Kaymer Strolls to Victory in U.S. Open

By: Jeff Shelley


With no one really threatening his huge lead in the final round, Martin Kaymer had a relatively easy time of it on Sunday at the U.S. Open.

The 29-year-old from Dusseldorf, Germany, entered the day at Pinehurst No. 2 with a five-stroke lead, and cruised home with a rock-solid 1-under 69 to finish at 9-under 271, good for an eight-shot victory over Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton.

In the first two rounds Kaymer opened with back-to-back 65s for a 10-under 130, the lowest 36-hole score in U.S. Open history. Enjoying a hot putter all week, he capped off his 1-under outing - on Sunday one of only 11 below the par of 70 on the Donald Ross design - with an 18-foot par putt on the last for the final margin.

After the ball disappeared into the cup, Kaymer raised his arms in triumph, hugged his caddie and fellow players, and was greeted by fellow German Sandra Gal, who's playing in the U.S. Women's Open next week, also at Pinehurst No. 2.

The win on Father's Day, which followed his victory in last month's Players Championship on Mother's Day, is the second major for Kaymer, the 2010 PGA champion. He's the first player in history to win the Players and U.S. Open in the same year.

"I didn't give my father anything for Father's Day, maybe this works," he told reporters.

"It means a lot," Kaymer said of the win during the trophy presentation, "especially when you play on a different continent . . . Overall, it was a very nice week, a very nice day.

"I didn't make very many mistakes . . . I played very well the first two days (and) that gave me a nice cushion for the weekend."

As for what the victory means to his home country, Kaymer added, "Winning the PGA and winning this one . . . I hope it makes Germany proud."

Compton, the two-time heart-transplant recipient, had a U.S. Open to remember. The 34-year-old Floridian shot rounds of 72, 68, 67 and 72 to finish at 1-under 279, his highest finish ever on the PGA Tour. The runner-up finish earned Compton his first appearance in next year's Masters.

Compton was elated with his performance and touched by the reaction he got from the gallery at Pinehurst. "The crowd was so great. On every hole, from the tee box to the putting green, people were cheering for me and I definitely felt the love and the support from the crowd," said Compton, who endured two heart transplants, the first in 1992 and the second in 2008.

"Seemed like people really got around my story. And for me to be here and to do this at such a high level is just as good of a feeling as winning a golf tournament. So it's just a great feeling and I can't wait to get back into another major."

Fowler and Compton both entered the final round at 3-under. Playing in the final group with Kaymer, Fowler stayed in the hunt before coming to the par-4 fourth. There, the 25-year-old bladed his second shot from a waste bunker and, despite sinking a 25-foot putt to finish the hole, took a double-bogey to drop from contention.

Fowler, who tied for fifth at the 2013 Masters, said at greenside, "I hung in there . . . today I had a couple ones get away from me on No. 4."

Fowler birdied the next and had two more birdies in his round, but also recorded three bogeys that kept him from threatening the eventual champion. "Martin was playing his own golf tournament; no one could catch him," noted Fowler.

But despite finishing second, the player who honored the late Payne Stewart - the 1999 U.S. Open champion - by wearing Stewart's trademark plus-fours in Thursday's opening round, was happy with his performance. "Really happy about it," he said. "Goals going into the year was get ready for Augusta and then contend at majors. Finishing tied for fifth and tied second here in the first two majors of the year, definitely pleased about that and looking forward to the next two."

Kaymer, Fowler and Compton were the only players in the 114th U.S. Open to finish 72 holes under par. Tied for fourth at 1-over 281 were Keegan Bradley (67), Australia's Jason Day (68), Brooks Koepka (71), Dustin Johnson (73) and Sweden's Henrik Stenson (73).

Day, who finished tied for second with Phil Mickelson behind champion Justin Rose in last year's U.S. Open at Merion, tipped his cap to the U.S. Open host. "I think the USGA's done a phenomenal job on the course with regards to setup, the playability," said the 26-year-old. "It's been great. I can't say enough praise about it."

Another stroke back in ninth were No. 1-ranked Adam Scott (69) of Australia, Jimmy Walker (69) and Brandt Snedeker (73). Jim Furyk (67), Germany's Marcel Siem (70), Rose (72), Kevin Na (73) and Matt Kuchar (73) shared 12th at 283.

Other closing scores included a 73 by Jordan Spieth, a mark matched by two-time major winner Rory McIlroy. The oldest player in the championship, 53-year-old Kenny Perry, carded a 70 to finish in tie for 28th at 287. After getting the golf world's attention following an opening 68, 49-year-old Fran Quinn shot a 73 to end up T-56 at 294.

"It was great week, and I know that it was a week that had great promise starting the week," said Quinn, who had his 15-year-old son Owen as his caddie. "And I'm a little disappointed personally on how I played this weekend. But having said that, I know I have a lot of great golf and I will play some great golf the rest of the summer. Hopefully I'm playing next week at Travelers." Quinn may have to Monday qualify for the Travelers - the PGA Tour's next stop - in Connecticut, or get a sponsor's exemption to play in the event near his Massachusetts home.

McIlroy said Kaymer reaped the fruits of his labor, and the Northern Irishman was impressed with his fellow European. "I think this year he had been trending in the right direction, and then broke through at the Players again, which I think was huge for him, huge for his confidence," said the 2011 U.S. Open champion, who like Kaymer also won by eight strokes, at Congressional.

"Because he's a hard worker and it's always great to see your work paying off. He saw that and then he sort of continued it since. He played well, I guess, the next week at Dallas as well and has kept it going. So good to see him back where he belongs. He's a really talented guy and a really good guy and obviously a great player."

North Carolina native and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson shot 73 and 74 on the weekend to end up at 10-over 290, the same total as two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen of South Africa.

Mickelson will have to wait another year for his elusive career Grand Slam title. The five-time major winner - victories in the Masters, British Open (in 2013) and PGA Championship - posted two 72s over the weekend to end up at 287.

Despite not getting his sixth major, Mickelson was upbeat afterward. "It wasn't disappointing. It was a fun week. It was - I just loved the golf course, the setup, how it played, how fair it was. What surprised me is how pure and perfect the greens were. I thought with this heat, bentgrass, I just didn't think they would be as perfect as they are. They're just amazing. You get the ball on line and they go in every time just like Augusta, you know the last four or five feet if they're going in. They were just pristine. I think that there was some birdie holes on the back nine that when they moved the tee up on 13 and some other pins, you could get to, but also you can make some 25-, 30-footers and you just never know what will happen on that back nine. But it's interesting to see how in control Martin is of his game. It's impressive."

The only amateur to make the 36-hole cut, Matthew Fitzpatrick of England, rebounded from a 78 on Saturday with a 69 to finish tied for 48th at 11-over 291. The U.S. Open is Fitzpatrick's last tournament as an amateur; the 19-year-old will now turn pro.

"I really enjoyed it," said Fitzpatrick, who automatically qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open after winning the U.S. Amateur last year. "It's been a great week. My aim was to win the low amateur, and to achieve it is pretty pleasing. I think playing with some of the biggest names - I played with Phil and Justin, a practice round with Rory, playing with Louis (Oosthuizen) on the last day, and, yeah, it's been great and I really enjoyed my week, really."

The shot of the day came when Zach Johnson aced the par-3 ninth. Using a 7-iron on the 172-yard hole, the 2007 Masters champion put his tee shot 20 feet left of the pin and watched it slowly roll downhill to the right and into the cup. Johnson dropped his club in amazement, then as he made his way to the green ran alongside the gallery and high-fived the crowd, similar to Hale Irwin's famous celebration in the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah.

Johnson's hole-in-one was the second at a U.S. Open at Pinehurst and the 44th in the championship's history.

Johnson later described the shot. "When I hit it I thought it had a chance. Based on where the pin is you have to err long, and so I was expecting it to land past the pin and release two or three (feet), and roll down there . . ."

Unheralded Daniel Berger fired Sunday's low round, a 4-under 66 that included five birdies and just one bogey. After a 78 Saturday, the 21-year-old Web.com regular ended up at 7-over 287 in a tie for 28th with, among others, Mickelson.

"Today I hit a lot of greens, gave myself a lot of opportunities, and when you do that you're bound to make some birdies," said the former Florida State player.

As for what the 66 beckons, it's back to the Web.com Tour for Berger, who hopes to excel and, sooner rather than later, graduate to the big tour. "When you play on such a big stage as this, the Web.com doesn't feel as big," he added. "But, obviously, I got to kind of shift my focus back to Web.com, have a couple of good weeks, and if all goes well, I'll be out here next year."

For all the scores, visit http://www.usopen.com/en_US/scoring/index.html.