Martin Kaymer is the champion of the 114th US Open, the second Grand Slam of the season on the PGA Tour, with a comprehensive victory over Americans Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler. In the tournament held at Pinehurst (North Carolina), the German finished with a 69, one under par, for a total of 271 strokes (-9), eight strokes ahead of Compton and Fowler.
This was the European’s second major title after the 2010 PGA Championship PGA.
The nine under par for the four rounds is the second lowest total in U.S. Open history.
Americans Fowler and Compton shared second place, both finishing with a card of 72 strokes (+2) and a total of 279 (-1).
The 29-year-old German player set a record for the first two rounds with 130 strokes in 36 holes (-10).
The previous record of 131 was set by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy in the 2011 edition on his way to the title in the event.
The best placed Spaniard was Sergio García, in 35th place, after a 72 (+2) for the day, for a total of 288 (+8).
The defending champion, Englishman Justin Rose, was in twelfth place with a total of 283 (+3), thanks to a one-day total of 72 (+2).
The world number one, Australian Adam Scott, made a tremendous leap in the last day to move from 21st to ninth place with a total of 282 (+2) after signing a card with 69 (-1).
American Phil Mickelson, who has placed second several times at the U.S. Open, was far behind in 28th place with a total of 287 (+7).
As of Friday, the second day’s cut eliminated the winner of the 2014 Augusta Masters, American Bubba Watson, as well as Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiménez, Pablo Larrazábal and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño.
“I didn’t make many mistakes,” Kaymer said after finishing the final round. “I played solid the first two days and that gave me a cushion for the weekend, a weekend that made me very happy,” he added.
For his part, the American Compton pointed out that “no one was catching Kaymer this week, from the first two days we were all playing for second place”.
Kaymer had birdied the 13th and 14th holes to extend his lead, and will now jump from 28th to 11th in the world rankings as a result of the win.
The German became the seventh player to win the tournament after leading every round, joining a select group of champions that includes Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, James Barnes and Tony Jacklin.
“It’s a lot more (from leading all the way to pressure), especially if you’re playing on a different continent,” Kaymer said. “It’s been a very enjoyable week.”
“I’m sure Germany is proud,” Kaymer said. “We have almost a German ‘grand slam’.”
Kaymer became the first to win the Players tournament and the US Open in the same year, joining Jack Nicklaus, Woods and Hal Sutton in winning them in the same year.
Fowler, who shared fifth place at the Masters, faded after a double bogey on the fourth hole and left the way clear for Kaymer.
Leave a Reply