🏆 US Open Recap

Bryson devastates Rory with a gripping victory

Bryson DeChambeau is now a two-time Major champion and a two-time winner of the US Open following his drama filled win at Pinehurst No.2. There were many comers over the 4 days in North Carolina, but in the end, it was a battle between 2 - Bryson and Rory McIlroy, with DeChambeau emerging victorious as McIlroy suffered one of the sickest chokes in Major championship history.

In this week’s issue of The Shank Show newsletter, we’ll recap the best and most interesting aspects of the 2024 US Open. But before we do, just a reminder about our new Podcast - Beyond The Tour Golf Show:

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Everything you need to know from all 4 rounds

Round 1 - Thursday

• The drama started even before the first ball was hit on Thursday with former champ, Jon Rahm, withdrawing due to an infected lesion on his foot.

• Rounds of 65 (5-under) from both McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay saw them share the lead by 1 over Ludvig Aberg at the end of the first round. Bryson was just a shot further back and looking good.

• Pinehurst, despite mild winds, showed it is a Big Boy golf course. The unpredictability of the native areas and wire grass was catching players out. More significantly, the repelling green complexes were ejecting approach shots left, right and centre (see below).

• Players were literally sweating their arses off, both from the hot conditions and the pressure the Pinehurst course was exerting.

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Round 2 - Friday

• For the first time in a long time, we saw the weight of expectation get to Scottie Scheffler. At one point, he threw his putter in the air with no attempt to catch it, causing some damage to the green he was putting on. A 4-over round of 74 would see him make the cut right on the number, but effectively out of contention.

• Tiger Woods, despite obsessive TV coverage and US fans willing him to find his best, showed he is just not competitive at this level anymore. He missed the cut by two shots, and in a post round interview said “this may or may not” be his last US Open.

• Aberg showed amazing composure and maturity in only his 3rd Major. His 1-under par round of 69 included some unbelievable shots (see below) and was enough to take the 36-hold lead as Rory and Cantlay had over par rounds. Bryson continued to loom large only 1 shot back.

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Round 3 - Saturday

• The scoring average on Saturday significantly rose from the day before as the USGA ramped up the pin positions and the course/greens continued to firm up (it was such a breath of fresh air to see as opposed to the soft dart board conditions most weeks on the PGAT).

• Matthieu Pavon was a surprise packet as he went 3-under through his first 7 holes to take the outright lead. The Frenchman was leading the field in SG Putting at this point, but some wire grass trouble on 13 brought him back to the field and he would go on to finish a very respectable 5th.

• Aberg was cruising along in the lead and looked unflappable until he had a disastrous triple on the 13th. He ping-ponged his ball back and forth over the green and was one of 4 triples made on 13 that day. This took all the wind out of the young star’s sails.

• The story of the day was Bryson who shot a remarkable 3-under 67 which included a double! He was hitting bombs (24 drives over 330 yards) and making putts (ranked 2nd in the field for # of putts per hole). This outstanding play would see him take a 3-shot lead into the final round. All of this despite receiving physio treatment on course for a hip complaint.

Round 4 - Sunday

• The final day essentially came down to a battle between 4 - Bryson, Rory, Pavon and Cantlay. The way Pinehurst was playing, it was impossible for a player to shoot 63 and come from the clouds. So, the final 2 groups was where the action would be. And these groups did not disappoint.

• It didn’t take long for Bryson’s lead to be cut to 1 - Rory opened with a birdie on the 1st and DeChambeau made a sloppy bogey on the 4th to see a 2 shot swing early in the final round. Pavon lost touch with the leaders having 3 bogeys on the front 9, whilst Cantlay continued to hang around, not making mistakes, but unable to launch a real charge.

• Rory then took the bull by the horns and bagged 4 birdies in a 5-hole stretch from 9 to 13. Meanwhile, Bryson was putting himself under immense pressure by not finding fairways and tempting fate in the native areas filled with wire grass. He was 50th for the round in driving accuracy and this eventually caught up with him as he made an extremely untimely bogey on the 12th.

• As Bryson stepped onto the 13th tee, Rory had completely flipped the tables and held a 2-shot lead at 8-under as he played the 14th hole in front. This is where things see-sawed back towards Bryson - he crushed a 3-wood to drive the green on the short par 4 13th sending a roar around the property which was certainly audible by Rory on 14 tee.

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• What ensued from here was hard to watch for Rory fans. He would bogey 3 out of his 4 final holes, and crucially yip 2 three-foot putts on 16 and 18 in the process. Rory had made 496 from 496 putts (100%) inside 3-feet so far this season, but the pressure of Pinehurst’s greens and not having won a Major in over 10 years proved too much.

• But Bryson was still not in the clear. In fact, he was in huge trouble after hooking his tee shot on 18 into the native area and being obstructed in his backswing by overhanging branches and in his downswing by a tree root. Having no choice but to punch out, Bryson left himself with an extremely difficult 60-yard bunker shot to get up and down for par to avoid a playoff with McIlroy. Bryson then delivered with one of the best clutch up-and-downs ever seen in Major Championship history, hitting his bunker shot incredibly to 4-feet and rolling the putt in to win his second US Open and crush McIlroy in the process.

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🍴Quick Bites

Here are some quick bites for you to snack on:

• Aussie Grace Kim falls at final hurdle - Kim took a 5 shot lead into the final round of the Meijer Classic on the LGPA but was unable to close out the tournament, falling short in a 3-way playoff. Despite the disappointment, Kim was all class in her post round interview showing great perspective despite the emotion (see below).

• Cabrera (fresh out of jail) wins - Angel, a two-time Major winner who has recently been in jail for a few years for domestic violence offences, has claimed his first win since regaining his freedom - winning on the European Legend’s Tour.

• Rory’s divorce now off - it was only a month ago that McIlroy filed for divorce (the week of the PGA Championship). Following that, rumours of an alleged affair with CBS correspondent Amanda Balionis have been rife. Now Rors and his wife have declared “their best future is as a family together”.

📅 Schedule for the Week

Another big week of golf ahead with the LIV crew heading to Nashville for the first time, another Signature Event on the PGAT and a Major for the women.

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: The Travellers Championship (Signature Event) - TPC River Highlands (Connecticut), $20m purse, Friday 21/6 to Monday 24/6 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 5am AEST Friday, Featured Groups from 9.30pm Thursday.

• LIV Golf: Nashville - The Grove Golf Course (Tennesse), $25m purse, Saturday 22/6 to Monday 24/6 - Coverage on 7+ and LIVGolf+, starts 3.15am AEST Saturday.

• DPWT: KLM Open - International Golf Club (Amsterdam), $2.5m purse, Thursday 20/6 to Sunday 23/6 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 9.00pm AEST Thursday.

• LPGA: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship - Sahalee Country Club (Washington), $10m purse, Friday 21/6 to Monday 24/6 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 6am AEST Friday.