2021 U.S. Open (golf) explained

2021 U.S. Open
Dates:June 17–20, 2021
Location:San Diego, California
Course:Torrey Pines Golf Course
South Course
Org:USGA
Tour:PGA Tour
European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Par:71
Field:156 players, 71 after cut
Cut:146 (+4)
Purse:$12,500,000
Winners Share:$2,250,000
Score:278 (−6)
Previous:2020
Next:2022
Map:USA#USA California
Map Relief:yes
Map Label:Torrey Pines
Coordinates:32.9039°N -117.2461°W

The 2021 United States Open Championship was the 121st U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament that was played June 17–20 on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, San Diego, California. The South Course previously hosted in 2008, which was won by Tiger Woods in a playoff.

The field consisted of 156 players, with 88 gaining their place through automatic exemption criteria and the remaining 68 making it through qualifying, including two alternates. The defending champion was Bryson DeChambeau, who won the 120th U.S. Open, which had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at Winged Foot in September 2020.

Jon Rahm made a birdie on each of the final two holes to become the first U.S. Open champion from Spain and win his first major championship. Rahm finished one shot ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen, who had held a share of the lead going into the final round. Two strokes further back in third place was American Harris English. DeChambeau had moved into the lead midway through the final round, but fell away with two bogeys, a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey on the back-nine to finish outside the top twenty. During the tournament, Englishman Richard Bland became the oldest player to hold a share of the 36-hole lead in a U.S. Open; he finished tied for 50th place.

Course

See main article: Torrey Pines Golf Course. Torrey Pines Golf Course is situated in La Jolla, San Diego and has two 18-hole golf courses, the North Course and the South Course. The U.S. Open was held on the South Course, which previously hosted the championship in 2008, when Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate on the first sudden-death extra hole after they remained tied following an 18-hole playoff. The Farmers Insurance Open, a PGA Tour event formerly known as the San Diego Open, is held annually over both courses.

Length of the course for previous major:

Field

The field for the U.S. Open is made up of players who gain entry through qualifying events and those who are exempt from qualifying. The exemption criteria include provision for recent major champions, winners of major amateur events, and leading players in the world rankings. Qualifying is in two stages, local and final, with some players being exempted though to final qualifying.[1]

Exemptions

This list details the exemption criteria for the 2021 U.S. Open and the players who qualified under them; any additional criteria under which players were exempt is indicated in parentheses.[2]

1. Recent winners of the U.S. Open (2011–2020)

2. The leading ten players, and those tying for tenth place, in the 2020 U.S. Open

3. The winner of the 2020 U.S. Amateur

4. The runner-up in the 2020 U.S. Amateur

5. Recent winners of the Masters Tournament (2017–2021)

6. Recent winners of the PGA Championship (2016–2021)

7. Recent winners of The Open Championship (2016–2019)

8. Recent winners of The Players Championship (2019–2021)

9. The winner of the 2020 BMW PGA Championship

10. All players who qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship

11. Winners of multiple PGA Tour events from the originally scheduled date of the 2020U.S. Open (June 21, 2020) to the start of the 2021 tournament

12. The leading 10 points winners from the "European Qualifying Series" who are not otherwise exempt

13. The winner of the 2020 Amateur Championship

14. The winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal in 2020

15. The leading 60 players on the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 24, 2021

16. The leading 60 players on the Official World Golf Ranking if not otherwise exempt as of June 7, 2021

17. The leading player from each of the 2020–21 Asian Tour, 2020–21 PGA Tour of Australasia and 2021–22 Sunshine Tour Orders of Merit

18. Special exemptions

Qualifiers

Initially, eleven final qualifying events were scheduled, nine of which are in the United States:[4] In April, a further venue was added in South Carolina.[5] A final qualifier scheduled for June 7 at RattleSnake Point Golf Club in Milton, Ontario, was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada.[6]

Date Location Venue Field Spots Qualifiers
May24 Hokota, Ibaraki, Japan The Royal Golf Club 14 2 Yosuke Asaji, Ryo Ishikawa
May24 115 10 Luis Fernando Barco (L), Paul Barjon, Mario Carmona (L), Eric Cole (L), Álvaro Ortiz, Matti Schmid (a), Matthew Sharpstene (a), Hayden Springer (L), Johannes Veerman, Kyle Westmoreland (L)
Jun7 Milton, Ontario, Canada RattleSnake Point Golf Club – – Event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Jun7 Rolling Hills Country Club 90 5 Roy Cootes (L), Rikuya Hoshino, Chan Kim, Taylor Montgomery, Justin Suh
Jun7 The Bear's Club 78 6 Thomas Aiken, Luis Gagne (L), Fabián Gómez, Branden Grace, Andrew Kozan (a,L), Patrick Rodgers
Jun7 72 5 Hayden Buckley, Rick Lamb, Spencer Ralston (a), Davis Shore (L), Greyson Sigg
Jun7 Woodmont Country Club 71 4 Chris Baker, Chris Crawford (L), Taylor Pendrith, Dylan Wu
Jun7 Century Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club 79 4 Jimmy Hervol (L), Andy Pope, Cameron Young, Zach Zaback (L)
Jun7 Brookside Golf & Country Club and The Lakes Golf & Country Club 120 16 Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Wyndham Clark, Pierceson Coody (a), Dylan Frittelli, Adam Hadwin, Tom Hoge, Michael Johnson (L), Kang Sung-hoon, Martin Laird, Peter Malnati, J. T. Poston, Chez Reavie, Charl Schwartzel, Brendan Steele, Erik van Rooyen, Jhonattan Vegas
Jun7 Springfield Country Club 77 7 Bo Hoag, Troy Merritt, Dylan Meyer (L), Carson Schaake (L), Robby Shelton, Brian Stuard, Sahith Theegala (L)
Jun7 Long Cove Club 53 5 Akshay Bhatia, Wilson Furr (L), John Huh, Sam Ryder, J. J. Spaun
Jun7 Meadow Springs Country Club 45 2 Stephen Allan (L), Joe Highsmith (a,L)

Alternates who gained entry

The following players gained a place in the field having finished as the leading alternates in the specified final qualifying events:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 17, 2021
Friday, June 18, 2021

Fog delayed the start by 90 minutes and, as a result, 36 players did not complete their opening round before play was suspended due to darkness.[9] Russell Henley led with a 4-under-par round of 67, with Louis Oosthuizen also on 4-under-par with two holes to play.[10] Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Francesco Molinari were a stroke behind after rounds of 68. Defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau, had a round of 73 while PGA champion Phil Mickelson scored 75. Play resumed early on Friday, with Oosthuizen finishing with two pars to join Henley at 4-under-par.[11]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 67 −4
Louis Oosthuizen
T3 68 −3
Francesco Molinari
T5 69 −2
Rikuya Hoshino
Brooks Koepka
Hideki Matsuyama
Jon Rahm
Xander Schauffele

[12]

Second round

Friday, June 18, 2021

First-round co-leader Russell Henley took the outright lead at six-under after hitting his approach shot to the par-3 8th hole (his 17th) to seven feet and making the putt for birdie. On the par-5 9th, his last of the round, he missed a four-foot putt for par to suffer his first bogey of the round and fall back to five-under following a one-under 70. Richard Bland, making his first U.S. Open appearance in 12 years, made three birdies in a five-hole stretch on his closing nine to also get to six-under before a bogey at the 8th. At the age of 48, Bland became the oldest player to hold a share of the 36-hole lead in U.S. Open history.[13] [14]

Matthew Wolff, runner-up in 2020, did not make a bogey over his last 16 holes and two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th after reaching the green in two shots; he shot 68 (−3) and finished the round at four-under for the tournament, tied for third with Louis Oosthuizen and a shot off the lead. Oosthuizen was two-over on his round through 13 holes before birdies on the 14th and 18th to shoot even-par 71.[15]

Bubba Watson did not record a par over his last seven holes, making five birdies and two bogeys for a round of 67 (−4), tied for lowest of the day with Bland, Collin Morikawa, and Mackenzie Hughes. Jon Rahm, less than two weeks after being forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament after testing positive for COVID-19, birdied the 18th to complete a one-under round and tie Watson at three-under for the tournament, in a tie for fifth place. Two-time champion Brooks Koepka got to within one shot of the lead after two birdies in his first four holes but made five bogeys the rest of the round to fall back to even-par.[16] [17] [18] [19]

The 36-hole cut came at 146 (+4). Notables to miss the cut included past champions Justin Rose and Webb Simpson. Hayden Buckley, who began the round tied for fifth place, shot 11-over 82 to miss the cut by five. None of the nine amateurs made the cut.[20]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 70-67=137 −5
67-70=137
T3 67-71=138 −4
70-68=138
T5 69-70=139 −3
72-67=139
T7 73-67=140 −2
69-71=140
71-69=140
T10 71-70=141 −1
70-71=141
72-69=141

[12]

Third round

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Louis Oosthuizen made a 51-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to tie Russell Henley and Mackenzie Hughes for the 54-hole lead at five-under. Hughes made his own 63-foot putt for eagle on the 13th, then holed out from five feet for birdie on 18 to shoot 68 (−3). Hughes became the first Canadian to hold the lead after the third round at the U.S. Open. Henley, co-leader after the first two rounds, holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-3 11th and saved par from a bunker on the last hole to shoot even-par.[21] [22]

Rory McIlroy made four birdies on the back-nine, including a chip-in from the rough to the right of the green on the 12th, and tied for the lowest round of the day at 67 (−4). He finished at three-under, two shots off the lead. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau did not make a bogey in a three-under round of 68 to tie McIlroy for fourth place.[23] [24]

Richard Bland, co-leader with Henley coming into the round, did not make a birdie and shot six-over 77, falling to a tie for 21st place.[25] [26]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 67-70-71=208 −5
73-67-68=208
67-71-70=208
T4 73-69-68=210 −3
70-73-67=210
T6 69-70-72=211 −2
72-69-70=211
70-68-73=211
T9 72-70-70=212 −1
71-73-68=212
75-67-70=212
69-71-72=212
71-69-72=212

[12]

Final round

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Summary

Jon Rahm birdied both the 17th and 18th holes to win his first U.S. Open title and first career major championship. A shot behind leader Louis Oosthuizen playing the par-4 17th, Rahm hit his approach to 25 feet and made the putt to tie for the lead at five-under.[27] On the par-5 18th, he found a greenside bunker with his second shot, chipped out to 18 feet, and holed the putt to finish at six-under for the tournament. Rahm became the first player since Tom Watson in 1982 to win the U.S. Open with birdies on the final two holes.[28] [29] [30]

A crowded leaderboard had 10 players within a shot of the lead at one point. Oosthuizen, a co-leader coming in the round, was one-over on his round before making consecutive birdies on holes 9 and 10 to get to six-under and lead by two. He bogeyed the par-3 11th after hitting his approach into the rough to the right of the green, then, on the 17th, drove into a penalty area off the tee and made another bogey. Needing an eagle on the 18th, his third shot from short of the green flew 10 feet past the hole. Oosthuizen settled for his sixth career runner-up finish in a major and second at the U.S. Open.[31]

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau took sole possession of the lead after nearly making a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth. But he then bogeyed both the 11th and 12th before making double-bogey on the par-5 13th and quadruple-bogey eight on the 17th. He played his final nine holes in eight-over to fall to a tie for 26th place. Rory McIlroy, 2011 champion, got into a share of the lead on the front-nine but fell from contention with a double bogey on the 12th after his second shot plugged in the greenside bunker; he finished at one-under, five shots back and in a tie for seventh.[32] [33]

Two-time champion Brooks Koepka was four-under on his round and just a shot off the lead after making a 16-foot birdie putt on the 15th but bogeyed two of his final three holes to finish at two-under.[34]

Russell Henley and Mackenzie Hughes, part of a three-way tie for the lead at the start of the round, both fell outside the top-10. Henley went three-over on the front-nine and made only one birdie in a five-over round of 76 to finish in 13th. Hughes double-bogeyed the 11th after his tee shot got stuck in a tree; he shot 77 (+6) and finished tied for 15th.[35]

Final leaderboard

Champion
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par!!Money (US$)
1 69-70-72-67=278 −6 2,250,000
2 67-71-70-71=279 −5 1,350,000
3 72-70-71-68=281 −3 829,084
T4 Brooks Koepka (c) 69-73-71-69=282 −2 498,176
71-70-73-68=282
75-67-70-70=282
T7 71-72-72-68=283 −1 306,893
71-75-67-70=283
72-70-74-67=283
Rory McIlroy (c) 70-73-67-73=283
69-71-72-71=283
72-69-70-72=283

[12]

Scorecard

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par443444435434544345
Rahm −3 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −5 −6
Oosthuizen −5 −5 −5 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −5 −6 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −4 −5
English +1 E +1 +2 +1 +1 +1 E −1 E E E E −1 −1 −1 −2 −3
Koepka E −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −2 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3 −2
Morikawa −1 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −2
McIlroy −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −4 −3 −1 −2 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1
Henley −4 −4 −5 −5 −5 −4 −3 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E
Hughes −4 −4 −4 −4 −3 −2 −3 −3 −4 −4 −2 −1 −1 E +1 +1 +1 +1
DeChambeau −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −5 −5 −5 −4 −3 −1 −1 −1 −1 +3 +3
Eagle -->BirdieBogeyDouble bogeyTriple bogey+

Media

This was the second consecutive U.S. Open televised by Golf Channel and NBC. In the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports broadcast the event.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Road to the 121st U.S. Open . USGA . March 18, 2021 . January 27, 2021.
  2. Web site: Currently Exempt Players for 121st U.S. Open . USGA . June 7, 2021 . February 24, 2021.
  3. Web site: Kuivasaari . Marko . U.S. Openin väliin jättävä Mikko Korhonen seitsemänneksi Hampurissa . Mikko Korhonen, who will miss the US Open, is seventh in Hamburg . Golfpiste . June 8, 2021 . Finnish . June 7, 2021.
  4. Web site: 11 U.S. Open Final Qualifying Sites Tabbed; Entries Set to Open . USGA . March 18, 2021 . February 23, 2021 . March 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210301185957/https://www.usopen.com/2021/articles0/11-us-open-final-qualifying-sites-2021-entries-open.html . dead .
  5. News: Romine . Brentley . Final qualifying sites for the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines . Golf Channel . April 24, 2021 . April 24, 2021.
  6. Web site: Canadian U.S. Open Qualifiers Canceled Due To COVID-19 Restrictions . USGA . April 28, 2021 . Brian . DePasquale.
  7. News: U.S. Open: Cole Hammer gets the call after Mikko Korhonen's withdrawal . Julie . Williams . Golfweek . June 9, 2021.
  8. Web site: Last one in: Zack Sucher awarded final spot in U.S. Open at Torrey Pines . Golfweek . USA Today . June 14, 2021 . June 13, 2021.
  9. News: US Open: Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy challenge as Bryson DeChambeau falters . June 18, 2021 . BBC Sport . Becky . Grey . June 18, 2021.
  10. News: Russell Henley shares US Open lead after fog-affected day one at Torrey Pines . June 18, 2021 . The Guardian . Bryan Armen . Graham . June 18, 2021.
  11. News: Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen tied for lead at U.S. Open; 1st round suspended because of darkness . ESPN . Associated Press . June 18, 2021.
  12. Web site: U.S. Open: Leaderboard . ESPN . June 19, 2021.
  13. Web site: Colgan . James . Your new U.S. Open leader … Richard Bland? Unlikely pro surges at Torrey Pines . Golf.com . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  14. News: Lavner . Ryan . Oldie but goodie: At 48, Richard Bland tops the Torrey charts midway through U.S. Open . Golf Channel . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  15. Schupak . Adam . Two rounds into the U.S. Open, Torrey Pines has Matthew Wolff's full attention but he still must catch a journeyman . Golfweek . June 18, 2021 . June 21, 2021.
  16. Beall . Joel . U.S. Open 2021: Jon Rahm got the perspective no one wants, but it may be what wins him a major . Golf Digest . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  17. Web site: Everill . Ben . Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson look to mirror Farmers Insurance Open success at U.S. Open . PGA Tour . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  18. News: Boone . Kyle . 2021 U.S. Open leaderboard breakdown: Jon Rahm among stacked top 20 behind co-leaders after Round 2 . CBS Sports . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  19. News: Richard Bland excites Torrey Pines to become oldest 36-hole leader in US Open history . 19 June 2021 . The Guardian . Bryan Armen . Graham . June 22, 2021.
  20. News: Bryson DeChambeau finds swing key at night at Torrey Pines . Sportsnet . Associated Press . June 18, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  21. Hennessey . Stephen . U.S. Open 2021 live updates: Louis Oosthuizen, Mackenzie Hughes grab share of 54-hole lead with low Saturday rounds . Golf Digest . June 19, 2021 . June 19, 2021.
  22. Web site: Belbeck . Dane . Hughes shares lead with Oosthuizen, Henley headed to Sunday at Torrey . TheScore . June 19, 2021 . June 19, 2021.
  23. News: Lavner . Ryan . Sight for sore eyes: Rory McIlroy with a chance entering Sunday of a major . Golf Channel. June 19, 2021 . June 19, 2021.
  24. Schupak . Adam . Rory McIlroy is feasting on chicken sandwiches at the U.S. Open and hungry for another major . Golfweek . June 19, 2021 . June 19, 2021.
  25. Web site: Both. Andrew. Reality check ends fairytale Bland run at U.S. Open. Reuters. June 19, 2021. June 21, 2021.
  26. Web site: Louis Oosthuizen's long eagle putt sets up US Open final-round thriller. 20 June 2021. Guardian. 22 June 2021.
  27. News: Power of positive thinking': Jon Rahm rebounds from Covid to win US Open . 21 June 2021 . The Guardian . Bryan Armen . Graham . 21 June 2021.
  28. Web site: Berhow . Josh . Jon Rahm wins 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines with thrilling closing stretch . Golf.com . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  29. Schupak . Adam . Jon Rahm wins U.S. Open at Torrey Pines for first major title . Golfweek . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  30. Web site: Ray . Justin . U.S. Open: 10 notes to know from the final round, Jon Rahm's championship victory . The Athletic . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  31. News: Shot into canyon costs Louis Oosthuizen at U.S. Open . Sportsnet . Associated Press . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  32. Rapaport . Daniel . U.S. Open 2021: Bryson DeChambeau's chances die with a slip, a streaker, a beer box and a back-nine implosion . Golf Digest . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  33. News: Schlabach . Mark . Bryson DeChambeau shoots 8-over 44 on back nine, ties for 26th at U.S. Open: 'Had bad break after bad break' . ESPN . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  34. News: Schreiber . Max . Brooks Koepka 'not very pleased' with U.S. Open finish, but 'guess it could be worse' . Golf Channel . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  35. News: Mackenzie Hughes gets worst break of U.S. Open when ball gets stuck in tree . Golf Channel . June 20, 2021 . June 20, 2021.

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