Bryson DeChambeau wins shockin U.S. Open, McIlroy misses 2 short putts

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PINEHURST, N.C. — The irresistible force beat the immovable object on Sunday at the U.S. Open.

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In the stifling heat on a diabolical Pinehurst No. 2, a new U.S. Open legend was born when Bryson DeChambeau refused to bend to the course’s harsh demands and triumphed playing a style of golf unique to him and him alone.

“I wanted to get this one, especially at such a special place that means so much to me,” DeChambeau said after the win. “It fully hasn’t sunk in yet.

At the end of a stunning back-and-forth battle between DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, it was two separate four-foot par putts — played one group apart — that decided the 124th U.S. Open.

McIlroy missed. DeChambeau made.

“That’s Payne right there baby,” DeChambeau yelled during the celebration on the 18th green in reference to Pinehurst and U.S. Open legend Payne Stewart.

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In his winner’s press conference, DeChambeau referenced his father Jon who died in 2022, and the pin he wore on his hat for the1999 U.S. Open champion Stewart.

“My dad, what Payne meant to him, 1000th USGA championship. Stack them on top. I don’t know what to think,” the winner said on Father’s Day.

DeChambeau’s drive on the 72nd hole sailed left, bounced off a tournament volunteer’s thigh and finished under a tree dangerously nestled against a root. After slashing it into a bunker in front of the green, he hit the sand shot of his life, setting up a four-foot par-putt for the win.

DeChambeau would not be denied, rolling his putt in the centre of the hole and letting out a mighty roar, raising his arms in the air.

Entering the day with a three-shot lead, DeChambeau shot a one-over par 71 to reach six-under par. McIlroy, who held a two-shot lead on the 14th tee, bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 18th holes to lose by one.

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“When I turned the corner and saw I was a couple back, I said, ‘Nope, I’m not going to let that happen. I have to focus on figuring out how to make this happen,’ ” DeChambeau said.

It was more heartbreak for McIlroy who looked to have the trophy nearly in his grasp before a stunning collapse that included two missed putts under four feet. It has been more than a decade since McIlroy won a major championship.

“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.”

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Sunday at Pinehurst will go down as the latest – and worst – near-miss for McIlroy on a day that it looked like the Northern Irish star was finally going to slay his demons. Unlike at the Old Course two years ago when birdie putts were burning the edges of the holes, on this day they were dropping: a 15-footer at the ninth, a 27-footer at the 10th, a 22-footer at 12, followed by a five-footer at the 13th.

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Until they weren’t.

Meanwhile, DeChambeau was missing fairway after fairway, struggling with his greatest weapon, but refusing to change his strategy. Golf history is full of stubborn losers, but Bryson’s belief in the style of golf he created for himself is absolute.

His smash it and find it philosophy is buoyed by another unique aspect of his game: single-length irons. All of his iron shafts are 38 inches long, the normal length for a five-iron. With wedges and short irons of that length he can attack bad lies with a much steeper angle of attack to get the ball up and out of trouble.

Hitting just five fairways on Sunday, he had plenty of opportunity to prove his point.

According to DeChambeau, it was especially helpful on the sand shot that won him the tournament.

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“That bunker shot was the shot of my life,” he said. “I’ll forever be thankful that I’ve got longer wedges so I can hit it farther, get it up there next to the hole.”

While four-time major champion McIlroy joins golf’s tragic list of players to let it all slip away on Sunday, that story has been told many times over in the sports history.

What DeChambeau accomplished is altogether unique, as he bashed his way up, down and across the most difficult test of golf of the year without once wavering from the high-risk, high-reward style that has now won him two U.S. Opens.

Tony Finau (67) and Patrick Cantlay (70) finished in a tie for third at four-under. One shot further back was Frenchman Matthieu Pavon (71) at three-under.

This version of DeChambeau will tell you he is a very different man than the brawny long-driving machine that overpowered Winged Foot four years ago.

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The slimmed-down version still hits the ball farther than nearly everyone but since leaving the PGA Tour spotlight for LIV Golf, DeChambeau has discovered a new passion, leaning into social media primarily through his YouTube account which has more than a half-million subscribers.

After years of feeling misunderstood, DeChambeau believes the video platform has allowed fans to better understand him.

“My mission is to continue to expand the game, grow the game globally, domestically,” he said. “YouTube has really helped me accomplish some of that. Consequently I think people have seen who I am on YouTube, which has been fantastic.”

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The golfer who burst on the scene years ago as a divisive figure — seen by some as a breath of fresh air but by others as an aloof, know-it-all — has become unequivocally the game’s greatest entertainer. DeChambeau’s real-life relationship with fans growing stronger and more authentic as a result of the acceptance he’s felt on social media.

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“It’s direct conversations to people that truly engage with what I’m doing. It’s such an awesome, awesome platform for me to show who I truly am.”

Corey Conners finished as top Canadian in a tie for ninth, shooting an even-par 70 to finish his week at level-par along with Sam Burns (67) and Davis Thompson (68).

With the finish, Conners jumped past Adam Hadwin and earned a spot alongside Nick Taylor in the Paris Olympics later this summer. It’s his fourth career top-10 at a major, and Conners’ first outside of Augusta National.

Taylor Pendrith finished tied for 16th at three-over for his best major finish.

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