Bryson DeChambeau, went out for the final round of the US Open, Scottie Scheffler stood on the first green of a Pinehurst No 2 course that had scrambled his confidence over three excruciating days, carefully lining up a 20ft chance for birdie.
The world’s No 1 golfer curled a putt with perfect speed and line all the way to the cup, where it defiantly came to rest on the left rim without dropping in. Scheffler stared for a moment in disbelief before stepping forward to tap in for par. It would have been difficult to dream up a better example for how the two-time m
The faint chimes from the nearby Village Chapel that carried across the grounds during Scheffler’s two‑over 72 on Sunday morning – that left him eight over for the championship and 14 shots adrift of DeChambeau’s winning total – might have sounded like a funeral dirge to the Masters champion. He had arrived here as the largest betting favourite entering a major in 15 years, having won for the fifth time in eight starts the previous Sunday at the Memorial. He had already broken the tour’s single-year earnings record with more than $24m (£18.96m) in prize money – nice work if you can get it – and went off on Thursday as the first player to have won five tournaments in a season before the US Open since Tom Watson in 1980.
