SAN DIEGO — When Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes reached his tee shot on the par-3 eleventh gap within the ultimate spherical of the 121st U.S. Open on Sunday, he couldn’t imagine what he noticed.
His ball was lodged between two twigs on the department of a tree and by no means got here down.
“I imply, it’s like one-in-a-million break,” Hughes mentioned. “I’ve performed golf my complete life. I’ve by no means had a ball caught in a tree. For it to occur on the again 9 of a U.S. Open …”
For greater than two hours on Sunday, the again 9 of the South Course at Torrey Pines chewed up most of the world’s greatest golfers and knocked most of them out of competition. In Hughes’ case, it didn’t even spit him out.
Earlier than the leaders made the activate Sunday, it appeared like one of many biggest ultimate rounds in U.S. Open historical past was about to play out on the California coast. After six holes, 4 gamers — Louis Oosthuizen, Bryson DeChambeau, Russell Henley and Rory McIlroy — had been tied for the lead at 4 beneath. Six extra gamers, together with Hughes, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm, had been simply 1 shot behind.
“I’m not going to lie: I used to be making an attempt not to have a look at the leaderboards, however the crowd was not cooperating,” Rahm mentioned. “They had been telling me precisely what was happening, so I made a decision to embrace it. You see all these nice names, and to myself I assumed whoever wins this one goes to be the one who gained a U.S. Open with a star-packed leaderboard.”
However then, simply as shortly, the U.S. Open resembled the ultimate spherical of a neighborhood member-member.
“It’s late afternoon, Sunday at a U.S. Open,” mentioned Harris English, who at one level was the clubhouse chief at 3 beneath. “The wind is up. The greens are agency and quick. Something can occur.”
One after the other, most of the greatest gamers on the planet imploded, leaving Rahm chasing Oosthuizen for his first main championship. Rahm ultimately chased the South African right down to win by 1 shot at 6-under 278, turning into the primary Spaniard to win the U.S. Open.
“You hear about many individuals saying all that you must do is simply cling on and let others make errors, and that merely simply wasn’t taking place,” Rahm mentioned.
Clearly, Rahm wasn’t paying a lot consideration to the carnage that was going down in all places round him.
Henley, who had at the least a share of the lead after every of the primary three rounds, took himself out of competition early with three straight bogeys. Justin Thomas, the No. 2 participant on the planet, was out of the combo after hitting his drive on No. 10 over a fence and out of bounds. Morikawa, the No. 4 participant on the planet, took a double bogey on No. 13 after blasting a wedge over the inexperienced. Koepka, a two-time U.S. Open champ, was undone by three back-nine bogeys.
Matthew Wolff, who was solely 2 pictures again at one level on Sunday, had bogeys on 5 of six holes to knock himself out. Northern Eire’s McIlroy, who was in competition for his first main championship win for the reason that 2014 PGA Championship, three-putted No. 11 and made a double on 12.
“It was two holes that principally stopped the kind of run on the title,” McIlroy mentioned.
Even after Oosthuizen had birdies on Nos. 9 and 10 to maneuver to six beneath for a 2-shot lead, Hughes was nonetheless very a lot within the hunt at 4 beneath. However then he yanked his tee shot left on the par-3 eleventh. His ball narrowly missed a spectator and bounced excessive off the cart path. Unbelievably, the ball lodged within the tree and by no means got here down.
Welp. That’s a ball in a tree. #FromManyOne | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/U9lVvoVGFM
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 20, 2023
Hughes took a penalty, made double-bogey 5 after which bogeyed the following gap. He was accomplished, too.
“[It] felt unlucky as a result of if that ball is over there within the grass, I’ve received an opportunity to get up-and-down for par, and that’s a unique outlook than making an attempt to get up-and-down for bogey, and I in the end made a double there,” Hughes mentioned. “I hit a nasty shot, however I used to be left of the inexperienced with a number of inexperienced to work with, and who is aware of what would have occurred. No, only a actually unhealthy break, and an unlucky time to have it occur.”
That wasn’t even the strangest factor that occurred. DeChambeau, who was cruising and hadn’t made a bogey in 30 consecutive holes, had back-to-back ones on Nos. 11 and 12. Then, after he slipped on his tee shot on the par-5 thirteenth, a fan sporting a cape ran onto the green forward of him with a golf membership. The person reached into his pocket, dropped a ball and knocked it into the canyon with an iron. He danced and swung once more earlier than police apprehended him.
Through @beemerpga on Instagram, the most effective streaker golf has actually ever seen. Golf equipment in hand, hit just a few pictures! pic.twitter.com/TVyL7IycCD
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) June 20, 2023
“I’m simply glad an officer clotheslined him,” DeChambeau mentioned. “That was enjoyable. They took him down and received him out like he must be.”
DeChambeau went down practically as quick. The defending U.S. Open champion had held the solo lead at 5 beneath after a close to ace on the par-3 eighth. After the consecutive bogeys, he took a double-bogey 7 on 13 and a quadruple-bogey 8 on 17. His bunker shot on the thirteenth ended up subsequent to a 12-pack of beer close to the cart path.
“No person understands, at the least in case you play skilled golf, main championship golf,” DeChambeau mentioned. “A number of it’s luck. I can’t let you know what number of occasions I hit pictures this week into unhealthy lies and good lies, they usually performed out 50-50 this week. I caught the unhealthy lies within the again 9 [on Sunday]. … Needed to be a little bit fortunate. And I used to be for the primary three and a half days and simply didn’t get fortunate on the final 9.”
Nobody is aware of that higher than Hughes.
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