Johnson didn’t have anything that wild, rather more of a slow bleed that began with a shot off a sandy path and three putts on the par-3 second hole for his first double bogey of the championship.
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According to the report, “He walked faster than he ever moves on the course, making a beeline past radio interviewers and reporters”.
One year after Koepka overpowered the wide fairways of Erin Hills in a US Open remembered for low scoring, he navigated his way through the brutal conditions of Shinnecock Hills and closed with a 2-under-par 68 to become the first repeat champion in 29 years.
“Overall though I’m very happy”. However, many would argue that the damage had already been done, especially with so numerous world’s best golfers having been jettisoned after the first two rounds.
“We want the U.S. Open to be tough, but we saw some examples late in the day where well-executed shots were not only not being rewarded, but in some cases penalized”. His last victory – and last major – was 10 years ago at Torrey Pines.
Others chose more stark terms, like Zach Johnson, who said the course was “lost”. He has every excuse in the book – and he’s still part of a four-way lead, along with Berger, Finau and defending Open champion Brooks Koepka. I was excited about it.
“The only one I haven’t figure out is Augusta – hopefully I’ll figure that one out soon”.
“I’m at a loss for words right now”, Koepka said. “We’re both competitive. We both know we’re trying to beat each other and trying to win a golf tournament, trying to win a major”.
If I’m honest, the course played a little bit too easy on Sunday. England’s Tommy Fleetwood had a chance at history with a short putt early on Sunday to be the first player in history to shoot 62 in a U.S. Open.
“But that’s the way it’s supposed to be”, he said. “Unfortunately (I) missed it, but it gets the rhythm, you feel good and it kind of leads to the rest of the round”. “But I knew that it was going to be that much more hard”. No one had taken a four-stroke lead into the weekend and failed to win since Tom McNamara suffered a heat stroke on the 68th hole in 1909.
However, Finau entered the 18th hole tied for third place.
Besides Koepka, the top group among the 67 who made the cut was rounded out by Fleetwood, at two-over; Johnson, at three-over; Reed, at four-over; Finau, at five-over; Xander Schauffele, at six-over; Tyrrell Hatton, at six-over; Henrik Stenson, at six-over; Berger, at six-over; Webb Simpson, at seven-over, and Justin Rose, at seven-over.
But a costly three-putt bogey on the par-4 9th hole would be the start of an unravelling.
He did well to salvage bogey, sinking a 12-foot putt to stay ahead.
Koepka kept his cool to two-putt the 18th and finish one shot clear of second-placed Fleetwood. Mickelson, who was assessed a two-stroke penalty but not disqualified for the violation, did not speak to reporters after his round.
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“It hasn’t sunk in yet”, Koepka said in his post-championship ceremony on FOX.
