2024 U.S. Open: Champions
Winners from a special week in Pinehurst.
So much went well at the 2024 U.S. Open. The winners from a special week in Pinehurst…
Champions
Bryson DeChambeau. Relying on power, passion and energy-bordering-on-lunacy, his joy in entertaining and winning that made this win gratifying for all but those who lost to him. It’s hard to name another major champion who takes in so much information, remains curious, and who immediately has an answer for every decision made. Refreshing honesty and accountability has won over fans. So has his public admiration for the competition. Whether sincere or not, DeChambeau’s making it tough on the haters. While he said he’s worn out by a house remodel—the plight!—LIV’s light schedule gives DeChambeau an edge among the players who put so much into a major week and in a world where PGA Tour priorities appear to be catching up to members as summertime majors get drowned out by bad scheduling. Troon offers DeChambeau a chance to cap off a special year. Will he get carried away with the YouTube stuff and post-victory appearances or will he get the celebration out of his system in time to regroup? Winning a U.S. Open by hitting 32 of 56 fairways on the slowest and widest landing areas possible should be more of a concern for the USGA than for the mad scientist. After all, he is just working within (or up to) the edge of equipment rules. His golf genius lies in somehow balancing the zaniness and modernity without stifling his clunkier-looking version of Seve-like artistry. Bryson even seems to thrive off of his chaotic, no-thoughts-left-unspoken approach. As Rory McIlroy said Monday, Bryson’s “exactly what professional golf needs right now.”
Rory McIlroy. Given his gracious 99% of the time, I’m in the minority in not caring about the runner-up’s decision to flee town immediately after Sunday’s loss. Yes, he did miss an opportunity to congratulate DeChambeau which was a shame since Bryson seemed genuinely appreciative to compete against McIlroy down the stretch. Not that it would have made the flight home easier. For those flustered at his getaway: post-loss press chats in a locker room corner are so last century. Now the sessions are televised with transcripts and the occasional performative question looking to elicit tears. It’s no secret McIlroy has had stuff going on with his marriage. On the course, he has a lot to reconcile after hitting 46 of 56 fairways (82%) while making the key birdie putts on Sunday that eluded him last year at LACC and at St Andrews in 2022. McIlroy took to Twitter Monday in a note that could not have been fun to pen. But he did congratulate DeChambeau in perfect style. As for the short missed putts down the stretch? The hard-breaking left-to-righter on 18 has been unfairly compared to cringey misses by Doug Sanders and Scott Hoch. The putt on 16? It’s the one he’ll rue since it was his first miss of 496 inside three feet this year. But playing the closing five holes +5 over the last three days ultimately cost McIlroy the win. Still, he delivered stellar play on a golf course that might have annoyed him a decade ago. McIlroy once again reaffirmed an immense drive and all-round skill very deep into a career that appears to have more years of great golf ahead.
Matthieu Pavon. An incredible 2024 season continued with a fifth-place finish. He hit 43 of 56 fairways, gained seven strokes on the greens, but hit only 43 of 72 greens. With slightly improved iron play he should be one of the favorites at Troon and in the Paris Olympics. A fast player with a great attitude and a well-rounded game makes him one of the year’s best breakthrough stories. He also handled the difficulty of playing in a pro-DeChambeau crowd. “That was just a super nice experience,” Pavon said. “I enjoyed every moment on the golf course. The crowd was nice, very fair to me, pushing for the home guy. It was nice to feel that sort of energy. To drop some birdies on my back nine to finish fifth was really nice.”
Ludvig Aberg. In just his third major the Swede attempted to go all Ouimet on us by winning in his first try. Even as things unraveled bizarrely with an OB second shot on number two and a brutal break at the seventh, Aberg’s smiling, light-hearted, demeanor never changed. What an attitude. And what a gift in an era of so many miserable-looking golfers.
Neal Shipley. A big body and a big personality to go with the historic accomplishment of grabbing Low Amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open. He did this with a one-stroke penalty on his card. It’s always fun to see a later-blooming, up-and-comer who was not raised in an AJGA puppy mill. No wonder he has something more than a nice game: passion and drive without gobs of entitlement. He acknowledged his ball moving and called over an official. (Something the World No. 1 did not do at the Masters on Sunday.) Even Shipley’s Arby’s sponcon headcover won over in a charming amateurism-is-dead kind-of-way. The in-car video reading off a stilted script? Be yourself next time Neal. You got this.
Pinehurst No. 2. The course made a magnificent return after 2014’s U.S. Open(s) left folks wondering if the “anchor site” commitment was such a grand idea. Good weather coming in this time and an overall maturation of the turf and natives served as a reminder that it was still just too new a decade ago after Coore and Crenshaw’s overhaul. Investment by the Dedman family and hard work by many to dial in the sandy scrub seemed to draw unanimous praise this time. Several greens at 14 on the Stimpmeter are over the top and need to get back to Donald Ross’ elevations and tie-ins (to be discussed in the Missers edition) if those speeds are the new normal. Still, everyone seems excited about the return in 2029, a refrain not always heard after a U.S. Open.
