Matsuyama’s best rounds not quite good enough
ERIN, Wis. — On the last day of the U.S. Open, Hideki Matsuyama was better than everyone else. Better than Brian Harman, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and the rest of the congested leader board. Just not good enough. Matsuyama shot a 6-under-par 66 on Sunday to pull within one of the lead, but Brooks Koepka birdied three straight holes to pull away to his first major championship. The 25-year-old Japanese star had two of the best rounds of the tournament; he shot 65 on Friday but a 2-over 74 in his opening round loomed large as the scores got lower and lower at a forgiving Erin Hills.
“You’ve got to put four good rounds together,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter. “I played two good rounds, but it wasn’t enough.”
Matsuyama’s 66 was the best score on a windy final day, one better than Koepka. The average score in the fourth round was 73.9.
But he had to settle for a tie for second with Harman, four strokes back of the champion.
“I played really well today,” said Matsuyama, who watched Koepka close out his title on a TV in the clubhouse. “Came up a little bit short. No regrets, but I did play well.”
Spieth shine
This is more like it for Jordan Spieth at a major.
He shot a 69 to finish at 1 over for the tournament.
Spieth was well off the lead, but seemed to be feeling much better with his game after shooting 76 in the third round. It was an especially good day for Spieth considering how the wind picked up at Erin Hills.
“Yeah, no doubt. I thought it was a fantastic round of golf, given what we were dealing with to start the day,” the fifth-ranked player in the world said.
When asked to rate his confidence level, Spieth assigned himself a “B,” though he graded himself at an “A” with his putter .
“I feel really good about just about everything else,” Spieth said. “I’ve just got to get on the greens and have that cup start to look a bit bigger.”
Amateur hour
Scottie Scheffler was the low amateur, shooting a 73 to finish at 1 under.
This has been quite the confidence-building experience for the 20 year-old who plays at Texas. He was the only amateur to qualify out of the tough Columbus sectional.
His sister, Callie, served as his caddie at Erin Hills.
“Being an amateur in the U.S. Open is very cool,” Scheffler said.
Cameron Champ, the only other amateur to make the cut, shot a 76 to finish at even par.