Typical U.S. Open meltdowns kill off hopes for several contenders

SAN DIEGO – The carnage always comes at the U.S. Open.

While Jon Rahm was able to negotiate the tough set up on an exciting Sunday when no less than 13 players had a legitimate shot to win it all at Torrey Pines, there were the usual stories of players going from contention to extinction in the blink of an eye.

Louis Oosthuizen is a major championship runner-up for the sixth time after a heartbreaking bogey on the penultimate hole following a drive that was pulled left into a canyon.

RELATED: Final leaderboard | Calm Rahm tames Torrey Pines for U.S. Open win | What's in Rahm's winning bag?

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau shot to the lead at the turn but made bogeys at Nos. 11, 12 and then a horrible double bogey at the par-5 13th. The carnage continued with a quadruple-bogey eight at the 17th hole.

Rory McIlroy was stalking the lead on the front nine and had a putt to join it on the par-3 11th. He would three-putt for bogey and then follow it up with a double bogey after finding sand trouble a hole later.

Collin Morikawa bladed a wedge shot that resembled the public golfers usually calling Torrey Pines home for a costly double bogey on the par-5 13th.

And overnight co-leader Mackenzie Hughes gave Canadian fans a huge ray of hope when two birdies near the turn had him just a shot back only for a pulled tee-ball on the par-3 11th to find a cart path and bounce up into a tree from which it refused to come down.

The biggest heartache lies with South African Oosthuizen who also finished runner-up to Phil Mickelson at last month’s PGA Championship. The bad drive came after a clutch par save on the 16th hole, bounding along the left edge before dropping into the penalty area.

“I took the tee shot on at 17, and I knew it was a crucial hole for me to take it on and give myself a birdie opportunity. I didn't pull it off, but standing on that tee again, I'll probably do the same thing,” Oosthuizen said.

“I feel like I had my shots, I went for it, and that's what you have to do to win majors. Sometimes it goes your way, and other times it doesn't.”

While he was able to hit his third shot after a penalty drop to 10 feet, his par putt failed to drop, and it left the father of three daughters needing to eagle the last on Father’s Day to force a playoff against Rahm.

Oosthuizen had done so to finish Round 3, but his drive leaked left and found the rough. It forced him to lay up and try to make a miracle happen from 69 yards out. His wedge shot flew over the hole and tried to work its way back but stopped at 10 feet.

While his birdie putt dropped, his even-par 71 and 5-under total was one short again.

“It's frustrating. It's disappointing. I'm playing good golf, but winning a major championship is not just going to happen. You need to go out and play good golf. I played good today, but I didn't play good enough,” Oosthuizen added.

“The 17th was the key hole. Drive that in the fairway, and I've got sand wedge into that pin, which would probably give me hopefully inside a 10-foot putt for birdie. But I pulled it by five yards.”

For Canadian Hughes, it was a freak incident that saw it all unravel. While his tee shot on the par-3 11th wasn’t a good one, it didn’t deserve to hit a path and stay in a tree. The fans began chanting, “Shake that tree” hoping it would fall but a penalty drop followed and ultimately a double bogey. Three more bogeys came in a closing 41.

“It's just a one-in-a-million break. I've played golf my entire life, I've never had a ball stuck in a tree,” Hughes said. “For it to happen on the back nine of a U.S. Open felt unfortunate because if that ball is over there in the grass, I've got a chance to get up and down for par and that's a different outlook.”

DeChambeau’s meltdowns were spectacular. The defending champion does everything bigger it seems, although for the man himself it was more a matter of bad luck than anything else.

Bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12 were not uncommon given they were the toughest two holes on the course, but the debacle on No. 13 was hard to describe. He slipped on his tee shot, sending it into the rough. He laid up into more rough. His third came up short into a bunker before a delay as police needed to apprehend an unruly fan who decided to get a closer look at the fairway.

“You just can't be there and you're dead,” DeChambeau said.

Then his fourth shot cannoned over the green and came to rest against a carton of beer before he would eventually make a double bogey. His snowman at No. 17 was courtesy of a drive into a penalty area and then some crazy sideways shanks.

McIlroy couldn’t shake his three-putt quick enough with his drive on No. 12 finding a bunker and his approach doing the same. The latter plugged near the edge on a downslope leaving an impossible shot.

“I gave myself a great chance today. Even through 10 holes, I was right in the thick of things. It was really two holes that basically stopped the run at the title,” McIlroy said.

“I played well. I felt comfortable with what I was doing out there. But once I made those little mistakes on 11 and 12, I felt like I was just chasing a little bit, and then ultimately couldn't really get anything done from there.”