Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO – Spain’s Jon Rahm won his first major title with a one shot victory over South African Louis Oosthuizen at the 121st United States Open Golf Championship at Torrey Pines. The victory was particularly sweet, coming on Father’s Day, for the father of a newborn son.

Rahm tied for the best score in the field Sunday, with Patrick Reed and Branden Grace also shooting (67s).

Oosthuizen has won one major (2010 British Open) and he now has six runner-up spots in majors. That list includes tying for second at last month’s PGA Championship.

To defeat the South African, Rahm closed with two incredible pressure putts on 17 and 18 to earn the win. He won a cool $2,250,000 to start his son’s college fund. Not bad for the man who tested positive for COVID-19+ when he was six strokes up at the recent Memorial Golf Tournament and had to withdraw. Rahm cleared protocol for the U.S. Open with two days to spare.

Harris English finished third at 3 under, with his final-round (68) the only sub-70 score of the tournament. On Sunday, he had bogeys on three of the first four holes, but played the last five holes in 3 under.

Brooks Koepka (69), Collin Morikawa (70) and Italy’s Guido Migliozzi (68) were at 2 under to share fourth place.

Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler shot identical (283) for (-1) and T-7. Go figure.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau was two shots off the lead when the day began and was 2 under for the round through eight holes. He melted down and fell out of contention, playing Nos. 11-17 in 8 over to shoot a final round (77). His quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 17 was the ultimate damage. He finished T-26.

This Week: The Travelers Championship (Cromwell, Conn).

Final Leaderboard at The 121st U.S. Open

Jon Rahm – (-6) 69-70-72-67 (278)

Louis Oosthuizen – (-5) 67-71-70-71 (279)

Harris English – (-3) 72-70-71-68 (281)

Three Tied at (-2)

SAN DIEGO – Mackenzie Hughes, Louis Oosthuizen and Russell Henley share the lead entering today’s final round of the U.S. Open.

Hughes and Henley are seeking their first major championship victory while the other three players in the Top-5 have a combined six major wins.

Oosthuizen is 1-for-2 in major championships with the 54-hole lead/co-lead (won 2010 Open Championship and lost in a playoff in 2015 Open Championship).

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau can become the eighth player to successfully defend U.S. Open title. He is only two strokes back.

Also two strokes back, 2011 U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy is looking to become the 20th player to win five men’s major championships.

U.S. Open Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Mackenzie Hughes 73-67-68—208 (-5)

Louis Oosthuizen 67-71-70—208 (-5)

Russell Henley 67-70-71—208 (-5)

Rory McIlroy 70-73-67—210 (-3)

Bryson DeChambeau 73-69-68—210 (-3)

121st U.S. Open at Torrey Pines:

COURSE: Torrey Pines Golf Course (South), San Diego, CA

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @USOpenGolf

OFFICIAL SITE: (U.S. Open Championship) – PGA Tour site (link)

TV COVERAGE: Today, June 19, Round 3 coverage 11:00am to 9pm (EDT) on NBC. For Sunday, June 20th’s final round, Golf Channel’s coverage runs from 10:00am to 12:00pm Noon (EDT) and NBC takes over from 12:00pm Noon to 9:00pm (EDT) (or conclusion).

STREAMING: Streaming coverage primarily will be provided by Peacock, USOpen.com and the U.S. Open app.

Round 3 today: Featured Groups: All day (Peacock, USOpen.com, U.S. Open App); Featured Holes (11, 12 and 13): All day (Peacock, USOpen.com, U.S. Open App).

Final Round on Sunday: Featured Groups: All day (Peacock, USOpen.com, U.S. Open App)’; Featured Holes (11, 12 and 13): All day (Peacock, USOpen.com, U.S. Open App)

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM announced its schedule as the exclusive national radio broadcaster for the 121st U.S. Open Championship, played June 17-20 at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Coverage today begins at 10:00am (EDT) and will run through the completion of play both today and Sunday, including possible two-hole aggregate playoff. The U.S. Open Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on USOpen.com, the app and a link through from PGATour.com

How to Watch: In case of changes, see: (PGATourCom)

U.S. Open at Torrey Pines: Notebook for Round 3

A month after his first European Tour win in his 478th start, 48-year-old Richard Bland became the oldest player to take a 36-hole lead/co-lead in the U.S. Open.

Russell Henley took the outright lead with birdie at his 17th hole, but dropped back into a tie after his only bogey of the day on his final hole.

Following his runner-up finish at the 2020 U.S. Open, Matthew Wolff enters the weekend just one stroke back.

Making his 15th U.S. Open start, Bubba Watson (T5/-3) made five birdies in a six-hole stretch on his outgoing nine to shoot a 4-under (67). Watson’s lone Top-10 finish, a T-5, came in his second start in the event in 2007. He missed the cut at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines after opening with back-to-back 77s.

San Diego native Xander Schauffele (T-7) at (-2) followed a 2-under (69) in round one with an even-par (71). He’s finished inside the Top-10 in each previous U.S. Open start (T-5/2017, T-6/2018, T-3/2019, 5th/2020).

Notables to miss the cut: Matt Kuchar (+6), Tony Finau (+8), Webb Simpson (+10), and Justin Rose (+13).

U.S. Open Leaderboard After 36 Holes

Russell Henley 67-70—137 (-5)

Richard Bland 70-67—137 (-5)

Louis Oosthuizen 67-71—138 (-4)

Matthew Wolff 70-68—138 (-4)

36-hole cut: 71 players at 4-over (146) from a field of 147 professionals and nine amateurs

U.S. Open at Torrey Pines: Round 2 Notebook

Russell Henley carded his sixth career score of (67) or better in a major championship and his first since the 2018 PGA Championship (65/R-2). To date, Henley’s best finish in 26 career major championship appearances was a T-11 at the 2017 Masters Tournament.

Louis Oosthuizen is one of three players to finish in the Top 10 at the U.S. Open in 2019 (T-7) and 2020 (3rd). The others were Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. He is currently T-1 with Henley at (-4) but is only through 16 holes in R-1.

Brooks Koepka shot 2-under (69) and he extended his tournament-record streak of rounds in the 60s to six and now ties Sam Snead for most consecutive sub-par rounds in tournament history (6).

Partial Round 1 Leaderboard

Russell Henley 67 (-4)

Louis Oosthuizen -4 thru 16*

Francesco Molinari 68 (-3)

Rafa Cabrera Bello 68 (-3)

Note: The start of the 1st round was delayed 1 hour, 30 minutes due to fog and began at 8:15am (PDT). The first round was suspended due to darkness with 36 players left on the course and will resume today at 6:50 am (PDT).