Weekly PGA Recap: DeCham-beau Knows Golf

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

Ultimately, the 124th U.S. Open will be remembered for three shots: the two short putts Rory McIlroy missed in the final three holes and the long bunker shot for the ages that Bryson DeChambeau hit on 18.

It doesn't matter that McIlroy hit so many great shots, sank so many long putts. And it doesn't matter that DeChambeau himself lipped out a near-gimme late on Sunday.

That's just the way history works.

And history will show that DeChambeau won one of the most riveting back-nine duels in major championship history, while McIlroy suffered perhaps the most soul-crushing near-miss in a career filled with majors agony and heartache.

DeChambeau hit a 55-yard bunker shot to 3 feet 11 inches on the 72nd hole on Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2, then sank the putt to capture his second major title and second U.S. Open championship, setting off a roar among a golf gallery that had embraced him all week like none had ever done so before. 

Minutes earlier, McIlroy had missed a par putt from 3 feet 9 inches. And two holes earlier, he missed from even closer -- 2 feet 6 inches, the only putt inside three feet he has missed all season after nearly 500 flawless attempts. It will likely be remembered as the most excruciating major result for McIlroy in a career that ultimately may be most remembered for all major losses and not the four wins, the last of which came a decade ago.

For DeChambeau, the victory completes a total transformation from a bizarre even weird guy with the funny hat largely disliked by fans to one who became a fan favorite – perhaps second behind only McIlroy (non-Tiger Woods division).

"I mean, it's meant a lot to me," DeChambeau told reporters after his round on Saturday. "Just thinking back three years ago, the landscape was a lot different. I tried to show everybody who I was. I didn't do it the right way and could have done a lot of things better.

"I'm lucky enough to have a great team around me to help me move in the right direction with the content that we're producing [on YouTube], social media, and then also just a great perspective on life.

"Those combination of things have allowed me to not only have a new perspective but an opportunity to show myself in a different light and to entertain the fans out there on the golf course."

And entertaining he was, and entertaining the golf was. McIlroy actually stormed ahead to grab a two-stroke lead with five holes to play, buoyed by birdie putts of 15, 26, 22 and 5 feet. But he bogeyed three of the final five holes, including Nos. 16 and 18 on those short putts. DeChambeau's par miss on 15 was 4 feet 3 inches, but he steadied himself from there and parred out.

DeChambeau had been having a great major season even before this week, finishing sixth at the Masters and runner-up at the PGA, two tournaments he could've won if a few things broke differently. He has established himself as the best player among the LIV Golf group and, if not for Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world right now on any tour.

For all the length of DeChambeau – he led the field in driving distance for the week -- he needed to use every club in his bag. He ranked fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 13th in Approach, 10th in Around-the-Green and 12th in Putting. In the final round, his best stat was Around-the-Green (ranked 10th) and that long bunker shot was Exhibit A.

So what's next for DeChambeau? Well, he is now up to No. 10 in the world and, of course, that comes from just playing in the majors. Golf fans longing to see him will have to turn to LIV or wait a month for the Open Championship, and then maybe another nine months until the 2025 Masters. By the way, if DeChambeau doesn't single-handedly spur people to watch LIV tournaments, nothing will.

"If I'm to be quite frank, I hope we can figure things out quickly," he said of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf negotiations. "I hope this can bridge the gap between a divided game.

"All I want to do is entertain and do my best for the game of golf, execute and provide some awesome entertainment for the fans. From at least what I can tell, that's what the fans want, and they deserve that.

"You can say what's happened in the past, you know, you were part of the reason. ... Let bygones be bygones and go figure it out. Let's figure out this amazing game that creates so much positivity back to where it belongs."

Easier said than done, just like DeChambeu's remarkable victory on a Sunday in June at Pinehurst No. 2.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Rory McIlroy
Oh my, where to start? Perhaps at the end, which was McIlroy in a courtesy car exiting Pinehurst without speaking to reporters. That's how great the pain of this loss was. McIlroy always talks to reporters, more than any other golfer and probably more than is good for him. He's supposed to play Thursday at the Travelers, but would it surprise anyone if he pulls out? After that, he likely was not going to play till the Scottish Open four weeks from now.

McIlroy's last six U.S. Opens have gone: T9-T8-T7-T5-2-2. And that doesn't include the eight top-5s in the other majors since he last won one at the 2014 PGA Championship.

The 35-year-old McIlroy had this major on his clubs, up two shots with five holes left to DeChambeau's six holes. DeChambeau played those six in even par – and the leaderboard swung three strokes.

For as great as DeChambeau played, it's really hard to view this tournament as one that he won rather than one that McIlroy lost. That's why McIlroy left. You wonder how he or anyone could recover from this without a lot of time to distance himself from the ultimate golf heartache in a career filled with heartache.

Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay was within a few shots of the lead the entire way on Sunday, yet did it ever fell like he was in contention? Not really. Still, his tie for third equaled his best major finish ever (2019 PGA). It has been a terrible season for one of the top-10-ranked players in the world, though it's not too late to turn that around.

Tony Finau
Finau used to be a top-10 machine in majors. That came to a halt in 2021.  On Sunday, he tied for third, which equaled his best major finish ever (unless you say a solo third at the 2019 Open Championship is better). It's really been a quality season for Finau, one that now encompasses 10 top-25s and four top-10s in 16 starts. He is back to being elite in SG: Approach. Maybe it was the sting of missing the Ryder Cup that has spurred him on this season.

Matthieu Pavon
The magical season for the Frenchman, during which the clock appeared to strike 12 in April, continues on. Besides the win at the Farmers, the third at Pebble Beach and the T12 at the Masters, Pavon finished fifth at Pinehurst, where he played in the final group on Sunday with DeChambeau. He's 31 years old and had never showed an inkling of what we are seeing this season. But it sure seems real now. Pavon is ranked 20th in the OWGR.

Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama was solo sixth. How, you ask, with that putter on these diabolical greens? For the week, he ranked 24th in SG: Putting – not elite, but when you throw in his ultra-elite tee-to-green game, this is what you get. Matsuyama's renaissance season remains in full swing. He's now back up to No. 12 in the world.

Xander Schauffele
Schauffele was not about to start ripping off majors after he finally broke through last month at the PGA. But there was no reason he wouldn't continue ripping off top-10s, especially at the U.S. Open. He tied for seventh, though he did slip back to No. 3 in the world behind McIlroy.

Russell Henley
Henley led the field in SG: Putting for the week. When you mix in the rest of laser-like accuracy game, you come up with a tie for seventh. That's the second-best major result of his career, after last year's T4 at the Masters. Henley is up to a career-best 16th in the world rankings.

Sam Burns
Burns had never had a top-10 in a major. He had had only one top-25. Heck, he had missed the cut in four of his past five, including the first two this year. He tied for ninth.

Davis Thompson
You could consider Burns the first big surprise on the leaderboard. But for most people it would be Thompson, who also tied for ninth. He was hovering just inside the top-100 in the world.

Corey Conners
Conners had never even made a cut in five U.S. Opens before tying for ninth. So, not only is that a huge career move, but it also looks like he vaulted past Adam Hadwin to secure the second of two Canadian berths in the upcoming Summer Olympics. Qualifying ended on Sunday.
 
Ludvig Aberg
Aberg says the torn meniscus in his left knee is not an issue. And maybe it isn't. But he's gotten worse as the tournament has progressed the past two weeks. At the Memorial, he went 68-72-72-74. At the U.S. Open, which he led for a good chunk: 66-69-73-73. 

Sergio Garcia
Garcia went through qualifying and missed. But he was the first alternate out of Dallas, got in and played very well, tying for 12th.
 
Daniel Berger
The comeback trail has not been kind to Berger after missing close to two years with a back injury. He had had only one top-25 in 13 starts and was outside the top-125 in the point standings. At Pinehurst, he tied for 21st in his first major in two years. Maybe it's just taken this long after so much time off. We shall see.

Brooks Koepka
Another major, another de factor no-show for Koepka. He tied for 26th.

Neal Shipley
The Ohio State alum and social media star after his stint in Butler Cabin at the Masters tied for 26th. That made him low amateur at both majors. Only one other player had done that in the past quarter century: Viktor Hovland in 2019. Shipley needed to stay an amateur to play this week. Now, he's turning pro and will debut at a PGA Tour Americas event in Canada next week. Seems a good bet to get some PGA Tour sponsor's invites, too. 

Scottie Scheffler
Oh yeah, remember Scheffler? The No. 1 player in the world? He barely made the cut and wound up tied for 41st. He made only four birdies all week.

Matt Kuchar
Kuchar is now 45 and getting in majors is far from a given -- heck, he didn't even get into the PGA last month and everyone gets into the PGA. But he went through Open qualifying and made it, then made the cut (T50), his first in a major since 2022.

Martin Kaymer
Ten years after his runaway win at Pinehurst, Kaymer was a popular figure early in the week as we revisited past Opens at Pinehurst. Not many people expected him to make the cut. But there's no arguing he knows the game plan for this course. Kaymer tied for 64th in what was the finale in his 10-year Open exemption for winning.

MISSED CUTS

Viktor Hovland, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson. There really isn't much of a surprise here. Hovland had one good week at the Memorial and then shot 78 here on Thursday. He shot 68 on Friday but was done. … Homa's season has been quite mediocre. Yes, he tied for third at the Masters but fell back to T35 at the PGA. He's missed the cut in four of the past five U.S. Opens … Thomas has played very well in a lot of tournaments this season but had another high-profile missed cut after tying for eighth at the PGA. … Johnson's next birthday will be his 40th and he is not very relevant anymore, at least away from LIV. As for Woods and Mickelson, you wonder how much longer they should play the majors outside of the Masters. But they both are expected to be at Royal Troon next month.