Bryson DeChambeau won his second US Open on Sunday, yet it was an epic late collapse by an exhausted Rory McIlroy which will be remembered from the exciting match at Pinehurst.

With six holes remaining, DeChambeau was overtaken by McIlroy, but he maintained his poise over Pinehurst’s dome-shaped greens and sandy waste areas to win the championship.

McIlroy led by two shots with five holes to play after being denied in his effort to snap a 10-year major victory drought.

However, the four-time national winner from Northern Ireland bogeyed three of the final four holes, including two short par putts at 16 and 18, to assist Bryson DeChambeau capture the trophy.

“I still can’t believe it,” DeChambeau admitted. “It’s unbelievable.”

DeChambeau, who also won the 2020 US Open, scored a one-over-par 71 to finish at six-under-par 274, while McIlroy shot 69 to finish at 275 after 72 holes.

In addition to winning the $4.3 million winner’s share of a record $21.5 million purse, DeChambeau will move up from 38th to 10th in the next world rankings and have five more years to compete in all majors.

In a collapse similar to Greg Norman’s historic 1996 Masters last-round loss to Nick Faldo, McIlroy missed par putts from 2.5 feet at the par-4 16th and just inside four feet at the par-4 18th — nerve-racking bogeys that put McIlroy one back in the thriller.

“Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special,” DeChambeau said of McIlroy, who exited the course without speaking to the media following his excruciating fall.

“I wouldn’t want him to miss that putt (at 18).” It simply happened to work out that way,” DeChambeau explained.

Best Shot of My Life: Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau found dirt, weeds, and a bunker at 18, but he blasted his third ball to four feet and sank his pressure-packed putt to win.

“I was not great today but I got out of trouble well and then, man, I can’t believe that up and down the last — that was All-World, probably the best shot of my life.”

Raising his arms in triumph, Bryson DeChambeau yelled and jumped for glee before paying respect to the late Payne Stewart, the 1999 US Open champion at Pinehurst who died only a few months later.

“That’s Payne right there, baby,” DeChambeau remarked to a TV camera, pointing to a pin of Stewart on his cap.

After Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship in 2023, the 30-year-old American became the second active player from Saudi-backed LIV Golf to win a major title.

It was an American’s sixth consecutive major win since Spain’s Jon Rahm won the Masters last year.

Americans Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay tied for third place on 276, two strokes back of the lead, with Finau firing 67. France’s Matthieu Pavon placed fifth on 277 after a 71, one stroke ahead of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who shot a 70 and finished on 278.

Bryson DeChambeau responded to bogeys at the fourth and 12th holes with birdies at the par-5 10th and par-4 13th, keeping the pressure on McIlroy until he cracked.

“I felt like I struck the driver really hard. “It just wasn’t starting where I wanted to hit,” DeChambeau explained. “Ultimately, on 13, I knew I had to get Birdie there to give myself a chance because Rory was going on a heater.

“He slipped up a couple on the way coming in and I just kept staying the course, focused on trying to do as many fairways as I could.”

McIlroy finished second at the US Open for the second week in a row, and his 21st top-10 result since winning a major at the PGA Championship in 2014.

When McIlroy missed two short putts, his only misses of the day inside five feet, DeChambeau made his first three-putt bogey of the competition, lipping out a four-foot par putt at the par-3 15th to fall one back.

At the 1907 British Open, Pavon attempted to become the second Frenchman after Arnaud Massy to win a major championship, but he was unsuccessful.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, the pre-tournament favourite, shot a two-over 72 to finish on eight-over 288 for his second finish outside the top ten this year.

“I didn’t play my best. “It was a little frustrating at the end,” he stated. “I definitely need to do some things better.”

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