Congratulations to Brooks Koepka, a most deserving winner! He’s presented with his gold Jack Nicklaus Medal and the US Open Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. It’s pretty cool. To do it here, where I played the US Amateur, is pretty special. What I’ve done this week is amazing. To be in the same category as the names on this trophy is truly special.” He smiles, but in truth he looks simply gobsmacked at the enormity of what he’s just achieved. Wouldn’t you? No worries, it’ll sink in soon enough! Meanwhile Tommy Fleetwood could be forgiven for being disappointed, but grins warmly as he offers his take on the week. “I’ve just finished fourth in the US Open! You can’t be too snotty about that, can you?” Maybe he’ll go a few places better at the Open near his home at Birkdale in five weeks. See you all here for that one!
US Open 2017: final round – as it happened
- Brooks Koepka shot a measured 67 to ease clear of the field at Erin Hills and land his first major title
- Official leader board
Sun 18 Jun 2017 20.34 EDT
First published on Sun 18 Jun 2017 10.00 EDT
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So while we wait for the new US Open champion Brooks Koepka to quadruple-check his card, and come out to lift his trophy, here’s how the 117th staging of this famous old tournament finished:
-16: Koepka
-12: Matsuyama, Harman
-11: Fleetwood
-10: Schauffele, Haas, Fowler
-9: Hoffman
-8: Mullinax, Snedeker, Thomas
-7: Holmes
-6: Steele, Reed, Kim
-5: Kuchar, Stricker, Reavie, Pepperell, Wiesberger
-4: Lingmerth, Garcia
Harman races his long par putt six feet past. Before he meets his fate, Justin Thomas pars and signs for a very disappointing 75. What a way to follow up that record-breaking 63. He ends in the group at -8, a top-ten finish. And finally Harman tucks his putt away. Bogey, a 72, and a share of second with Hideki Matsuyama!
There are no great celebrations! The young man - it’s easy to forget he’s still only 27 - looks utterly stunned. He just wants to check and sign his card properly, and wait for the final group to finish up. Harman needs to get up and down from the front of the green to claim second place for himself. But he doesn’t commit to his chip. He’ll be left with a long putt for par, and second spot. Potentially a slightly sad end to a very impressive week’s work. Meanwhile in the marker’s tent, Koepka checks his card again and again and again. He’s got the fear all right! No silly mistakes.
Brooks Koepka wins the US Open!
In goes the par putt! Koepka signs for a wonderful final-day 67, and that ties the record for lowest score at a US Open! It also rather more importantly secures him the title, because back up the hole, Brian Harman chips out of the bunker and lays up with his third! Koepka - who finished tied for fourth at last year’s PGA and tied for 11th at Augusta in April - makes the leap from promising talent to major champion!
Koepka cosies his first putt up to three feet. He makes way for Fleetwood to finish up. A long birdie effort flies six feet past. This return putt’s worth a few quid: it would secure him fourth place. And in it goes! Much deserved! And it’s over to Brooks Koepka...
Koepka betrays a few understandable nerves by seriously underhitting his chip into the green. He’s got a long two-putt for par. If he makes it, he’ll tie Rory McIlroy’s record for lowest score at a US Open to par: -16 at Congressional in 2011. If not, he’ll still have beaten Tiger’s mark of -12 at Pebble Beach in 2000, and Martin Kaymer’s -9 at Pinehurst No2 in 2014.
On 17, Brian Harman splits the fairway, then reaches the front of the green with his second. His long birdie putt never looks like dropping, and that’s a par. He then hooks into a bunker down the right of 18. His race is run. Up the hole, Tommy Fleetwood takes his medicine, hacks out, then launches his third onto the green. Brooks Koepka, meanwhile, has taken the sensible road down the right of the hole, laying up with his second. His reward: the victory walk down the fairway, the galleries standing to applaud America’s new national champion!
Brooks Koepka, US Open champion elect, crashes a 3-wood down the middle of 18. Tommy Fleetwood flays his drive into thick fescue down the right. Up on the green, Kim signs for a 75, one round too far for the 21-year-old Players champ. He nevertheless finishes a fine week at -6. And Rickie Fowler birdies to card a 72. He ends the tournament at -10. Another close miss. But he’s got time. He could very well do something special at Birkdale.
Harman taps in from 18 inches for his birdie at 16. Up on 17, Koepka finds the middle of the green with his second ... then races a pointlessly aggressive birdie putt six feet past! It’s not that easy, closing out a major, is it. But he rolls in the return. That was a big putt, because had he missed, a four-shot lead would have been halved in a matter of minutes. As it is, he remains three clear, which is good enough. Par for Fleetwood.
-16: Koepka (17)
-13: Harman (16)
-12: Matsuyama (F)
-11: Fleetwood (17)
Harman’s birdie effort at 15 horseshoes out. Par, and his last sliver of hope is pretty much gone. Especially as Koepka bashes his tee shot down the 17th fairway. But what’s this? Harman swishes a tee shot of delight towards the flag at 16. It’s nearly a hole-in-one! That’ll be a kick-in par, surely. It’s not over quite yet. And some entertainment up on 18, as Charley Hoffman, once again so close at a major, putts in from off the green for a par that secures a 71 and a -9 finish. He throws his putter into the air and smiles broadly. Birdie for Bill Haas meanwhile, and he ends with a 69, at -10.
Brooks Koepka makes it three birdies in a row, and he’s got one hand and at least three more fingers on the US Open trophy! From the moment he hit his right-to-left curler, it was always going in! A brilliant putt, and he’s four clear at the top of the leader board at -16! Fleetwood finds sand to the right of 16, and splashes out to ten feet. He makes par and stays in fourth place at -11. Back on 15, Harman bashes out from the first cut very impressively, whipping his ball into the heart of the green, his ball resting 15 feet below the hole. But it looks like an exercise in futility.
-16: Koepka (16)
-12: Matsuyama (F), Harman (14)
-11: Fleetwood (16)
Harman’s joy at making that birdie will have quickly curdled upon hearing news of Koepka matching the feat up ahead. And now he’s flayed his drive at 15 into the thick stuff down the left. He might have just avoided the really long grass, but that’s still far from ideal. Meanwhile Koepka sends his 9-iron over the flag at the par-three 16th. He’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet. And it’ll be some story if he throws this away from here.
Well this is just outstanding by Tommy Fleetwood! He throws his ball high over the sand, and over the flag, using the back board to u-turn it to six feet. Par. That’s marvellous. Meanwhile a birdie for Harman on the par-five 14th. He desperately needed that. Only problem is, Koepka has clapped his approach at 13 to 12 feet, and he rattles the putt into the centre of the cup. Never missing! He punches the air in the restrained style; he knows that’s a big step on his way to becoming the US Open champion!
-15: Koepka (15)
-12: Matsuyama (F), Harman (14)
-11: Fleetwood (15)
-10: Schauffele (F)
Fowler misses a five-foot par putt on 15, then dumps his tee shot at 16 into sand. And that’s his race run. He drops to -9, and thoughts will be turning to Birkdale already. That major duck will be broken sometime; just look at Sergio. Fleetwood is in the last chance saloon too: coming behind Fowler down 15, he leaks his approach off to the right. He’s got to chip over two huge bunkers, without much green to work with on the other side. He needs something special now to keep the pressure on his partner and leader Koepka.
Harman’s drive at the par-five 14th toys with a bunker down the left. His ball doesn’t go in, but he’ll have an awkward stance for his second. On 15, Koepka lands his tee shot in the middle of the fairway. Up on 18, Xander Schauffele birdies and signs for a 69. He ends the week at -10, some showing on the 23-year-old’s major-championship debut!
Harman blinks again. His tee shot into 13 finds the front of the green. He cosies his first putt to three feet, and should tidy up for par, but he yips his short one to the left and hoicks it four feet past! That’s a huge rush of blood to the head. He does extremely well to compose himself and tap in the return for bogey, but that could be very costly. Not least because, up on 14, Koepka bumps his approach into the heart of the green, using the tilt of the surface to send the ball curling left to right and next to the cup. Birdie! Fleetwood does pretty much exactly the same thing. He’s hanging on. But - and with the caveat that there’s many a slip between cup and lip in the majors - this is looking like Brooks Koepka’s tournament to lose.
-14: Koepka (14)
-12: Matsuyama (F)
-11: Fleetwood (14), Harman (13)
-10: Fowler (14)
Fowler chips up magnificently, nearly bundling the ball into the hole from 100 feet. He taps in for his par, though that’s not really enough, three behind the leader as he is. Up on 18, Matsuyama bumps a gorgeous wedge out of the thick grass to three feet. He’ll have that for birdie, though what he’d give for his partner JB Holmes’ Justin Thomas-style wood, arrowed straight at the flag, two feet short. Anyway, he tucks it away. (Holmes makes his eagle and ends the week at -7.) But that’s a stunning final-day 66 for the brilliant Japanese star. He’s the clubhouse leader at -12, and the folk still out there have something to think about!
-13: Koepka (13)
-12: Matsuyama (F), Harman (12)
-10: Fowler (14), Fleetwood (13)
Matsuyama is desperate to post a score to bother the leaders. But he’s up against it on 18, sending his second into the thicker cut to the right of the green. Up and down for birdie from there will be some achievement. Meanwhile back on 14, another mistake by Rickie Fowler, who is beginning to fray at the edges. He sends his second needlessly into the first cut down the right of the hole, and can’t reach the par-five green in three.
Koepka and Fleetwood both make their very missable putts on 13! Given the very average way they played that hole, those pars will feel good. Koepka in particular will feel a little taller, because Harman can’t make his putt from the front of 12 - though it nearly drops, staying an inch out on the left - and the bogey drops him out of the lead. Punishment for an awful drive.
-13: Koepka (13)
-12: Harman (12)
-11: Matsuyama (17)
-10: Fowler (13), Fleetwood (13)
Koepka bumps his ball up onto 13, but leaves it a good eight feet short of the cup. Fleetwood is right next to him, and spooked by the fate of Koepka, races his chip ten feet past. Both have work to do to save their pars. Back on 12, Harman is forced to take his medicine and punch the ball out. His third is launched straight at the flag, but it’s short and spins back into the apron at the front. Meanwhile up on 17, Matsuyama scrambles a par from just off the green. A birdie up the last - or even an eagle - and he’d post a total that will at least ask the leaders a question as their nerves begin to jangle on the run-in.
Brian Harman is the first to blink. He sends his drive at 12 into the fescue down the right. That could be bothersome. Although up ahead, Brooks Koepka sends his tee shot at 13 down into the same swale Fowler found himself in a couple of minutes ago. It’s a job of work getting up and down from there, Fowler did very well. Meanwhile up on 18, the Masters champion Sergio Garcia signs for a 72. He ends the week at -4, one behind Eddie Pepperell, who finishes a fine week with a 71. That should get a very talented player back on track after a difficult period in his career.
Matsuyama responds to bogey at 15 by creaming his iron at the par-three 16th to ten feet and knocking in the birdie putt! If he’s to come up short, it won’t be for the want of trying! He’s back to -11, two off the lead. Koepka meanwhile whistles a ten-foot birdie putt on 12 five feet past the hole, but knocks in the missable return. His partner Fleetwood makes it three pars in a row since the turn. Harman pars 11 without too much fuss. And on 13, a sublime scramble by Fowler, who finds himself down the side of the par-three in a swale, but chips to six feet and slides in the saver.
-13: Koepka (12), Harman (11)
-11: Matsuyama (16)
-10: Fowler (13), Fleetwood (12)
Fowler is left with a tricky downhill putt for his birdie on 12. It looks like breaking right to left, but stays on the high side, and rolls 12 feet past the hole. That’s a clumsy mistake. He can’t make the return. An unforced error, at the most inopportune time. Meanwhile there’s back-to-back birdies for Xander Schauffele at 14 and 15, and he’s -9. And up on 18, Cameron Champ, for so long this week the leading amateur, signs for a 76. That’s allowed Scottie Scheffler, who shot 71 today, to nip off with the leading amateur title by a single shot. Champ finished level par, Scheffler -1. A shame for Champ, but congratulations to both players for their excellent performances.
Harman takes two careful putts for his par on 10. Koepka can’t make his birdie putt at 11, and he leaks a little bit of frustration for the first time today. A tap-in par. They’re both still -13. Fleetwood races his birdie effort six feet past, but knocks in the return to stay at -10. But on 15, Matsuyama can’t salvage his par, and that’s a serious blow to his chances.
Matsuyama has clambered his way up the leader board, he’s two off the lead. So it’s not the time to flay his tee shot at 15 into thick fescue down the left of the hole. He’s forced to hack out, and will have to get up and down from 100 yards if his chances aren’t to take a serious dive here. Fleetwood meanwhile flies a lovely approach into 11, pin high and 12 feet from the flag. Koepka, showcasing superb mental resilience after his three-putt disappointment on 10, follows him there. And back on the 10th, his co-leader Harman clatters a fairway wood into the meat of the green. He’ll have a birdie putt similar to Fleetwood’s a few minutes ago, and the Englishman nearly holed that.
A rush of blood from the leader Koepka, who sends his 35-foot birdie putt eight feet past the hole. Fleetwood has gone to school on that putt, and very nearly drains his, but the ball breaks to the right at the death. Par, though he’s a shot closer to the lead, because Koepka pulls the putt coming back. That’s his first dropped shot on the back nine all week. What a time to do it! Matsuyama meanwhile very nearly chips in for eagle on 14 and he’ll have a tap-in to move to -11. What was that about the majors starting on the back nine on Sunday? Although having said that, an 18-hole play-off tomorrow is also very much a possibility.
-13: Koepka (10), Harman (9)
-11: Matsuyama (14), Fowler (11)
-10: Fleetwood (10)
Another good par scramble for Rickie Fowler, two-putting from off the back of 10. He stays at -11. Back down the hole, the leader Brooks Koepka whistles his drive into the first cut down the right, but still manages to stop his second shot on the green, albeit towards the back. Tommy Fleetwood’s in the fairway, but he only just lands his ball inside Koepka’s. Neither has much of a chance of birdie, but it’s less of a pressing matter for Koepka. A mistake from Fleetwood. And there’s a mistake from Harman at 9, as he leaves a 30-foot downhill putt a good six feet short of the hole. That’s a tricky one for par. But he tickles it in, dead weight, and remains at -9. He’s out in 35 strokes, just one off the lead.
Another careful two-putt par for Brooks Koepka on 9, who looks in total control of his game today. Tommy Fleetwood makes no mistake with his birdie putt, guiding the gentle right-to-left slider into the hole. He really needed that; he’s out in 37, not ideal, but heading in the right direction again at -10. Brian Harman meanwhile pars 8 without too much fuss. And on 18, the local hero Steve Stricker takes the applause after completing his second 69 of the weekend. He finishes up at -5, a fine showing from the veteran putting machine.
The wind has dropped a little, which should explain the current antics of Koepka (three under for his round) and Matsuyama (four under). To illustrate the diminished difficulty, Koepka lands his tee shot at the exposed 9th softly in the heart of the green. Fleetwood needs something to happen quickly. And he responds to the challenge, firing his tee shot straight at the flag. He’ll have a birdie putt from eight feet.
Tommy Fleetwood’s smack into 8 rolls through the green and into the longer stuff at the back. He can only bump out to 15 feet. Before he can try to salvage his par, Brooks Koepka rolls a 35-foot putt into the cup for a birdie that gives him the outright lead! Fleetwood can’t make his putt, leaving it out on the left. Suddenly the leader board at the 117th US Open, for so long concertinaed, is now a very simple affair!
-14: Koepka (8)
-13: Harman (7)
-11: Fowler (9)
-10: Matsuyama (12)
-9: Fleetwood (8)
Up on 9, Fowler sends his tee shot a little to the right, Kim a little to the left. Both do very well to get up and down without any putting drama. They remain -11 and -8 respectively. And it’s back-to-back birdies for Hideki Matsuyama, the latest at 12! He’s four under for his round at -10! Meanwhile Hubert O’Hearn would like to respond to Travis Giblin (10.20pm): “Who cares about Johnny Miller? I can now put on my dating profile: ‘I’m sure Hubert is cool though.’ (as seen on The Guardian). Women go crazy for dudes endorsed on sport blogs, right?”
A staunch up-and-down from the front of 8 by Rickie Fowler. He stays at -11, a couple off the lead. Brian Harman meanwhile sends his third into 7 ten feet below the hole. It’s a fine chance to grab sole ownership of the lead, but he leaves it out on the left, exactly the opposite mistake made by Fleetwood a few minutes earlier. He’ll remain at -13. Thomas tidies up for a par but he remains five behind at -8.
-13: Koepka (7), Harman (7)
-11: Fowler (8)
-10: Fleetwood (7)
-9: Matsuyama (11)
Tommy Fleetwood hits a pretty horrible putt, always turning way too far right, never threatening the hole. Like Justin Thomas, he doesn’t have the spark of yesterday. Par, but from where he was on the fairway, that’s a disappointing result. Koepka once again takes a couple of calm putts for his par. That’s a decent result given the manner he traversed most of the hole. Meanwhile birdie for Hideki Matsuyama on 11; at -9 he’s not quite done yet! And the round of the day so far is currently being put together by 24-year-old Alabamian Trey Mullinax. He’s making his major debut. And what a debut! He’s birdied 7, 8, 9 and now 12, the latter after guiding a gorgeous iron to six feet. He’s -8!
Brooks Koepka sends his third at 7 pin high, and he’ll have a 25-foot look at birdie. That’s not half bad from where he was. Tommy Fleetwood knocks his approach straight at the flag, though it’s a good 15 feet short. From prime position, that had to be closer, seeing he’s three shots behind his playing partner. Meanwhile here’s Travis Giblin with the sort of straight talking that would put the 1973 champion to shame: “Pardon my surprise about Hubert O’Hearn’s, and, well, anybody’s defence of Johnny Miller (10.02pm). I haven’t enjoyed his coverage for, oh, twenty-something years as his honesty is actually just made up stats (say it with me here in Johnny’s voice: ‘He has about a 40% chance of getting this shot within 5 feet of the hole’) and Johnny himself talking about his 63. I was THRILLED when NBC lost the rights to the US Open as it meant I would finally not have to hear about his 63 from him, in a general rule, within 8 seconds of the 4th round broadcast starting. As an aside, and perhaps I just haven’t heard about it, but Johnny hasn’t talked much about Stenson’s 63 in a 4th round to win the epic Open last year, has he? I mean, that has to be on the radar somewhere as one of the most amazing rounds ever in a major to win it on a Sunday, right? Sorry to vent, but Johnny angries up my blood. I’m sure Hubert is cool though!”
Yep, it’s not quite a two-horse race yet! Right on cue, Rickie Fowler rolls a 25-foot birdie putt into the cup at 7, and he rises to -11, within two of the leaders! And back on the tee, Brooks Koepka wings his drive into the rough down the left, though he gets a little fescue rescue thanks to the galleries trampling the grass down. He doesn’t take full advantage, though, sending his second into the first cut down the same side, so he’ll have trouble controlling his approach into the par-five.
Shades of 18 last night for Tommy Fleetwood, who putts onto the 6th green from off the back ... and watches in horror as it flies past the hole and rolls off the front. He does very well to lag his next putt up the green to a couple of feet, but that’s another bogey. Brooks Koepka makes a fuss-free two-putt par. Thomas meanwhile pulls his par putt to the left of the 5th. Bogey. It’s all going wrong for the young man. But there’s a par for Harman, and he remains in the lead with Koepka. All of a sudden, a few players are travelling backwards, and this is beginning to look like a two-man shoot-out! But of course this is major-championship golf, and these events never start until the back nine on Sunday, so let’s count no chickens.
-13: Koepka (6), Harman (5)
-10: Fowler (6), Fleetwood (6)
-8: Matsuyama (10), Schauffele (9), Henley (7), Kim (6), Thomas (5)
Hoffman doesn’t hit his chip on 8 very well at all; it only just clears the sand and lands on the apron on the other side of the bunker. Weird way to follow a chunk. He chips to six feet, misses the double-bogey putt on the right, and that’s him tumbling all the way back to -7. His dreams over in the space of ten minutes.
Hoffman blooters his drive at 8 into the cabbage down the right. Trouble at mill! He chips out, then chunks his third. He’s well short of the green, and likely to undo all of his good work this afternoon. Bother for Fleetwood at the long par-three 6th, too: his tee shot topples over the back and he’ll be left with a monster up and down for par. And Thomas is chasing par on 5, only able to blast out from the thick stuff. He chips up well to ten feet, but he’ll have a testing putt to save his par. Meanwhile here’s Hubert O’Hearn in defence of Johnny Miller (6.20pm): “After decades of lighter-than-dandelion-seed golf coverage on the American networks, when NBC hired Miller twenty-something years ago his honesty was absolutely shocking. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the effect was similar to a world where Jeremy Paxman took up golf commentary. (As we both sit back and chuckle at an imagined ‘You absolutely wasted that opportunity, now didn’t you?’) And ultimately, Oakmont as opposed to Elfin, er, Erin Hills? Come on, there is no comparison to be made. He’s not wrong. 63 at Oakmont equals 59 on this Disneyland course.
Yesterday seems an awfully long time ago for Justin Thomas, who slices an awful drive into bother down the right of 5. He’s two over for his round already and this looks like trouble. Brian Harman, by contrast, finds the fairway. Meanwhile up on the green, another birdie chance for Brooks Koepka, but he leaves it well short. Just a par, and he remains at -13. Two calm putts for Tommy Fleetwood see him remain at -11. And Rickie Fowler stays at -10, having sent his tee shot at 6 pin high, only to fail to hit his straight 20-foot birdie putt by the width of one dimple.
-13: Koepka (5), Harman (4)
-11: Fleetwood (5)
-10: Hoffman (7), Fowler (6)
-9: Thomas (4)
Thomas feels an outrageously good chip to 18 inches. But the wind takes it back three or four feet! He rushes up to mark his ball the second it stops. It’s terrible luck, because he pushes the lengthened par putt, and he drops to -9. The wind’s cheated him there, though the trouble started with a poor approach. Harman nearly guides a 20-foot left-to-right breaker into the cup for birdie, but that’s a tap-in par. Schauffele watches a 25-foot birdie effort on 8 shave the right lip; he stays at -8. And Hoffman lands his third six feet from the par-five 7th, and he’s quietly risen to -10!
Fowler drives into a bunker down 5. Up against the lip, he can’t make the green, and is forced to chip out. He loops his third over the flag, but misses the six footer coming back on the right. One scramble too many. He drops to -10, three off the lead. Back in 4, Thomas’s second is caught high in the breeze and lands short of a bunker guarding the front. Harman lands his approach into the heart of the green. He’ll have a long look at birdie. Thomas has a tricky chip over sand with not too much green to play with.
Fleetwood rolls in his par saver! Having bogeyed the 3rd, he really didn’t want to follow it up with another dropped shot. He stays at -11. That could be a big putt. Koepka can’t make his birdie effort, so he stays put at -13. And he’s joined there by Brian Harman! Having smacked his fairway wood to the back of the 3rd green, Harman sends a 30-footer straight at the cup. It takes the full 360 round the edge, and drops for birdie and a share!
-13: Koepka (4), Harman (3)
-11: Fowler (4), Fleetwood (4)
-10: Thomas (3)
-9: Hoffman (6)
Tommy Fleetwood betrays a few nerves on the 4th tee, stepping away from his drive when the wind gets up, then slicing his ball into a bunker down the right. He’s right up against the face, and has to chip out sideways. He sends his third onto the putting surface, and will at least have a putt from 18 feet for par. His partner Brooks Koepka meanwhile splits the fairway and sends another easy approach into the heart of the green. He’ll have another chance for birdie.
A dismal bogey for Si Woo Kim at 4. He fails to hit the green with his wedge, wafting it into the bunker guarding the front. His splash out is weak, too, leaving a 12-footer for par. He misses that one by some distance to the left, and the young Players champion drops to -8. They say the Players is the unofficial fifth major, and 21-year-old Kim closed that out in some style recently. But there’s still a leap in pressure between that one and the actual majors. He’s finding that out now. It’ll be interesting to see how the young man responds to a wholly avoidable setback. His partner Fowler manages to scramble a par, though, having sent a long birdie putt six feet past the hole. He remains at -11; right now, Koepka and Fowler look the two most likely, in that order. A long, long way to go, though.
Harman bumps a wedge up the bank at 2 to a couple of feet. That’s a great par save, and might settle those clearly jangling nerves. Thomas takes a putter from the back, but his ball only just hangs onto the fringe at the top, momentarily thinking about dropping back down the hill. He prods his par putt towards the hole, and it breaks off to the left at the last. Bogey, and yesterday’s hero drops back to -10. Today’s early hero, Koepka, fails to hit his birdie putt at 3 from 15 feet. Par. But it’s bogey for Tommy Fleetwood, who pushes a nervous one wide right from short distance. He’s back to -11. And a birdie for Charley Hoffman at 5, his first move after a steady par start. He’s -9, and not out of this.
-13: Koepka (3)
-12: Harman (2)
-11: Fowler (3), Fleetwood (3)
-10: Thomas (2)
-9: Hoffman (5), Kim (3)
Brian Harman hooked his drive from the opening tee, and now he’s repeated the trick from the 2nd. He’s avoided deep rough and the sand, but sends his second down the bank to the left of the green. Justin Thomas powered his drive down the middle, but overcooked his wedge in and his ball topples off the back of the green. The pin’s tucked back there, he’ll not have much green to work with coming back up. Meanwhile Brooks Koepka keeps on keepin’ on. He arrows his second straight at the flag at 3, and will have a good look at a third birdie in the first three holes. He’s only the second player in the history of the US Open to reach the -13 mark, incidentally. Rory McIlroy was the first, in his romp at Congressional in 2011.
Back on 1, Harman can only get his third onto the fringe, while Thomas finds the heart of the green. Yesterday’s record-breaker nearly knocks in a long birdie putt, but it stops a turn short and that’s par. Harman leaves his first putt 12 feet short, but shows stones to knock in the saver. A par, though he’s no longer leading this tournament.
-13: Koepka (2)
-12: Fleetwood (2), Harman (1)
-11: Fowler (3), Thomas (1)
-9: Kim (3)
Brooks Koepka is the first of the leading bunch to make a significant move. Having birdied the opening hole, he nearly drives the 2nd, chips to a couple of feet, and taps in for another birdie. At -13, he’s the new leader of the 117th US Open! Tommy Fleetwood stays on his shoulder, with birdie of his own: he’s -12. Rickie Fowler gets up and down from greenside at 3 to scramble his par and stay at -11. And another birdie for Xander Schauffele, this time at 5. It cancels out bogey at 4, so he’s -8. “Is Rickie Fowler the new Sergio?” wonders Simon McMahon. “And is JB Holmes the new DA Points?” Regular readers of these reports will recognise this as the golf blog’s first meta email. We’re only trailing the OBO by approximately 14 years.
Thomas is in the hazard down the left, though he’s not in the deep fescue. And he’s able to hack his ball back out onto the fairway. Harman takes no chances from the other side of the hole either. Takes his medicine, chipping out. Both men will have longer shots into the green than they’d have liked, but both have gotten away with dismal drives; the game of golf gives and takes. Up on 6, Matsuyama clanks a nonsensical putt up onto the green and miles past the hole. That’s a bogey, and there goes that early momentum; he’s back to -8.
The final match takes to the tee! Justin Thomas, the newest Mr 63, smashes his drive down the track, but it’s toying with the fescue down the left. That might have dribbled into bother. Then the 54-hole leader Brian Harman, hoping to become the first-ever left-handed winner of the US Open. His effort leaks into the first cut down the right. Not so good either, but not as bad as Thomas. First-tee nerves there. Up on the green, Brooks Koepka has a long look at eagle. It’s never reaching. He’s left with a tricky six-footer for birdie, but he makes it to join Harman in the lead at -12. Tommy Fleetwood takes two fuss-free putts for his par. And on 2, Fowler wedges to six feet, then lets the putt slip by on the low side. A chance to grab a share of the lead carelessly squandered. I wonder how relaxed and calm he feels right now?
-12: Koepka (1), Harman
-11: Fowler (2), Fleetwood (1), Thomas
Rickie Fowler isn’t messing about. He nearly drives the green at 2. According to his coach Butch Harmon, the Californian is very “relaxed and calm”. He certainly seemed so in his interview with Sky earlier on. Up on 6, Matsuyama arrows his tee shot straight at the flag, but it hits the ridge at the front of the green and falls back off. He’ll have a little work to get up and down from there. Meanwhile on 10, David Lingmerth rakes in an 80-footer; that sensational birdie is his third of the day, and he rises to -6.
The penultimate group take to the 1st tee. Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka’s nerves will be a-jangling, though you wouldn’t know it from their tee shots. Up on the green, Rickie Fowler starts in the grand fashion, rolling in a 15-footer for a birdie that takes him to -11. Si Woo Kim was closer, but he fails to hit his putt and stays at -9. He’s joined at that mark by Hideki Matsuyama, who claps a short iron at 5 to kick-in distance. He’s three under for his round already, and in the mood for one of his birdie charges. So much for everyone just doing their best to hold onto par!
-12: Harman
-11: Fowler (1), Thomas, Koepka, Fleetwood
-9: Matsuyama (5), Henley (1), Kim (1)
Patrick Reed faces a 25-foot right-to-left swinger for an opening birdie. He nearly makes it. But not quite. He remains at -8. His partner Russell Henley however wedges his approach stone dead, and taps in to move to -9. And up on 4, Hideki Matsuyama rakes in a huge left-to-right curler from the fringe at the back. Birdie, and he’s joining the pack at -8.
-12: Harman
-11: Thomas, Koepka, Fleetwood
-10: Fowler
-9: Henley (1), Kim
-8: Matsuyama (4), Schauffele (3), Snedeker (2), Haas (2), Hoffman (2), Reed (1)
Simon Farnaby’s television set survives for at least another 15 minutes, as Sergio sends another wedge close at 5 and knocks in the birdie putt. He’s -6. Back on the 1st tee, Rickie Fowler and Si Woo Kim take turns to split the fairway. And on the practice range, Jordan Spieth, his work here done, pops down to wish his old pal Justin Thomas the best of luck for today. That’s a sweet moment; they’ve been friends since they were eight years old.