SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy fared better than several other fellow past U.S. Open champions this week, with Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and J.J. Spaun all missing the cut.
But a rough weekend kept McIlroy from ever challenging for the lead at the tournament he won 15 years ago. He shot 73 on Sunday after posting the same score in the third round Saturday to finish at 6 over, tied for 32nd place.
McIlroy blamed his back nine Saturday after getting to 2 under and
“The wheels came off,” McIlroy said. “I sort of shot myself out of the tournament then.”
The 37-year-old is skipping the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship next week outside Hartford, Connecticut, and has a different plan to prepare to play in the British Open in July.
“I’ll be playing some links golf this week probably coming up,” McIlroy said. “It’s my favorite time of the year to go back home and play, play the Open, and I get to spend a bit of time back there.”
McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, won the British Open in 2014 and has been close to a second title there a few times since. The style of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club was some level of preparation for his next major.
“This was not too dissimilar to an Open Championship in terms of how the golf course started to play over the weekend,” McIlroy said.
Kim matches Korean history
Tom Kim shot 70 to get to 1 under and third place. That matches the best U.S. Open finish by a player from South Korea after Y.E. Yang tied for third in 2011 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
“For the first time, I was able to really taste a major championship right in front of my fingertips,” said Kim, a qualifier who automatically wrapped up a spot at the event next year at Pebble Beach, as well as the Masters, because he was in the top four. “I can go back this whole week and just see how close I actually am.”
Going pro with an amateur award
Next time Jackson Koivun tees it up in a PGA Tour event, he will be a professional. He had quite a finish to his amateur career at the U.S. Open.
Koivun birdied his final hole to finish at 2-under 68 on Sunday, becoming the first amateur to break 70 in the final round of a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He finished at 5 over for the tournament, tying Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan for low amateur honors, the first time that was shared at the U.S. Open since 2018.
“Shinnecock was so much fun this weekend,” Koivun said. “Just happy to walk away with a birdie on the last hole, but the golf course is so good, so much fun. A lot of thinking to do, and can definitely mentally wear you down. But just happy to be able to say I went out there and tried my hardest.”
Koivun, 21, led Auburn to two national championships in three seasons, becoming the first freshman since Justin Thomas in 2012 to win the Haskins Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate golfer. He won the Southeastern Conference individual title all three years and has been the world’s top-ranked amateur.
He announced earlier this month he would skip his senior season, having long since earned enough points with his college career to qualify for membership through PGA Tour University Accelerated. He will make his pro debut at the John Deere Classic.
After playing with 17-year-old Miles Russell in his final amateur tournament, he was asked after signing his scorecard if that meant he was technically now a pro.
“Not sure, but yeah, that’s a good way to go out,” Koivun said. “We’re on to the next leagues now.”
Brother’s Day
Alex Fitzpatrick teed off just after 1 p.m. Sunday, followed not long after by older brother Matt. They both shot 73, with Matt finishing 22nd at 4 over, while Alex was one of nine players tied for 23rd at 5 over.
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