Defending champion Brooks Koepka shot a final round 68 for 281 (+1) to win his second straight U.S. Open, one stroke ahead of runner-up Tommy Fleetwood, who closed with the sixth round of 63 in U.S. Open history. Koepka was only the third to successfully defend the title since World War II, following Ben Hogan (1951) and Curtis Strange (1989).
The USGA changed the playoff format in February, from a full round (18 holes) to a two-hole aggregate playoff.[1] Previously, playoffs at the U.S. Open were 18 holes, followed by sudden-death, if needed. The last 18-hole playoff was in 2008, won by Tiger Woods on the first sudden-death hole.
About half the field consisted of players who were exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. Each player is classified according to the first category in which he qualified, and other categories are shown in parentheses.[3]
1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship during the last ten years
Ryan Evans (England) – claimed spot held for category 14
Rikuya Hoshino (Japan) – claimed spot held for category 14
Scott Piercy (Memphis) – claimed spot held for category 14
Ted Potter Jr. (Columbus) – claimed spot held for category 14
(a) denotes amateur
(L) denotes player advanced through local qualifying
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Conditions were extremely difficult as gusty winds hung around all day with sunny skies, making the course firm and fast.[6] Only four players broke par, including Dustin Johnson, one of the tournament favorites. The scoring average for the round was 76.47.[7][8]
Second round leader Dustin Johnson shot a seven-over 77 to fall into a four-way tie with Daniel Berger, Tony Finau and defending champion Brooks Koepka. Johnson double bogeyed the par-3 2nd and went six-over on the front-nine. He made his only birdie of the round at the 11th to get back to the top of the leaderboard, but three-putted for bogey on 18 to settle for a share of the 54-hole lead. Berger and Finau began the round in 45th place and 11 shots behind, but each shot 66 (−4) for the low round of the day.[11][12][13][14]
Scoring conditions got more difficult as the day went on. Koepka's two-over 72 was the lowest score among the final four groups. Only three rounds in the 60s were recorded, two of them by Berger and Finau. The scoring average for the round was 75.3.[15]
Phil Mickelson incurred a two-shot penalty on the 13th when he walked after his ball which was running slowly away from the hole after his putt and deliberately hit the ball backwards towards the hole while it was still moving. He ended up shooting 81 (+11), equalling his highest score at the U.S. Open.[16][17][18]
Brooks Koepka shot a final round 68 (−2) to finish one ahead of Tommy Fleetwood and win the U.S. Open for the second straight year. He was the first to successfully defend the title in 29 years, since Curtis Strange in 1989.
Koepka began the round in a four-way tie for the lead with Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger, and Tony Finau. He got off to a good start with birdies on three of his first five holes to get to even par and take the lead. At the par-3 11th, his tee shot went into the rough over the green. After chipping into a greenside bunker, he holed a 12-foot (3.7 m) putt to save bogey. At the following hole, he made a six-foot par putt, then at the 14th he got up-and-down to save par from short of the green with an eight-foot putt. Hitting his approach at the par-5 16th to within four feet, he made the birdie to open up a two-shot lead. Despite a bogey at the 18th, Koepka held on win by one.[19]
Fleetwood shot the sixth round of 63 in U.S. Open history to finish in second. He began the round six behind and began by sinking a putt from 56 feet (17 m) at the 2nd and three more birdies on the front-nine. He made four straight birdies on holes 12–15, with putts of 17 feet (5 m) at 12, 20 feet (6 m) at 14, and 29 feet (9 m) at 15. Fleetwood had an eight-foot putt at the 18th for the first 62 in U.S. Open history, but it slid past the hole that would have forced the first two-hole playoff.[20]
Johnson made birdie at the 5th but three-putted for bogey at the 7th, 11th, 14th, and 17th. He birdied the last to shoot an even-par 70 and finish two shots behind Koepka. Finau bogeyed three of his first four holes but got back to even for the round with a 26-foot birdie at the 11th. He came to the 18th two back of Koepka but made double bogey and ended up in fifth place, four behind. Berger also started his round with two bogeys and finished with a three-over 73 to tie for sixth. Patrick Reed began three shots behind but birdied his first three holes and five of the first seven to tie for the lead. He made four bogeys the rest of the round, however, to fall back to fourth place.[21][22]
With the win, Koepka becomes the seventh player to win consecutive U.S. Opens, and the first since Curtis Strange in 1989.