‘Shot of my life’ helps lift Bryson DeChambeau to second US Open golf title

PINEHURST – Bryson DeChambeau, needing to get up and down from a bunker at the 18th hole to win, delivered his greatest shot on June 16 and sank a tension-packed putt to clinch the US Open.

Having already escaped disaster once at Pinehurst’s final hole, DeChambeau blasted a 55-yard bunker shot to four feet and rolled in the clutch par putt to capture his second Major. He carded a one-over 71 to finish at six-under 274 for a one-shot win over the slumping Rory McIlroy (69).

“That bunker shot was the shot of my life,” said the 30-year-old American, who also won the 2020 US Open. “I’m so happy I got that shot up and down on 18. It’s a dream come true.”

Playing partner Matthieu Pavon (71), who finished three shots adrift in fifth, was even more impressed as he watched DeChambeau’s shot hold firm on a lightning-fast sloped green that had sent balls rolling away from the hole all week.

“He just played like unbelievable,” the Frenchman said. “At that time, with the pressure he had at that moment, it is just one of the best shots in golf history.”

Americans Tony Finau (67) and Patrick Cantlay (70) tied for third at 276.

DeChambeau, who plays on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, had everything on the line after McIlroy squandered a two-stroke lead with three bogeys in the final four holes, the last on a four-foot par putt miss at No. 18 to end on 275.

DeChambeau, runner-up to Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship in May by a stroke, did not want to be denied again.

“Oh, man, I didn’t want to finish second again. PGA really stung,” he said. “I wanted to get this one done. As much as it is heartbreaking for some people, it was heartbreak for me at the PGA. I really wanted this one.”

He got it thanks to a boost from his caddie, Gregory Bodine, in a moment DeChambeau said he would always remember.

“My caddie telling me you can do it on 18 out of that bunker. Greg telling me, ‘You got this shot. I’ve seen way harder shots pulled off from you,’” he said.

When four-time Major winner McIlroy opened the door to victory for DeChambeau, he was in the left weeds trying to hit despite a root.

“I was actually concerned I might hurt myself getting out of that,” he said. “I was trying to run it left of that bunker, run it up the green, give myself a two-putt.

“I had no backswing. I’m just like, OK, I have to hack it. Hopefully it will go down the line, but it didn’t. It cut and it went into the bunker, one of the worst places I could have been.

“There’s a lot of luck that has to happen and go your way out there.”

Television cameras captured McIlroy watching as DeChambeau sank the winning putt. As the crowd roared and DeChambeau began to celebrate, McIlroy stared ahead for a few seconds then turned and walked away with caddie Harry Diamond.

They were seen minutes later entering the Pinehurst parking lot, packing bags into a car and driving away. It looked like the sort of defeat that can haunt a player, an epic failure on the level of Greg Norman’s final-round flop in his 1996 Masters loss to Nick Faldo.

McIlroy even spoke to reporters at the PGA Championship, a day after his divorce plans were made public. The 35-year-old, whose last of four Majors came in 2014, told The Guardian on June 11 that those plans are off.

It was left to DeChambeau to bolster McIlroy in the Northern Irishman’s absence.

“Rory is one of the best to ever play,” he said. “Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special. For him to miss that (last) putt, I’d never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way. He’ll win multiple more Major championships. There’s no doubt. I think that fire in him is going to continue to grow... I’d love to have a lot more battles with him.”

Pavon addressed the pressure McIlroy, or any player in his situation, would feel in that tension-packed moment.

“At the end of the day we’re all human,” he said. “Rory has been chasing another Major for many years. He is one of the best players in the world, a true champion. It shows you how tough it is.

“Maybe this is a little bit of pressure that got him today for sure... I’m sure he will fight back and really soon.” AFP