Bryson DeChambeau wins U.S. Open: See how final round unfolded

Bryson DeChambeau fired a final-round 71 to win the U.S. Open by one stroke over Rory McIlroy. It is DeChambeau's second major victory. He won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

It was dramatic until the final moment. DeChambeau overcame a late deficit and benefitted from several McIlroy blunders to finish. The American managed a par on the 18th hole, getting up and down from a greenside bunker 55 yards away. DeChambeau hit the bunker shot tight to 4 feet and sunk the putt to finish at 6-under, a stark contrast to McIlroy, who also had 4 feet for par on the 72nd hole but missed. McIlroy made three bogeys in his final four holes to finish 5-under. DeChambeau played the same stretch in 1-over, which was good enough to get the job done. Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay finished in a tie for third at 4-under. Matthieu Pavon was fifth at 3-under.

What started as a three-shot DeChambeau lead quickly got interesting after a shaky start. DeChambeau made the turn in 1-over 36 while McIlroy was 2-under. That cut the lead to one, and by the end of the 12th hole, the lead had flipped. McIlroy made four birdies in five holes, canning a birdie on the 13th to briefly take a two-shot lead. But it was DeChambeau who managed his game best down the stretch. Playing in the group behind McIlroy, DeChambeau answered with a birdie on the 13th, limiting the damage from there. He dropped just one shot in the closing five holes, hitting the green in regulation on the final five holes. And other than a three-putt at the 15th, DeChambeau made relatively stress-free pars until the 72nd hole.

After watching McIlroy miss a 4-foot par putt on 18, DeChambeau sunk one of his own. It’s those small margins that decided the tournament.

It will be another haunting loss for McIlroy, who had his best chance to win a major over this 10-year winless drought. McIlroy led late into the back nine but will rue his nervy putts. Just as he grasped momentum, he let it slip away. He bogeyed the par-3 15th after missing the green long, then missed a pair of 4-foot par putts on 16 and 18 to lose the golf tournament.

McIlroy is still searching for his first major victory since the 2014 PGA Championship. After he lost the 2023 U.S. Open, McIlroy said he would go through 100 Sundays of major championship defeat to get another major.

One down. Hopefully, he won’t need 99 more to get the monkey off his back.

Here's a breakdown of how the final round played out:

6:38 p.m.: What drama! DeChambeau's lie was anything but clean in the native area on the 18th. All he can do is chop it out into the bunker. Facing a 55-yard bunker shot, DeChambeau hits one of the shots of his life, which trundles to 4 feet. It goes in. A no-doubter. DeChambeau wins the U.S. Open, his second major championship.

6:27 p.m.: DeChambeau makes par at 17, setting up a duel on 18. McIlroy drives it well left and does not have a good lie. He hacks it out of the rough, then chips it to 4 feet. At the same time, DeChambeau tees off and goes well left, too. His lie is considerably better. And then an excruciating moment. He missed the 4 footer, his second short miss in three holes. He makes bogey to post 5-under. DeChambeau can win it with a par.

6:16 pm.: No changes after each player finishes their latest hole. McIlroy makes par at 17, DeChambeau makes par at 16. They are still tied for the lead 6-under. McIlroy's got one hole left, DeChambeau has two. Could we be headed for a playoff?

6:04 p.m.: McIlroy! Just as DeChambeau three-putted, McIlroy does the same at the 16th. Disastrous moment and he's tied with DeChambeau again at 6-under after that bogey. Meanwhile, it gives Cantlay one last glimmer of hope. He bogeyed the 16th, too, to drop to 4-under. Still just two back with two to play.

5:57 p.m.: Oh, no Dechambeau! His first three-putt of the week comes at the worst time. He had less than 30 feet for birdie on the par-3 15th and left with a bogey. Brutal result. That puts McIlroy back up by a shot. McIlroy is 7-under; DeChambeau 6-under; Cantlay 5-under.

5:49 p.m.: Mistake by McIlroy! Leading by a shot, McIlroy goes long of the difficult par-3 15th hole and does well just to get his pitch shot on the green. It was in the native area with a bad lie. McIlroy takes two putts from 30 feet and makes bogey. Cantlay misses a makeable birdie putt, but his deficit is only two. DeChambeau made par at 14 and watched all this unfold from the tee box. That will be an interesting dynamic in the closing few holes. McIlroy is 7-under; Dechambeau 7-under, Cantlay 5-under.

5:27 p.m.: McIlroy's lead is now one. DeChambeau bounces back beautifully, roasting a drive that manages to stay on the green, 28 feet away from the hole. DeChambeau can't pay off the unbelievable tee shot with an eagle, leaving his putt one foot short, but he does his job and cuts the deficit in half. McIlroy is 8-under; DeChambeau 7-under; Cantlay 5-under.

5:18 p.m.: What a swing! DeChambeau hits another wayward tee shot, but this time it costs him. His ball is up against a tuft of grass and his only option is to chop it out. He hits his third to 22 feet and he can't sink the putt. He drops to 6-under. Up ahead, McIlroy hits his tee shot over the green on the drivable par-4 13th. He hits a delicate chip 5 feet by and holes the comebacker for birdie. It's his fourth birdie in five holes. All the putts are dropping. McIlroy is at 8-under, two ahead of DeChambeau. Cantlay is still lurking at 5-under. McIlroy now in the driver's seat to win his first major championship in 10 years. Can he hold on?

5:03 p.m.: This is quickly becoming an epic final round and we've got a long way to the finish! DeChambeau displays more of his incredible touch around the greens, navigating a wayward tee shot and approach. He hits his greenside bunker shot to 7 feet and makes the slippery putt for par. But up ahead, McIlroy is creating more roars. This time, McIlroy holes a curling right-to-left putt for birdie. He's at 7-under following birdies on three of his last four holes. McIlroy and DeChambeau are tied at the top! Cantlay, meanwhile, bogeyed the 12th hole to drop to 4-under, suddenly three shots back of the co-leaders.

4:45 pm.: It's a three-horse race, and it's a heck of a race! McIlroy pours in a 28-foot birdie on the par-5 10th to tie for the lead at 6-under. Meanwhile, DeChambeau is in the native area behind him. Right after McIlroy, Cantlay holes a birdie from just inside McIlroy's line. That keeps Cantlay in it at 5-under. Up to DeChambeau to match, he sticks it to 5 feet and holes the putt! True theater right now on the back nine of the U.S. Open!

4:20 p.m.: Oh, things are heating up at Pinehurst. McIlroy pours in a birdie on the par-3 ninth and makes the turn in 34, 5-under for the tournament. DeChambeau could hear the roars, then created some of his own, making an unbelievable up-and-down from long of the eighth hole. DeChambeau lets out a big yell as he holes the 16-foot par putt to remain 6-under, one shot ahead of McIlroy. Meanwhile, Cantlay missed an 8-footer for birdie. He's 4-under, two back as he makes the turn.

4:12 p.m.: The battle for low am comes to a close, and it's a historic one. Neal Shipley bests Luke Clanton by two shots. Clanton had a chance to tie on the 18th green, but three-putted from 5 feet. Shipley becomes the sixth player to earn low amateur honors at the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open in the same season and first since Viktor Hovland in 2019.

3:50 p.m.: McIlroy isn't the only chaser in the mix. Patrick Cantlay sticks his approach to 4 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and makes the birdie putt. After an early bogey, Cantlay gets back to level par for the day, 4-under for the tournament. DeChambeau couldn't take advantage of the par-5 fifth hole and was forced to get up and down on the par-3 sixth hole to stay at 6-under. For as good as DeChambeau played on Saturday, he's looked a bit shaky through the opening third of this final round.

3:26 p.m.: The fifth hole bites Rory McIlroy once more. After a towering drive put McIlroy in the middle of the fairway, he nearly hits a perfect shot to the par-5 to set up an eagle try. Instead, it takes a slope off the green and into the native area. He can't advance his pitch onto the green, instead ending up in the bunker. He hits it to 22 feet and misses the putt. He makes bogey and drops back to 4-under. His only solace is that DeChambeau made bogey on No. 4 behind him. DeChambeau is at 6-under, two clear of McIlroy.

3:07 p.m.: The battle for low amateur is alive and well! Ohio State's Neal Shipley and Florida State's Luke Clanton are tied at 5-over, playing together. Both made birdie on the 13th hole. It will be a nervy final five holes for that twosome, duking it out for low am honors!

2:50 p.m.: DeChambeau starts par-par, a solid start when you've built a three-stroke lead through 54 holes. McIlroy has cut that deficit to two with a birdie at No. 2, but none of the other challengers are doing much. In fact, a couple have gone backwards. Åberg made a triple-bogey at No. 2, his second of the week. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 3, but is just even-par, seven shots back. Those two triples look like they will cost Åberg a chance at his first major. Tony Finau has also dropped two shots and Pavon made an early bogey. Only McIlroy and Cantlay are within three shots of DeChambeau.

2:34 p.m.: On the other side of the golf course, Scottie Scheffler finished his U.S. Open with a par on the 18th. He shot 71-74-71-72 to finish 8-over. It's his first time shooting four over-par rounds this year and marks the end of a disappointing week for the world No. 1. Scheffler couldn't have entered the year's third major stronger, winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday last week. That didn't materialize into much at Pinehurst. He will look to get back on track at the Travelers Championship next week.

2:25 p.m.: The final group is on the golf course and, oh, how the stories are already developing. McIlroy birdied the first hole to separate from the pack at 4-under and jump to 5-under, two back of DeChambeau. Meanwhile, DeChambeau had to make a last-minute gear switch, changing driver heads on the range after the face of his normal gamer flattened. It never fails to get weird during the final round of a major.

2:00 p.m.: Matsuyama and Åberg, the third-to-last group, is off, and not much has changed toward the top of the leaderboard. Nobody has made an inspired charge up the leaderboard, with the low round of the day only 2-under. That’s to be expected at a difficult Pinehurst, which has firmed up throughout the week. But someone will need to do the unexpected to win the U.S. Open. Could Matsuyama or Åberg be that come-from-behind challenger?