PEBBLE BEACH, CA (AP) — Gary Woodland has captured the U.S. Open, overcoming the back-nine pressure at Pebble Beach to hold off two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka for a three-shot victory.
Woodland all but sealed his first major title when he chipped off a tight lie on the green on the 17th hole to tap-in range at a pin tucked in the back left. His par there preserved the two-shot lead.
Then, he made it a three-shot edge when he knocked in a 30-foot birdie putt on 18. It pushed him to 13-under 271 — beating by one shot the score Tiger Woods posted during his 15-shot victory at Pebble in the 2000 U.S. Open.
Woodland shot 2-under 69 to become the fifth player to break 70 in all four rounds of the U.S. Open.
The fourth was Koepka, who wrapped up his round of 68 a few minutes earlier. He’s the first to accomplish that feat and not win.
Koepka failed in his quest to become the first player since Willie Anderson in 1905 to win three straight U.S. Opens. But this second-place finish adds to a runner-up at the Masters and his title at the PGA last month.
Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Chez Reavie and Justin Rose finished in a four-way tie for third and 7 under.
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5:25 p.m.
Xander Schauffele has posted a score of 7-under par at the U.S. Open to take the lead in the clubhouse, with Gary Woodland four shots ahead and Brooks Koepka one shot back of Woodland as they head to the final holes at Pebble Beach.
Justin Rose made bogeys on 12 and 13 to fall to 8 under — three out of the lead — as he and Woodland teed off on the 14th hole.
Koepka is trying to become the first player since Willie Anderson in 1905 to win three straight U.S. Opens.
Rose won the title in 2013.
Woodland is going for his first major title.
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4:30 p.m.
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 on Sunday 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.
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4:15 p.m.
After all that, Tiger Woods ended up matching his lowest closing round at a U.S. Open since 2009.
Woods made four birdies over the back nine to finish at 2-under 69 and 2 under for the tournament.
He opened the day with four bogeys over the first six holes. For the tournament, he played Nos. 1-7 at Pebble Beach, considered the easiest stretch on the course, at a combined 3-over par.
Woods, who won his 15th major title at the Masters earlier this year, remains stuck on three U.S. Open titles — the last coming in a 19-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate in 2008.
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4 p.m.
Brooks Koepka had his early run up the U.S. Open leaderboard derailed after a trip down by the ocean.
The two-time defending champion’s approach shot on the cavernous eighth hole at Pebble Beach didn’t clear the gap between the fairway and the green. Koepka found his ball in the hazard and ended up with his first bogey in 35 holes.
It dropped him to 10-under par for the tournament, three back of Gary Woodland, who has two birdies over his first seven holes. Justin Rose is two back.
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1:30 p.m.
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.
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1 p.m.
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.
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12:45 p.m.
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.
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