Gary Woodland picked the perfect venue for his coronation as major champion.
The 35-year-old Woodland shot a steady 2-under-par 69 to beat two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka by three shots in the 119th United States Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links http://www.pebblebeach.com.
Woodland, who held a one-stroke lead after three rounds but was 0-for-7 previously while holding the 54-hole lead during his career, capped his victory with a 30-foot birdie putt on the iconic 18th hole to finish at 13-under 271.
“It was special to finish it off like that here at Pebble Beach,” said Woodland, who led the PGA Championship after 36 holes last August at Bellerive in St. Louis before tying for sixth. “I never let up, never thought the tournament was over until then. I knew coming in my record of not holding 54-hole leads, but records are made to be broken.
“My swing got a little off in the middle of the round, but I refocused and played for the win when I hit that 3-wood at 14 to make a birdie that gave me some separation. I went for it because I was here to win.”
Woodland joined distinguished list of the five other U.S. Open winners at Pebble Beach—Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Tiger Woods and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.
The top-ranked Koepka, who was coming off his fourth major victory in the PGA Championship after tying for second in the Masters, applied the pressure with birdies on four of the first five holes but couldn’t keep it up while finishing with a 68.
His only other birdie came on the 11th hole.
“I wanted to shoot as low as possible and it was nice to get off to a fast start,” said Koepka, who was trying to join Willie Anderson (1903-05) as the only players to win three straight U.S. Opens. “It was fun and exciting.
“Gary shot a helluva round today, so props to him. To go out in style like he did was great.”
Tenth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State carded a 67 to finish six shots back in a tie for third with Jon Rahm of Spain, who had a 68, Chez Reavie, who wound up with a 71, and fourth-ranked Justin Rose of England, who won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion but struggled to a 74 in the final round.
Adam Scott of Australia, the 2013 Masters champion shot 68 to finish seven down in a tie for seventh with Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, the 2010 Open champion at St. Andrews, who wound up at 72.
Third-ranked Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion, posted a 72 and finished eight strokes behind in a tie for ninth with Henrik Stenson of Sweden, the 2016 Open champ at Royal Troon who had a 70, and Chesson Hadley, who came in at 71.
Seventh-ranked Francesco Molinari of Italy tied for 16th after a 70, fifth-ranked Tiger Woods rallied for 69 to tie for 21st on a week when he sought a fourth U.S. Open title,
and second Dustin Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open winner at Oakmont, closed with a 74 to finish in a tie for 35th that included ninth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who totaled 69.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson who could have completed the Career Grand Slam with a victory this week, tied for 52nd after a 72.
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