NIGHTMARE ROUND OF 87 FOR JB.. WHO IS CRITICISED BY KOEPKA FOR SLOW PLAY

THE American Open challenge turned into nothing more threatening than a damp squib as Brooks Koepka and JB Holmes had a bust-up.

US players have dominated recently, winning the first three Majors this season and nine of the last 10. But if eventual champion Shane Lowry had been expecting a charge from the likes of Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Holmes, he was happily mistaken. Koepka (left) is the man of the moment, having won four Majors since 2017 to surge to the top of the world rankings.

But he became increasingly frustrated by the slow play of Holmes and tapped his watch in his direction on the 17th hole to make it clear he was not impressed. Koepka started the final round at nine under, seven shots behind Lowry and needing to be at his very best to have a tilt at the title.

But his challenge was over almost before it began when he bogeyed the first three holes and never recovered.

He hit back with a stunning eagle on the par four fifth, but that was as good as it got and he dropped more shots coming home to finish on 74, still good enough to secure him a tie for fourth.

It was an even worse day Holmes. Much, much worse.

He started in third place on 10 under and was the closest US challenger to Lowry, but slid down the leaderboard faster than the rain drenching Royal Portrush.

He hooked his opening tee shot out of bounds en-route to a doublebogey six that saw him reach the for turn in 41, then butchered the back nine with sevens on the 11th and 12th holes.

It added up to a shambolic round of 87, 16 over par, while Fowler had little to smile about either as he tried in vain to win his first Major title.

He also went out of bounds on the opening hole to register a six, hit back immediately with a hat-trick of birdies, but frittered them away on the back nine to sign for a 74.

Justin Thomas was four under for his round at one stage, but a triple bogey seven at the 17th sent him back across the Atlantic with a bad taste in his mouth.

The happiest American was Tony Finau, whose level par 71 secured third place and his best finish in a Major. He said: “I’m really proud as it was really tough out there. We had the worst conditions, but Royal Portrush is a special place.”