Bryson DeChambeau of East Clovis, California, won the 124th United States Open Golf Championship last Sunday at the Number 2 Course at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. DeChambeau made a most memorable sand save from 55 yards out and then sunk the four foot putt to win the National Open by one stroke over Irishman Rory McIlroy. It was the second major championship for the 30 year old who also won the Open at Winged Foot in 2020.
A regular on the Saudi Arabian backed LIV Golf Tour, DeChambeau is arguably one of the longest ball strikers in the game. His recent accomplishments this year in golf’s major championships has been top notch with a sixth place finish in the Masters and a runner-up conclusion to last month’s PGA Championship, finishing just one shot behind eventual winner Xander Schauffele. Yet say what you will about his power game, DeChambeau also has a creative touch around the greens and is a very strong chipper and wedge player.
Yet in some ways the 2024 United States Open will also be remembered for a series of final nine miscues by McIlroy. Going into the 15th hole with a two shot lead, Rory airmailed the par three green and made a safe bogey. On the 16 hole he made a second consecutive bogey when he missed a four foot putt for par. Sad to say, but Rory repeated the feat when he missed a downhill four footer on the final green to make bogey. It’s hard to know whether DeChambeau could have been as aggressively successful on the final hole had he needed a par to tie instead of a par to win. Of course that’s not what’s going to count. Instead Bryson DeChambeau came in at -6 under par while Rory McIlroy finished at -5 under par after 72 holes at the ’24 Open.
Among the other contenders, Patrick Cantlay had his best finish in a major when he finished in a tie for third place along with Tony Finau at -4 under. Cantlay shot 65 to take the tournament lead on Thursday, but never played under par golf from that point onward. Mattheiu Pavon of France rounded out the top five, finishing one shot further back.
The United States Open marked the 1,000th time that the United States Golf Association has hosted one of its national championships. While we’re counting, it has now been 3,604 days as of this moment since Rory McIlroy won the 2014 PGA Championship. It was 10 years ago that he won his fourth career major title. It’s hard to believe that he has yet to take home a fifth one, and as time goes on, it may become more and more difficult with the baggage associated with those tough loses.
Oftentimes I think that stop-gap measures are simply a sign of disguising a weakness in one’s golf game. Of course I could be dead wrong. I used to shake my head at extremely talented golfers who used either the long putter or putted cross handed. I thought they were simply using it as a crutch and would never be able to improve. I now do believe that I was dead wrong. Just ask Bernhard Langer. This weekend I observed Matthieu Pavon hitting chips and wedge shots with a cross-handed grip. Strange Definitely. Yet in Pavon’s case, it is extremely effective. You never know.
Finally, the United States Open is a truly “open” tournament. There are exemptions given out to top notch golfers such as Rory McIlroy in golf’s top 50 or to recent major champions such as Bryson DeChambeau. The rest of the 156 man field is made up of qualifiers, some of whom compete in a regional qualifier of 18 holes and then need to survive a 36 hole qualifier during golf’s Longest Day. This time around 9,522 golf professionals and scratch amateurs entered the United States Open as qualifiers. In the end there were 73 spots available to those qualifiers. One of the more interesting qualifiers was Colin Pater of Colorado Springs. The 29 year old is a biology teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School. He is also the school’s golf coach. He shot 69-73 to get the second and final spot at Open qualifying in Colorado. Alas Pater failed to make the cut after 36 holes. He is a past Colorado State Amateur champion as well as a Colorado State Match Play titlist. Neal Shipley, a collegiate golfer at Ohio State University, made the cut at Pinehurst and was the low amateur.
The third week of July will be a busy time for junior golfers in Lake County. On Monday, July 22, Buckingham Golf and Country Club will host its Buckingham Summer Junior Golf Classic. Call (707) 279-4863 for more information. On Wednesday, July 24, Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course will be the site of the Sonoma County Junior Golf Circuit. Thursday, July 25 marks the date for the Lake County Junior Golf Championship. The Lake County Junior will once again be held at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain. Contact the ASGC Pro Shop at (707) 938-9992 or stop by to pick up an entry form.
Next Week- Rory… and Scott, Hale, Doug, Retief, Ben, and Sam.
