American Brooks Koepka became the first player in three decades to win back-to-back US Opens by finishing the final round with a 68 and an overall score of 281 (+1) at Shinnecock Hills, New York.
Koepka beat the British Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke, who finished the round with the best score of 63 (-7) and totaled 282 (+2).
A year after claiming victory with a 16-under-par total at Erin Hills, Koepka kept his cool on the back nine to emerge with a 281 total.
The world number nine is the seventh player to win the US Open in succession. Previous winners include Willie Anderson (1903-1904), John McDermott (1911-1912), Bobby Jones (1929-1930), Ralph Guldahl (1937-1938), Ben Hogan (1950-1951) and Curtis Strange (1988-1989).
Britain’s Fleetwood, ranked 12th, equaled the lowest round of the U.S. Open at seven under par.
Fleetwood completed a day that included eight birdies, putting pressure on the previous day’s leaders: Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger and Tony Finau.
Koepka stretched his lead to two strokes with a birdie on the par-five 16th hole, where he birdied his third shot to within five feet of the flag.
Of the four leaders from the previous day, Koepka was the only player to shoot a final round under par with a 68 (-2).
Fellow American Dustin Johnson, world number one, finished with a 70, even with the field, to finish in third place with 283 (+3).
The only Spaniard in contention after Friday’s cut, Rafa Cabrero-Bello, was not in tune with the putter and signed a final round of 76, which relegated him to the thirty-sixth final position.
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