BROOKLINE, Massachusetts (AP) – Latest at the US Open (all local time):
7 p.m.
Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick won the US Open by winning his first major on the same field where he won the US Amateur title nine years earlier.
Fitzpatrick shot 2-under 68 at The Country Club to finish the tournament at 6-under 274 and beat Will Zalatoris and Scotty Scheffler by one.
Leading with one shot, Fitzpatrick hooked his drive to number 18 in a bunker to the left of the fairway. But he hit the middle of the green and made two 18-foot put for a pair. Zalatoris had a 14-foot kick at the Bird for a draw, but missed it with a small part.
It was the second consecutive major final for Zalatoris to lose to Justin Thomas in last month’s PGA Championship playoffs. It was Zalaris’ sixth place in the top 10 in seven major tournaments since making his big Winged Foot debut at the US Open 2020.
Fitzpatrick hit 17 greens in the regulation. He became the first Englishman to win the US Open after Justin Rose at Merion in 2013. The same year, Fitzpatrick won the US Amateur at The Country Club.
He also joins Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win the US Open and Amateur on the same court. Nicklaus won at Pebble Beach in 1961 and 1972.
___
6 p.m.
Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick tied at the US Open with four holes until Sunday in the final round
They headed for the 15th Taybox with 5 fewer, with one shot ahead of Masters champion Scotty Scheffler. Hideki Matsuyama, the Masters 2021 champion, was at the club at 3-under 277.
If there is a tie, there will be a common playoff with two holes to determine the champion. The holes for the playoffs are No. 1 and 18.
Still ahead for the three leaders is the famous 17th hole par-4, a 375-yard hole on the left that plays as the easiest hole in The Country Club in the final round. This is where Francis Wymett made a birdie to force the playoffs that brought him the historic victory at the 1913 US Open. Justin Leonard made a long shot there to win the 1991 Ryder Cup.
Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick are aiming for their first major after a close conversation last month at the PGA Championship. Fitzpatrick played in the final pair on Sunday at Southern Hills, while Zalatoris lost to Justin Thomas in the playoffs.
___
16:45
Matt Fitzpatrick made a turnaround with a single shot ahead of Will Zalatoris and Scotty Scheffler in what emerged as a three-man race for the US Open over the past nine holes.
Fitzpatrick birdied No. 8 and equals no. 9 to turn the 6-under face value for the tournament. His bird came at about the same time as Scheffler made a boogie at number 10 to fall to floor 5.
Zalatoris made an 18-foot shot for bird number 9 to join Scheffler 5 less.
Colin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and Deni McCarthy were tied for fourth, four shots behind Fitzpatrick.
Scheffler has already won four of the last four months and hopes to add that big title to the Masters Championship he won in April.
Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick, in the final group at The Country Club, are fighting for their first big title. Last month at the PGA Championship, Fitzpatrick played in the final pair, while Zalatoris lost to Justin Thomas in the playoffs.
___
16:25
Top-ranked Scotty Scheffler made four birds over the top nine to make a turnaround with a single shot in the final round of the US Open.
The Masters champion made a turnaround in 4-under 31 and was 6 fewer for the tournament with nine holes left. It was a shot in front of Matt Fitzpatrick and two away from Will Zalatoris, who were paired in the last pair of the day.
Scheffler is trying to become the first player to win the Masters and the US Open in the same season after Jordan Spiet in 2015.
Scheffler’s lead seemed in jeopardy as his approach fired at the heavily sloping green of the eighth par-5, which spun back from the green, almost back to about 65 yards from the hole. But he went up and down to save a face value, then made another face value of 9 to turn at 6-floor.
___
15:15
Go back in the late Friday afternoon to find that Danny McCarthy needs money in the last hole to make the incision at the US Open. And look at him now. McCarthy was 68 in the third round, started Sunday with three birds on five holes and is tied for fourth.
He became the least likely contender in the list full of stars.
Scotty Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick set the pace. Scheffler had three birds on four holes to give the Masters champion the lead. Fitzpatrick was stable as always and made a bird at number 3 to equalize Scheffler to 5 less.
John Ram has all the money through four holes and has two behind. Rory McIlroy is up and down, three birds and two waves and three back.
___
14:55
World No. 1 Scotty Scheffler played the first two holes of the last round of the US Open to tie the lead.
Scheffler started the day with 2 fewer and two holes later tied Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick at minus 4. The co-leaders withdrew overnight at 2:45, so the whole field started the last round at The Country Club.
Scheffler made a six-foot shot for bird number 1 and 15 feet on the second hole. He is the current champion of the Masters, looking for his second major victory in his career.
___
13:50
USGA is back with some historic pins for the latest round of the US Open
The governing body says that the hole in the front left hole at number 17 in The Country Club is in the same place as it was when Francis Wimet made a bird in the final round of the 1913 tournament to impose a playoff against British pros Harry Warden and Ted Ray.
And the front right 18th hole was where he was on Sunday for the 1988 US Open, when Curtis Strange drew from the front bunker to impose a playoff on Monday with Nick Faldo.
On Saturday, the 17th skittles were in the same place when Justin Leonard made a 45-foot bird to win the 1999 Ryder Cup for the United States.
Par-3 11th hole also gets some attention: he plays only 119 yards. This did not make it easier. He played as the eighth toughest in the beginning, with 10 tapas and only three birds in the first 26 players.
___
13:50
Guido Migliozzi has a good start in the final round at The Country Club.
The Italian finished fourth last year in his US Open debut. He had 3 fewer than 14 holes on Sunday as he tried to overcome 74 in the third round, which brought him down to a plus-6 through 54 holes.
Co-leader in the second round Colin Morikawa took a bird on the fourth hole and was 1 for the tournament. He is trying to recover from third round 77, which took him out of the rankings.
___
Noon.
Grayson Murray gets a lot of TV time at the US Open – for all the wrong reasons.
Murray threw his bat after a four-pointer on the seventh hole in The Country Club. Then he snapped an iron over his knee at number 10.
The 28-year-old North Carolina footballer missed his only appearance at the 2013 US Open. But playing at the weekend is clearly not a reason for him to celebrate.
Murray needed four attempts to get out of the rough position behind the seventh hole on Sunday, and then threw his duck in the tall fescue as he left the green. After a draw of No. 8, he made a three on the ninth hole.
When he missed the green with his approach to the ninth hole and snapped the bat across his knee.
Murray was a plus-9 for the fourth round and 17 more for the tournament. That put him on par with Harris English for last place.
___
8:15 in the morning
The idea of a hard and fiery final round of the US Open has been suppressed.
Rain and temperatures began to fall overnight at The Country Club, leaving the weather making the US Open feel like a gloomy day at Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
There was not enough rain to soften the course. But the forecast was for clouds and temperatures that barely reached 60 degrees when Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick retired to the final group.
Rain or shine, this US Open should be wide open. Defending champion John Ram is one step behind. Masters champion Scotty Scheffler is another blow back, as is New England favorite and former PGA champion Keegan Bradley.
Also very much in the mix is Rory McIlroy, who turned a tough Saturday into 73, who kept the four-time big champion on three shots from the lead.
___
More AP golf: and
Add Comment