Inside The Mustangs

Five Big Moments from DeChambeau’s U.S. Open Victory

Final round on Sunday featured plenty of highlights from former Mustang

Taylor Hodges

Bryson DeChambeau hits onto the eighteenth green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament.
Bryson DeChambeau hits onto the eighteenth green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

PINEHURST, N.C. – Bryson DeChambeau may be the best partner to have in an escape room after showing his escape ability all day Sunday on his way to winning the U.S. Open Championship.

The former SMU golfer constantly found himself in difficult positions, beginning with his very first shot of the round that landed in the middle of the fairway, but came to a rest in a divot. If there was a script writer for U.S. Open, this would’ve been a great foreshadow for the rest of DeChambeau’s day.

But every time he found himself amongst the wire grass, in a sand bunker, standing on pine straw, or behind a couple tall pine trees, DeChambeau found a way to escape the situation and win his second U.S. Open.

So, there was no shortage of great, clutch golf shots from the 2015 NCAA Individual Champion at SMU in Sunday’s round. I’m just a casual golf fan so I may miss something more important, but for me, these are DeChambeau’s five biggest shots of Sunday’s final round:

5. DeChambeau keeps the pressure on Mcllroy

When DeChambeau lined up for his tee shot on the par 3 17th hole, he was tied with Rory McIlroy at 6-under for the tournament. But McIlroy, after making birdies on four-out-of-five holes earlier in the round, bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes to lose the lead and fall into a tie with DeChambeau.

With two holes to play, every shot would count and DeChambeau’s tee shot at No. 17 was probably his best of the day. The ball landed perfectly on the green and rolled to within 15-20 feet of the hole. He wouldn’t make the birdie, but he did make par and headed toward the final hole needing a birdie to win or par to force a playoff (and then McIlroy made bogey on 18 to make things interesting).

4. Major disaster averted

This may be just because of the visual of the shot on the 8th hole, but with DeChambeau standing on pine straw next to his ball, a few tall pine trees in front of him and thick lines of fans on each side, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for something to go wrong.

Rather than bounce the ball off a tree, DeChambeau managed to get his ball out from the pines. One of the TV commentators said the ball landed in the second-worst possible place. But considering where the ball had just come from, anything would seem better.

3. Bryson answers after falling behind

McIlroy made his fourth birdie in the last five holes on the 13th green to give himself a two-stroke lead over DeChambeau who wasn’t about to go quietly into the night.

DeChambeau’s tee shot on the par 4 13th hole was a thing of beauty that landed on the green. He nearly erased the two-shot deficit with an eagle putt that stopped just short of the hole and drained the birdie to get to within one of McIlroy. It was that tee shot, though, that landed DeChambeau’s second birdie of the day.

2. Perfect approach leads to first birdie

Both DeChambeau’s birdies on Sunday followed a near perfect approach shot or drive that set him up for an easy putt. So, why is this one ranked higher? Simply put, without this birdie, what happens on No. 13 has a total different meaning. Keep in mind, while DeChambeau made birdie on No. 10, McIlroy was in the midst of a four-of-five birdie streak. Take away DeChambeau’s birdie and McIlroy has a three-shot lead and that eagle putt on 13 becomes a must-have. At that point, who knows what happens.

Oh, the actual approach shot was beautiful and DeChambeau does it with such ease, you think you could make the same shot (spoiler: you probably can’t).

1. Sand bunker shot to win the U.S. Open

This was the easiest selection for this list. All day DeChambeau had to escape one bad situation after another and that trend continued on the final hole of the tournament. By the time DeChambeau teed off for the last time, McIlroy had already bogeyed No. 18 and all DeChambeau would need is a par to win the tournament.
So, of course, his drive to start the 18th hole landed not just amongst the wire grass, but right next to a tree root and with a tree branch hanging in the spot DeChambeau would be standing in. His shot from there ended up in the sand bunker guarding the final green. What happens next will go down as one of the most clutch golf shots to win a U.S. Open in history.

PONY EXPRESS:

  • Follow allPONIES on X
Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Taylor is an award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. He's covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

Home/News