. He curls in the birdie putt, and joins Scottie Scheffler at -5. Another bogey though for Will Zalatoris, who suddenly finds himself three off at -2. Meanwhile Collin Morikawa, who hasn’t gone away despite yesterday’s all-over-the-shop 77, birdies 8 and 11 to move to level par.
Rory McIlroy goes for the green at the drivable par-four 5th with 3-wood. Pull. His whip out of tall fescue finds the green ... but topples off the false front and down the fairway. He opts for the old Texas wedge, but three-putts from distance and slips back to -1. He’s been ping-ponging up and down the leaderboard, momentum elusive. It’s not elusive for Keegan Bradley, though, but sadly it’s all downward momentum. Another three-putt bogey, this time on 3, and at +1 he’s slipping out of contention in double-quick time. Not least because his partner Scottie Scheffler drains another birdie putt, and hits the front on his own!
-5: Scheffler (4)
-4: Fitzpatrick (2)
-3: Rahm (3), Zalatoris (2)
-2: McCarthy (6), Hardy (6), Hadwin (4)
-1: Dahmen (6), McIlroy (5), Burns (5)
Updated
A three-putt bogey for Will Zalatoris on 2. His partner Matt Fitzpatrick very nearly drains a 40-footer for birdie. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Nick Hardy at 4 and 5. The 26-year-old from Illinois is playing in his fourth US Open, previously missing two cuts and tying for 52nd in the other one. His best finish by a long chalk is already guaranteed.
-4: Scheffler (3), Fitzpatrick (2)
-3: Rahm (2), Zalatoris (2)
-2: McCarthy (5), Hardy (5), McIlroy (4)
Cameron Tringale has been hovering about all week without ever quite breaking into the upper echelons of the leaderboard. Three rounds of 71 will lead to that sort of thing. But the 34-year-old Californian is launching a late bid to make it up there. Birdies at 4, 8, 10 and 12 have launched him up to level par.
A couple of big putts here! Adam Hadwin drains a monster on 3 to save his par and hang on in there at -1. Up on 4, Rory McIlroy steers a right-to-left swinger into the cup from 25 feet to bounce back from bogey. He’s up to -2 again!
A par-par start for the defending champion Jon Rahm. No drama yet. It’s a three-putt bogey for his partner Keegan Bradley, though, who has come out cold. He’s back to level par. A pair of no-nonsense pars at 1 for the final pair of Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris. Everyone’s out and about, and it’s on!
Denny McCarthy fired himself into contention yesterday by shooting 68 early doors, and watch most of the field come back to him. The 29-year-old from Maryland, who has no record to speak of in the majors, a tie for 42nd at Chambers Bay in 2015 his best showing, looks in the mood to fill that gap in his resumé today. He’s birdied 1, 4 and now 5, and is a part of this championship now at -2!
-4: Scheffler (2), Zalatoris (1), Fitzpatrick
-3: Rahm (1)
-2: McCarthy (5)
-1: Hardy (4), McIlroy (3), Hadwin (2), Bradley (1)
E: Matsuyama (8), Dahmen (4), Burns (3)
Some backward moves. Keegan Bradley visits a greenside bunker on 1 to open with a bogey. The local lad slips to -1. Joel Dahmen drops to level par with bogey at 3. Then in the match coming after, Rory McIlroy pulls his second into rough and can’t make the ten-foot par saver he leaves himself. He’s back where he started the day at -1.
The very early clubhouse leader is Guido Migliozzi. The 25-year-old Italian, who finished in a tie for fourth last year at Torrey Pines, signs for an excellent 66. That’s better than anything posted yesterday, and shows what is possible. Scottie Scheffler doesn’t seem in need of any such advice, though, as he rolls in his 15-foot birdie putt on 2, joining the leaders in short order. Hadwin meanwhile can only advance his ball from the thick fescue to lighter rough, but does extremely well to get up and down to limit the damage to bogey.
-4: Scheffler (2), Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick
-3: Rahm
-2: McIlroy (2), Bradley
-1: McCarthy (4), Burns (2), Hadwin (2)
Back-to-back birdies for the 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama! He’s not far off acing the par-three 6th. Then he steers in a right-to-left curler on 7, and all of a sudden he’s level par for the tournament. He could quite feasibly be joined there soon by Adam Hadwin, coming the other way, because the 34-year-old Canadian has pulled his tee shot at 2 into the thickest fescue on the hill to the left of the green. If he escapes with bogey here, he’ll be doing well. His partner Scottie Scheffler is pin high on the dancefloor, where he’ll be looking at another birdie.
Burns’ ball is plugged in the face of the bunker at 2. He does extremely well to bash out to ten feet. McIlroy nearly drains his long birdie effort, the ball stopping just to the right of the cup. He taps in for par on a very testing hole ... as does Burns, who completes his sandy save with a confident roll. Meanwhile back on 1, Scheffler converts his birdie chance, and already this US Open final round is beginning to happen!
-4: Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick
-3: Scheffler (1), Rahm
-2: McIlroy (2), Hadwin (1), Bradley
-1: Dahmen (2), Burns (2)
McIlroy fires his tee shot at 2 at the flag. His ball lands 25 feet short. He’ll have another look at birdie. Burns dunks his effort into the bunker to the left. Back on 1, Scottie Scheffler batters his opening drive down the track, only for his ball to end up in a deep divot. That’s awful luck, but this guy isn’t world number one for nothing, and he attacks his second with great power and determination to send the ball to six feet! Another early statement from one of the leading pack, right there.
Well now. McIlroy calmly steers in a left-to-right curler from 20 feet, and that’s an opening birdie! The Boston crowd, positively disposed towards Rory, yelp and yell accordingly, but the man himself limits his celebration to a small clenched fist. He looks in determined mood. What a start, though. Par for Burns.
-4: Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick
-3: Rahm
-2: McIlroy (1), Bradley, Hadwin, Scheffler
-1: Dahmen (2), Burns (1)
Updated
Rory McIlroy didn’t hit many fairways yesterday. He’ll need to improve on that stat this afternoon. He creams his opening drive down the track, and though it rolls into the first cut down the right, that may settle any nerves. He finds the heart of the green with his second. He’s going round today with Sam Burns, already a three-time winner on tour this season. Burns pulls a nervous opening drive towards trees down the left, but gets a lucky bounce back and also finds the green with his second. A couple of big putts – possibly round-defining? – coming up!
We may have to report on pain and heartache for your favourite players later, it’s the nature of major-championship Sunday. So let’s get some feelgood stuff in while we can. A couple of debutants took turns to lead this tournament on Friday. MJ Daffue was an inch away from going four clear at one point, before Callum Tarren took over for a while. It could never last, but they both made the weekend, and went round together today in style. Birdie at 17 for Darlington’s Tarren, birdie at 18 for the South African Daffue, and they sign for a pair of 69s. They both finish their week at +6, impressive work, and now with some priceless major championship experience in the back pocket.
The early scoring certainly suggests birdies will come at a premium this afternoon. Of the 52 players who have gone out, only eight are under par for their rounds. Bryson DeChambeau has struggled to a 75; Grayson Murray couldn’t break 80. But there are a couple of exceptions that either prove the rule, or show there’s a score out there if somebody seizes the day, whichever way you want to slice it. Marc Leishman is currently three under for his round through 11, while Guido Migliozzi, who tied for fourth last year at Torrey Pines, is the same through 15. They’re respectively +1 and +3 overall.
Here we go, then, another testing day at Brookline! It’s breezy again, albeit not quite as much as yesterday. But breezy enough. The temperature is down, and there was rain earlier, so the course will be playing longer. The greens are still firm despite the showers, and will only get firmer as the day wears on. So don’t expect a birdie riot. There could be a whole lotta scramblin’ going on.
Preamble
Moving Day moved, baby. Like pulp, baby! And now Matt Fitzpatrick has the chance to add the 2022 US Open to the 2013 US Amateur title he won at Brookline as an 18-year-old. Neat narrative arc, huh?
But other splendid stories are available. Can Will Zalatoris go one better after coming second at the PGA last month? Could Jon Rahm become only the eighth man after Willie Anderson, John McDermott, Bobby Jones, Ralph Guldahl, Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka to retain the US Open?
How about if Keegan Bradley hoists the silverware in front of his hometown crowd? Or if Adam Hadwin becomes the first Canadian winner? Imagine if Scottie Scheffler wins his second major of the year and fifth Tour event in four months? If Sam Burns makes his major breakthrough? If Joel Dahmen lands the prize and runs around with a beer on and the puppies out? And then there’s Rory McIlroy’s eight-year itch.
So, y’know, there are plenty of tales to be told. And if today’s final round is anything like yesterday’s topsy-turvy nonsense, we’ll be talking about this US Open for years to come. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 54 holes ...
-4: Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick
-3: Rahm
-2: Bradley, Hadwin, Scheffler
-1: Burns, McIlroy, Dahmen
E: Hardy
+1: McCarthy, Woodland, Power, NeSmith, Wise, Buckley
+2: Muñoz, Lee, Johnson, Matsuyama, Riley, Harman, Rodgers, Morikawa
+3: Cantlay, Spieth, Tringale, Thomas, Schenk, Kim, Pieters, Lingmerth
... and here’s the fourth-round tee sheet (all times BST). It’s the final round of the 122nd US Open! It’s on!
1.49 pm: Stewart Hagestad, Harris English
2 pm: Brandon Matthews, Sebastian Soderberg
2.11 pm: Wil Besseling, Chris Naegel
2.22 pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Austin Greaser
2.33 pm: Bryson DeChambeau, Grayson Murray
2.44 pm: MJ Daffue, Callum Tarren
2.55 pm: Joaquin Niemann, Max Homa
3.06 pm: Chris Gotterup, Sam Bennett
3.17 pm: Patrick Reed, Todd Sinnott
3.28 pm: Guido Migliozzi, KH Lee
3.44 pm: Travis Vick, Brooks Koepka
3.55 pm: Justin Rose, Sam Stevens
4.06 pm: Joseph Bramlett, Beau Hossler
4.17 pm: Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam
4.28 pm: Marc Leishman, Mackenzie Hughes
4.39 pm: Richard Bland, Adam Scott
4.50 pm: David Lingmerth, Thomas Pieters
5.01 pm: Tom Kim, Adam Schenk
5.17 pm: Justin Thomas, Cameron Tringale
5.28 pm: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay
5.39 pm: Collin Morikawa, Patrick Rodgers
5.50 pm: Brian Harman, Davis Riley
6.01 pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson
6.12 pm: Min Woo Lee, Sebastian Munoz
6.23 pm: Hayden Buckley, Aaron Wise
6.34 pm: Matthew NeSmith, Seamus Power
6.50 pm: Gary Woodland, Denny McCarthy
7.01 pm: Nick Hardy, Joel Dahmen
7.12 pm: Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns
7.23 pm: Scottie Scheffler, Adam Hadwin
7.34 pm: Keegan Bradley, Jon Rahm
7.45 pm: Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris
