Gary Woodland watches his tee shot on the first hole during the final round of the U.S. Open Championship. Photo / AP
Gary Woodland denied Brooks Koepka's bold bid at history with two clutch shots and made U.S. Open memories of his own, starting with that silver trophy in his hands at Pebble Beach.
Woodland finished in style today. He holed a 30-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 69, giving him the lowest 72-hole score in six U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach and a three-shot victory over Koepka, who was going for a third straight U.S. Open.
Koepka had to settle for a footnote in history as the first player with all four rounds in the 60s at the U.S Open without winning. But he made Woodland earn every bit of his first major championship. And he did. Clinging to a one-shot lead with more pressure than he has ever felt, Woodland seized control by going for the green on the par-5 14th hole with a 3-wood from 263 yards, narrowly clearing a cavernous bunker and setting up a simple up-and-down for a two-shot lead.
Even more significant was a shot from 90 feet.Woodland hit the edge of the green on the par-3 17th all the way to the right, with the pin on the hourglass green on the other side. Ahead on the 18th, Koepka's 3-iron went just over the back of the green, leaving him a chip for eagle to tie, with a birdie likely to do the trick considering what Woodland faced. Koepka chipped to just inside 10 feet and missed the putt.
Woodland delivered again. Unable to use putter to get it close, he perfectly clipped a pitch over the mound, and it checked about 12 feet short of the hole and trickled down to tap-in range.That effectively ended the U.S. Open.
Woodland played conservatively down the 18th and made one last birdie that only mattered in the record book. He finished at 13-under 271, one shot better than Tiger Woods' historic rout in 2000. The difference was Woods won by 15 shots and was the only player under par. With a marine layer blocking the sunshine, and no significant wind at Pebble Beach all week, 31 players finished under par.
Koepka closed with a 68 for his second runner-up in the majors this year, along with his second straight PGA Championship title.
Justin Rose was the only one who caught Woodland, with a birdie on the opening hole. Rose bogeyed from the bunker on No. 2, and fell out of the race with three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine. He shot 74 and shared third with Xander Schauffele (67), Jon Rahm (68) and Chez Reavie (71).Woods birdied six of his last 12 holes and was never a factor.
Latest updates from the final round of the US Open at Pebble Beach.
1.29pm
Woodland sinks monster putt to finish with birdie and three shot victory. Raises his arms. composes himself.
1.25pm
Woodland on the 18th green in three, should have no problem completing the win from here. He's got three putts to do it.
1.16pm
Woodland goes to the 18th needing only bogey to win the US Open, his first major title.
1.12pm
Stunnng chip from Woodland leaves him short par putt on par 3 17th, and in sight of victory. He will probably go to the last with a two shot advantage over Koepka, who will be in the clubhouse. And yes, Koepka misses the birdie.
1.09pm
Koepka has mid length birdie putt on the par 5 18th, after chipping out of long grass just off the green.
1.05pm
Leader Woodland looks to retain his two shot advantage after the 16th, gaining par despite finding a divot with his tee shot. Long birdie putt almost went in. Off to the 17th.
12.51pm
Woodland just misses a birdie putt that would have given him a three-shot lead with three to play. He taps in for par at the 15th.
Koepka's tee shot on the par three 17th finds the green but leaves a lengthy birdie putt which he misses.
Rose meanwhile drops another shot and moves back to a tie for third with Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Chez Reavie.
12.40pm
Koepka makes par at the 16th and still sits two back with just two to play.
12.30pm
Gary Woodland sits in the box seat with four holes to play.
The American holds a two shot lead at 12-under over Brooks Koepka as he walks off the 14th green following a birdie putt on the par five.
Koepka has just three holes to play.
Bogeys at 12 and 13 have hurt Justin Rose's hopes as he has slipped back to four shots from the leader.
Midday
The battle to win golf's US Open looks to be between three players on the back nine at Pebble Beach.
Third round leader American Gary Woodland has a two-shot lead over two times defending champion Brooks Koepka and England's Justin Rose.
Woodland is 12-under par, one under for the day through 11 holes.
Koepka is three-under for his round through 12 holes, while Rose is even after 11.
11.30am
Take that, Jack. Viktor Hovland's last big feat as an amateur was knocking none other than Jack Nicklaus out of the record book.
Hovland, who is turning pro at next week's PGA Tour event, shot 4-under 67 to finish at 4-under 280 — breaking the record (282) for an amateur at the U.S. Open last set by Nicklaus at Cherry Hills in 1960.
"I didn't know that. Pretty sweet," Hovland said when told about the accomplishment.
Hovland also was the low amateur at the Masters this year.
But Pebble Beach is really to his liking. He qualified for the U.S. Open by winning last year's U.S. Amateur at Pebble.
11am
Unheralded American Gary Woodland is keeping the high profile challengers at bay during the final round of the US Golf Open at Pebble Beach.
Woodland is two-under for his round through seven holes and 13-under for the tournament.
He's two shots clear of playing partner and former US Open champion Justin Rose, and three clear of two times defending champion Brooks Koepka.
South African Louis Oosthuizen and Australian Adam Scott are four shots off the pace on nine under par. Tiger Woods has closed with a three under 69 to be tied for 20th.
10am
Two times defending champion Brooks Koepka is on the charge early in the final round of the US golf Open at Pebble Beach.
The American has birdied two of his first three holes to move to within three shots off the lead alongside South African Louis Oosthuizen at nine-under par.
Gary Woodland birdied his second hole to reach 12-under par and open up a two-shot lead over England's Justin Rose.
9.30am
Viktor Hovland is making a bid to follow up his U.S. Amateur title at Pebble Beach by becoming the low amateur at the U.S. Open.
Hovland birdied four of the first eight holes to get to 4 under for the tournament. He had a four-shot lead over Brandon Wu in the race for top amateur. Wu bogeyed the first two holes in the final round. He is missing his graduation at Stanford to play the final round of the U.S. Open.
Duke's Chandler Eaton was at 2 over through 12 holes.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods bogeyed four of the first six holes before getting a birdie on No. 7 that moved him to 3 over for the tournament.
Leader Gary Woodland and second-place Justin Rose will tee off in another hour. Woodland is at 11 under and leads Rose by one shot.
9am
Tiger Woods is picking up where he left off at Pebble Beach, and in this case, that's not a good thing.
Woods opened his final round with a pair of bogeys and was 3-over par after five holes.
Phil Mickelson is being serenaded by "Happy Birthday" on his walk around the course. On his 49th birthday, he was 2 over with one hole to play and 5 over for the tournament.
Early starter Marcus Kinhult shot 5-under 66 to finish the tournament at even par.
Leader Gary Woodland is at 11 under, with a one-shot lead over Justin Rose. They tee off later Sunday.
8:45 am
Gary Woodland is seeking his first major championship in a U.S. Open that features unusually low scoring for Pebble Beach.
The final round Sunday was met with another day of thick marine layer over the Monterey Peninsula. The greens progressively have been a little firmer each day, but they were still receptive without getting a steady blast of sunshine.
In the last two U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach, only one player — Tiger Woods in 2000 — finished under par.
Woodland was at 11 under entering the final round, one shot ahead of Justin Rose. Twenty-six players began the final round under par.
Woods won in 2000 at 12 under, 15 shots better than anyone else. He was off to another rough start with two bogeys in two holes.
Fox finished T19 at Oakmont and heads into a limited field event this week in good form.