US Open 2015: Jordan Spieth wins historic title for second major
- Published
Final leaderboard |
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-5 J Spieth (US); -4 L Oosthuizen (SA), D Johnson (US); -3 A Scott (Aus), C Smith (Aus) B Grace (SA); -2 C Schwartzel (SA); -1 B Snedeker (US); Level R McIlroy (NI), S Lowry (Ire), J Day (Aus) |
Selected others: +3 S Garcia (Spa); +5 T Fleetwood (Eng), J Gunn (Sco), J Rose (Eng), M Warren (Sco); +6 P Casey (Eng); +9 L Westwood (Eng); +11 I Poulter (Eng); +12 L Donald (Eng) |
USA's Jordan Spieth added the US Open title to his Masters victory after a thrilling climax at the much-criticised Chambers Bay.
The 21-year-old carded a one-under 69 to win his second major of 2015 by one shot on five under after Dustin Johnson three-putted the last from 12 feet.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen sank six birdies in his last seven holes in a 67 to tie with Johnson for second.
World number one Rory McIlroy (66) briefly threatened but ended level par.
Spieth, who remains on course to become the first player to win all four majors in a calendar year, is the youngest player to win the US Open since Bobby Jones in 1923.
He is the fourth-youngest player to win two majors and the sixth to win the Masters and US Open in the same year.
"I'm in shock but I feel for Dustin," said Spieth. "It's cool to be able to have two legs of the grand slam now, and to conquer golf's hardest test - the US Open is conquering the hardest layout in all of golf.
"I didn't have my best ball-striking at all and really grinded over those four or five-footers - that was the difference."
Johnson said: "I did everything I was supposed to do. I hit the ball really well. I just really struggled getting it in the hole. I didn't think I was hitting bad putts, they just weren't going in."
An astonishing finish
Spieth, the world number two, started the final round in a four-way tie for the lead with Johnson, Branden Grace and Jason Day of Australia on four under.
He bogeyed his opening hole to drop back to three under but 12 pars and two birdies followed to keep the Texan in touch before a three-shot swing on the 16th put him three clear with two to play.
Spieth and playing partner Grace were both five under but the South African, who had played solidly for 15 holes with two birdies and a bogey, hit his tee shot 50 yards right and out of bounds.
That led to a double-bogey six and he dropped to three under, while Spieth drained a 28-foot birdie putt to move to six under.
Johnson, playing in the final group with Day, led by two at one stage after a couple of birdies in a bogey-free opening nine holes.
He looked to have cracked on the back nine, though, with three bogeys in four holes dropping him back to three under after 13.
However, Spieth and Johnson were level after the par-three 17th. Spieth found trouble with his tee shot and double-bogeyed while Johnson hit the green and holed his birdie putt.
Both players missed eagle putts on the last but after Spieth kept his nerve to hole his fourth shot, Johnson pushed his attempt wide.
Analysis: Iain Carter, BBC Sport golf correspondent |
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"This was one of the great final days in major championship golf. It confirmed, if confirmation was needed, Spieth's superstar status. |
"He has proven himself in the vastly different environments of the Masters and the US Open. Now all four major titles lie in the hands of two men and there is no doubt golf is currently all about his rivalry with McIlroy. |
"For Johnson this will be the bitterest blow in a career that has also seen him lose winning positions in three other majors. He faces a mighty challenge to recover after three-putting his way out of a play-off." |
A Day too far
Australian Day, who shared the overnight lead, never looked comfortable on Sunday as he continued to battle the effects of the vertigo that had troubled him since the end of Friday's round.
He countered three bogeys with two birdies on his front nine but a double-bogey six on the par-four 13th effectively ended his challenge and he finished with a four-over 74 and level-par total.
McIlroy and Scott charge
The tone for an extraordinary final day of an extraordinary tournament was set when Northern Ireland's McIlroy holed six birdies in his opening 13 holes, including an incredible 72-foot putt.
That lifted the 2011 US Open champion from four over to two under but his momentum was halted when he missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 14th and a six-foot par putt on the 15th.
A further bogey followed on the 17th and he finished with a par five at the last.
"It just wasn't meant to be, I didn't play the last few holes well all week," he told BBC Sport.
"It's going to take a few days to get over it but when I look back on it I'll be happy about it - a few missed putts will have made the difference."
With McIlroy ripping up the course, Australian Scott, who started the day on three over, crept almost unnoticed into contention with four birdies in his opening 11 holes.
The 2013 Masters champion, who finished tied ninth at the US Open last year, birdied the 16th and 18th to set the clubhouse lead at three under.
Scott's fellow Australian Cameron Smith, 21, shot up to a tie for fourth with an eagle-three on the 18th after his fairway-wood approach rolled to within a couple of feet of the hole.
Wonderful Oosthuizen
The South African, who won the 2010 Open,, external was nine over par early in Friday's second round but two four-under-par 66s saw him start the final round at one under.
Three consecutive bogeys on the front nine looked to have put him out of contention. However he played the back nine in just 29 shots, with six birdies in his last seven holes to take the clubhouse lead off Scott.
And it took a birdie-four at the last from Spieth to deny him a play-off.
The good, the bad, the ugly
For all the criticism of the greens this week, Cheng-Tsung Pan of Chinese Taipei, had just one three-putt and that came in Sunday's final round at the 13th hole. Cheng-Tsung may have been helped by being a student of the local University of Washington.
England's John Parry started Sunday on six over par. He opened his final round with five straight bogeys as he carded the worst round of the day - a nine-over 79 to drop to 15 over.
America's Chris Kirk took a sextuple 10 on the par-four first. There were no lost balls, hacks out of the rough or penalty shots, just an inability to chip a ball up a slope. He watched as his first five attempts rolled back to his feet and even when he did get the ball on he green, he three-putted. He only dropped two more shots in his eight-over 78 but finished last on 21 over.
Quotes of the day
Jordan Spieth on the potential for winning the Grand Slam of all four majors in 2015, as he now prepares for next month's Open at St Andrews: "You can't win them all if you don't win the first two. We'll go to the home of golf prepared to try and win the Claret Jug."
Rory McIlroy on his level-par week: "I'm not sure if I've ever hit the ball that well in a major championship."
England's Ian Poulter was among numerous players who waited until the final round to really let rip on the state of the course: "This was the surface we had to putt on. It is disgraceful that the USGA hasn't apologised about the greens. They were simply the worst, most disgraceful surfaces I have ever seen on any tour in all the years I have played."
Chris Kirk, after finishing last on 21 over: "The US Open is a great tournament with incredible history. The USGA should be ashamed of what they did to it this week. My score has nothing to do with why I feel that way, I played poorly. The course wasn't overly difficult, just tricked up."
Lee Westwood on his Chambers Bay experience: "It's the kind of course I'd like to come and play with my mates, with a cart and some beers."
In a 15-minute rant, Billy Horschel, who carded a three-under 67, said: "We're not looking for perfect greens. We're looking for something that's very consistent and this week they're not. Four is God awful. Ten is not much better where it was. That hole is in dirt. It's literally dirt. There's no grass around that hole.
Referring to the limited or no access to some holes for fans, Horschel added: "It blows my mind that they would build a golf course and not think about the fans. The fans got robbed this week."
And Horschel said that a caddie was asked if there was any grass on the fourth green and replied: "Yeah, two blades, and they're not even close to each other."
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