This Father’s Day weekend gave us the gift of an exciting and memorable U.S. Open. With many a twist and turn, and several records tied or broken along the way, it is definitely a major we won’t soon forget.
The intrigue started even before the tournament began, as Phil Mickelson announced that it was highly likely he would miss this year’s event to attend his daughter’s high school graduation, which happened to coincide with the opening round of the U.S. Open. Mother Nature could have stepped in and delayed the start, allowing Lefty the chance to win the one major that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career, but it was not to be. Regardless, Phil is likely more than happy with his decision. After all, this is the same daughter that he was ready to forfeit his first best shot at ANY major for. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, you should definitely read this.
Round 1
Day 1 of this year’s event got the tournament off to an incredible start. Rickie Fowler shot a record-tying 7-under 65, equaling the lowest opening round score in relation to par in U.S. Open history. Rickie found the fairways with regularity—an improvement he’s seen all season long. Fowler is now 20th in driver accuracy, way up from the 113th he found himself at the end of last season. This improvement might be attributed to a small adjustment he made to his Cobra King F7+ Driver, shaving down the shaft by a full inch to its now current 43.5 length. Really goes to show the importance of club fitting, eh?
Round 2
Friday found many of the world’s greatest players utterly perplexed, screaming and cursing that dreaded F-word…fescue. The tall, thick grasses that bordered the fairways of Erin Hills made golfers pay dearly for any errant shots. And it took its toll on many of the world’s best. So much so, that for the first time since the Official World Golf Rankings were created, the top 3 golfers in the world missed the cut in the same major. Still, it wasn’t all bad. Two players, Hideki Matsuyama and Chez Reavie managed to go 7-under for the day, heading into the weekend with a shot at their first majors. Also making the cut was Canadian favourite Adam Hadwin. He easily made it to the weekend, going into Saturday at -2 for the tournament.
Round 3
Moving Day got off to a wet start. The previous evening saw some light rains come through the area. Luckily, the precipitation didn’t persist and we were fortunate enough to watch some phenomenal golf. Many took advantage of Saturday’s slower, dampened greens, posting some impressive scores, but none more so than Justin Thomas. The young American from Louisville, Kentucky stole the show shooting an incredible 9-under 63, breaking Johnny Miller’s 44-year-old record for lowest score relative to par at a U.S. Open in a single round. Justin put an exclamation mark on his historic performance with this fantastic approach on 18, but he and his caddie were left to wonder where it landed:
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/876945056002965505
Well yes, Jimmy, it was good. And it was nice of Justin to give us a good look at that sweet Titleist 917 3-wood he used to make that perfect shot. That 3-wood, along with the rest of his bag, vaulted Thomas into contention, one-shot off the lead heading into the final day of the tournament. And what a final day it was!
Round 4
The final round at Erin Hills started with an incredibly stacked leaderboard. While two-time PGA Tour winner and former U.S. Junior Amateur Champion Brian Harman lead the field at -12, four other golfers found themselves within two strokes of the lead after Round 3. Justin Thomas was joined by Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood at one back, while Rickie Fowler was still holding out hope for his first major at -10.
The front 9 saw a tightly contested affair. Brooks Koepka took the lead, birdieing the first two holes, but Brian Harman would make an extremely difficult 30-foot putt at 3 to tie things up. Rickie Fowler stayed within striking distance, holing a 25-foot birdie at 7 to remain just 2 shots back. But it soon became clear this would be a two-person race between Koepka and Harman heading into the turn…
…or so we thought. A few groups ahead, Hideki Matsuyama was heating up, tearing through the back 9. With only a small hiccup at 15, Matsuyama finished well, birdieing 5 of the final 8 holes he would play. Hideki would head into the clubhouse with a final score of -12, putting plenty of pressure on the two golfers ahead of him on the leaderboard.
Koepka started the back 9 with a bogey on 10. It was the first bogey he had scored on the back 9 the entire tournament. Could the nerves finally be getting to the young phenom in search of his first major? Or would surviving the pressure of his first Ryder Cup late last year prepare him for this moment?
It would turn out to be the latter as Koepka’s Scotty Cameron putter caught fire. He would make three birdies in a row on 14, 15, and this beauty on 16:
https://twitter.com/usopengolf/status/876582672960692224
While Brian Harman would put up a valiant effort, he would end his day in a tie for second with Matsuyama—not a bad effort and by far his best one at a major tournament. Perhaps the 8-year veteran has finally turned a corner. He won his second PGA Tour event earlier this year at Eagle Point.
Matsuyama may not have come away with the victory, but it seems only a matter of time before the young man from the island of Shikoku hoists a major trophy. This is now the 6th top 10 finish he’s had in a major tournament in the past 5 years and the 3rd top 5. While perhaps a little disappointed, he did have the consolation prize of becoming the new #2 player in the World Golf Rankings.
As for the big winner, Koepka earns his first major win, only his second win ever on the PGA Tour. It was a dominating performance and yet another one that will go down in the record books. His final score of -16 ties the U.S. Open record for lowest score relative to par for the entire tournament. He will now share this record with one Rory McIlroy. Just having turned 27 years of age last month, it seems the future looks bright for this young golfer.
https://twitter.com/usopengolf/status/876592239371108352
Perhaps the tournament’s other big winner was TaylorMade. It was in the bag of all of the top 3 finishers. The M2 has now been the driver of choice for the last two major champions. And Brooks Koepka’s show of both power and accuracy must have had the folks in Carlsbad beaming with pride. While Koepka had a good deal to do with it, the stats are impressive. Brooks landed 49 of 56 fairways for the tournament, while averaging an incredible 320 yards per drive.
This year’s U.S. Open crowned yet another first-time major winner. That’s now 7 straight tournaments we’ve had a newly minted champion. Will it be 8 straight at Royal Birkdale? We’ll find out come July 23rd at the conclusion of the 146th Open Championship.