Collin Morikawa couldn't maintain the momentum he built on Saturday, shooting a two-over-par 72 in the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday to finish tied for 14th with a four-day total of two-over-par.
Morikawa, a University of California graduate, took advantage of Rory McIlroy's shaky play on the final hole to win the U.S. Open by eight strokes over Bryson DeChambeau, who won the tournament at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
DeChambeau shot a 1-over 71 to finish at 6-under par and one stroke behind McIlroy, who was up by two with five holes to go but bogeyed three of his final four holes and missed short par putts on No. 16 and No. 18. It was DeChambeau's second major victory, following his U.S. Open victory in 2020.
Morikawa's attention was now focused on the Olympics, where not only was he unable to win a third major title, but his participation in the Paris Olympics was also in jeopardy.
Morikawa entered the U.S. Open ranked No. 7 in the world and with the fourth and final U.S. Olympic berth, but Patrick Cantlay had a chance to overtake Morikawa and claim the final U.S. berth depending on his performance on Sunday. Cantlay, who was ranked ninth this week, shot an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish third at 4-under par behind DeChambeau and McIlroy.
The world rankings after the U.S. Open have yet to be announced, but if Cantlay surpasses Morikawa in the rankings, Cantlay, not Morikawa, would secure the fourth and final U.S. Olympic berth.
Morikawa shot 66 on Saturday and began the final round tied for ninth, seven strokes behind third-round leader Bryson DeChambeau.
But Morikawa found himself out of contention after the first nine holes on Sunday, bogeying four of his first nine holes and recording just one birdie in between. That left him three over par for the day and tournament, nine strokes behind the leader.
He regained the lead in the last nine holes. Morikawa bogeyed the 12th hole, but in between he birdied the 10th, 11th, and 13th holes to finish one over par, but couldn't get another birdie after that. He finished with three birdies, but that was all wiped out by a bogey on the sixth.
He's finished in the top four in the first two majors of 2024 and was hoping for a top 10 in a major for the 10th time in his career, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen.
As for the Olympics, before the U.S. Open began, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Wynham Clark were expected to secure the top three spots for U.S. golfers.
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