- Hole-by-hole coverage of the final day at Winged Foot
- US Open: keep track of the official leaderboard
- Get in touch! Email Tom or tweet @tom_lutz
Wolff’s third shot is out of the bunker on the par-four fifth. He chips out well enough, but he’s left with a tricky downhill 10ft putt to make par, which he … misses. He’s now bogeyed the two of the last three holes. Meanwhile, DeChambeau, has a 90ft putt to make birdie. We’ll forgive him for not making it. There’s a 6ft putt for him to make par and become the sole leader at -4. He sinks it too – DeChambeau now leads the US Open!
On the 18th, Jon Rahm’s bogey means he finished the tournament +9.
DeChambeau is in the bunker 233 yards from the flag on the fifth and manages to get to the front of the green, he’ll have a very long putt for birdie but should make par.
Wolff is so, so close to a birdie here, playing from the back of the fourth green to avoid some of its trickier spots. Can DeChambeau take a share of the lead? He can, draining his 12-foot birdie chance. Wolff has done little wrong, but his partner looks the man to beat – and both men are four clear of the pack.
With that, I’m handing over to Tom Lutz for a spell. Here’s the latest leaderboard:
DeChambeau’s approach shot is another beauty, finding the sweet spot on the green. Wolff’s effort drifts a touch, but just as it looks to be rolling out of range, the backspin kicks in. What a battle this is shaping up to be.
Elsewhere, first-round leader Justin Thomas creeps back into the top 10 with a birdie to go four-over for the week. Alex Norén, who hit a superb 67 on Saturday, has returned to his Friday form. He’s five-over through eight holes today.
The leading duo are taking on the fourth hole, a par-four with an unusual square green. Oosthuizen, who was the only other player still under par, has three-putted said green to slip back to even par. Word on Sky is that Winged Foot club members are disappointed with the low scores this week. Really?!
Wolff gives himself the chance to rescue par, but a gettable putt just squirms away at the last. He’s down to four-under, leading DeChambeau by one.
On the fifth, McIlroy gets close with an up-down, up-down, long-range birdie putt that is practically impossible. Schauffele has dropped a shot at the fourth while Hideki Matsuyama, a model of consistency this week, has started double, bogey, bogey to drift to +4.
A first wobble from Wolff, who skews his tee shot on the third horribly. He’ll need something special to avoid dropping a shot here … but he might have found it, drilling his second through the trees and finding the green. He was brave to take that on. DeChambeau also in a spot of bother, but chips exquisitely from the rough to within a couple of feet.
Wolff and DeChambeau, leading pair and upmarket wine producers, tackle the second hole. Both find the fairway, and lay up on either side of the green. Both roll up to within a foot on a plate-glass green, and do the necessary for par. They look like they’re playing a different course to everyone else right now.
McIlroy gets in a great position off his tee shot on the fourth, but fouls it up with a mishit approach shot that drifts left and drops short of the green. It ends up costing him another shot, and he’s out to +4, nine shots off Wolff and all but out of the running.
Jon Rahm (+7) was the only player out on the course under-par … but he’s just bogeyed the 14th. That means nobody is under par for the day. This is a US Open, alright.
The only man above Rahm in the world rankings, Dustin Johnson, nails an eagle chance at the ninth, and he’s five-over for the week. He’s even for the day, with figures of 73-70-72 – not bad for someone who has never really been in contention here.
Fine work by Xander Schauffele on the second, getting up and down from a tricky bunker to save another par. He’s even-par for the week – who knows, it might be enough? Even better news for Harris English, who gets one back as his lay-up runs all the way to the cup.
Leaderboard:
-5: Wolff (1)
-3: DeChambeau (1)
-1: Oosthuizen (1)
Even: Schauffele (2)
+1: English (2)
+2: Matsuyama (1)
On an opening hole that has given the chasing pack so much grief, Wolff and DeChambeau both find the heart of the green with their second shots! The leader is a few feet further south, and two-putts for an opening par. Can Bryson put a little pressure on? He takes on a four-footer … sent wide left.
McIlroy tidies up at the second, to loud cheers from the few fans massed behind the Winged Foot fence. Zach Johnson lays up from a bunker and watches his ball trickle mercilessly back downhill, away from the hole. He opts against going full Danny Lee, instead rescuing a bogey.
Double bogey for Matsuyama, who can’t recover from a poor tee shot. A third double at the first in quick succession after McIlroy and English. Oosthuizen drains a ten-foot par to stay at -1 and keep the leading pair from getting too comfortable.
“Evening Niall.” Good evening, Simon McMahon. “Po’ Danny Lee (see 17.25). Golf, eh? Bloody hell. Which one of you is Danny Lee? I am Danny Lee.” Safe to say, one way or another, we’ve all been there.
Here come our leading pair! Bryson DeChambeau begins two shots behind Matthew Wolff, and blasts his tee shot straight as an arrow, onto the fairway. A solid start is so important for the overnight leader … and he gets it, that twitchy, quick swing delivering a perfect opening drive.
They finally found Harris English’s ball! Alas, it’s well outside the three-minute time limit, and English is already busy mopping up for a double-bogey. Schauffele takes a par, a fine effort given the scenes unfolding around him.
Oosthuizen and Matsuyama get to tee off just a few minutes late. The South African is inches from the fairway, with his playing partner drifting further into the rough. At the second, McIlroy makes up for an errant tee shot with a delicate chip onto the green – he’s on course for a welcome par.
And if you thought that was a bad start … Harris English is unable to locate his ball in thick rough off the first, and will have to go back to the tee for his second shot. That means Oosthuizen and Matsuyama are left waiting to start their rounds. English’s first effort was not miles off-track; if fans were here, someone would have seen it land.
McIlroy’s second shot on the first gets him to the edge of the green; the trouble is, said green is the size of an overflow car park, and he has to play uphill and downwind. His putt is underhit, and rolls back downhill. He ends up with a tricky six-footer just to save bogey – and misses. Double bogey for McIlroy, and a hammer blow to his hopes.
Here’s what they’re up against on the very first hole. Schauffele and English have just teed off, both finding the rough just left of the fairway as it tapers. It’s a tough start, alright.
Another up-and-comer, Chilean 21-year-old Joaquín Niemann, double-bogeyed the first but bounces back at the third, with a tee shot that is very, very close to a hole-in-one. Perhaps golf, like cycling, is unexpectedly becoming a young person’s game …
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Matthew Wolff is out on the driving range, fiddling with his phone and trying not to look bothered. At the first, fellow young gun Viktor Hovland plays out of a bunker and misses the cup by inches – but tidies up for par.
McIlroy powers his opening tee shot straight down the middle of the fairway. Johnson doesn’t fare so well, sending his effort way, way off to the left.
For those of you asking why there have been no Rory McIlroy updates: he’s not started yet. Teeing off in five minutes, alongside Zach Johnson. Reed has bogeyed the second and slipped back to +3.
Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau have plenty in common. Both were born in California; both made their major breakthrough at August’s PGA Championship, finishing tied for fourth, three shots behind winner Collin Morikawa.
Both players are also fans of the “grip and rip” style, favouring power and distance over precision approach play. Of the 42 fairways they’ve faced so far, DeChambeau has found 17, Wolff just 12 – but their big-hitting game has repeatedly got them out of trouble.
Patrick Reed’s back-nine meltdown on Saturday saw him drop eight shots and fall apparently out of contention – but he’s birdied the first today to get back to +2. Is a heartwarming comeback on for the plucky Texan?
Here’s what Winged Foot’s tricky greens can do to a golfer. New Zealand’s Danny Lee had a par putt to finish eight-over yesterday. Six shots later:
More than 40 players are out on the course, and as it stands, just two are under par for their round: Erik van Rooyen and Lucas Herbert, who have both improved to +9 for the week. That suggests Winged Foot is set to bite back after a kinder Saturday. Here are the pin positions; plenty tucked away to make life difficult for Wolff and DeChambeau’s power game.
Tucked pins. It’s U.S. Open Sunday. pic.twitter.com/KzbRLFJ3Ii
Plenty of players are already out on the course, but the contenders will start getting under way in around an hour. All times are BST, local times are fivehours behind – so the leaders go off at 1.30pm, EST.
5.13pm: Patrick Reed (+3) & Thomas Pieters (+3)
5.24pm: Joaquín Niemann (+3) & Webb Simpson (+3)
5.35pm: Lucas Glover (+3) & Alex Norén (+3)
Hello, and welcome to the final day of the 120th US Open Championship. This could be a red-letter day, not just for the player who emerges victorious, but for the game of golf in general.
Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau will head out as the final pair after taking on a brutally tough course with power and ambition. Winged Foot is perhaps the ultimate purists’ challenge, where hitting fairways and making pars are key to success. The leading duo have ripped up that rule book, and a first major for either today might persuade others to change their game.
