US Open 2024: McIlroy, DeChambeau and Cantlay battle for title in final round – live | US Open

Thanks Matt. And what a time to return! Rory drains his birdie putt at 12 and ties the lead again! He stands still as it drops, just a celebratory movement with the hands. Kind of letting go but not letting go. You get the feeling Rory feels things are happening. And they most certainly are. What a finish this promises to be.

Seven feet for par at 11 for DeChambeau. A nasty length but he makes it. Very solid. The narrow lead retained. And with that, I’ll hand you back to Dave!

After a superb drive at 12, McIlroy has another wedge to a green. He doesn’t appear too comfortable and pulls away from it to chat with caddie Harry Diamond. But when he finally does strike the ball he finds the heart of the green. Safe but not the worst.

-7: DeChambeau (10)
-6: McIlroy (11)
-5: Cantlay (11)
-3: Finau (13)
-2: Henley (17), Pavon (10)

The short par-4 13th could be key in the next 45 minutes. It’s playing 316 yards and can be driven. Tony Finau took aim, his ball bounded across and through the putting surface, then he got up-and-down for birdie. DeChambeau has missed the green at 11. He has a test to come.

DeChambeau’s driver is going as far right as European politics today. He loses yet another at 11 but the ball doesn’t find the trees. Instead, it gets tangled up in the scrubby grass. Famed for his big hitting, it has been his short game that has kept him clear of the chasers.

DeChambeau lines up his short birdie putt. He reminds me of a child with a new geometry set when he does this. It’s enthusiastic but a little awkward. It works though – the putt drops. He walks to the next tee interacting with the galleries and Nick Faldo is trying – badly – to hide his confusion at such behaviour. Wonderful stuff. McIlroy’s lengthy lag putt is excellent and secures par.

At the par-5 10th DeChambeau found trouble from the tee. He shunted his ball down the fairway and has hit an excellent pitch close. He’ll have 5 feet for birdie and to regain the solo lead. Up ahead, McIlroy’s wedge to the par-4 11th is not one he likes. Finds the green but a long way from the hole.

We’ve not seen much of last month’s PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele. Don’t worry though. He’s doing Xander Schauffele things. He’s -1 for the round, level-par for the week, tied 8th and set to make it eight top 15s in a row at the championship. Yup, he’s never finished worse than 14th and is three holes from maintaining that incredible run.

Boom! Birdie for McIlroy at 10! What a way for him to start the back nine. Many putts have dribbled into holes this week. That one absolutely plopped in from 27 feet. Probably best it hit the hole but whatever. Joint leaders! Oh and hello. Patrick Cantlay does dribble one in for a birdie of his own. He is now one back of DeChambeau and McIlroy but three clear of the chasing pack.

Low amateur update. Neal Shipley takes the honours after a head-to-head final day battle with Luke Clanton. Shipley carded a 71 to finish the week on +6 which is currently good for a share of 28th.

DeChambeau leads by one shot heading into the back nine.

Pinehurst No. 2 was designed by the famed Scottish architect Donald Ross. DeChambeau is clearly enjoying the test this week and he has form on Ross tracks – and form for knowing it. He won the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Ross-created Detroit GC and during that week said: “There’s a lot of bunkers at around like 290 yards. Hopefully I’ll be able to clear those and take them out of play. So, sorry, Mr. Ross, but, you know, it is what it is.” Is Ross going to bite back or are we set for deja vu?

Tony Finau isn’t done. The big man is also up to -2 for the week, alongside Henley who now has only three holes to play, and can still get involved. In the football England still lead 1-0. Why not open up another tab and keep in touch on the live blog.

A fist bump and a growl of “Yeah, let’s go!” from DeChambeau. He saves par and remains ahead. Russell Henley is on fire. Another birdie as he seeks to set a clubhouse target of note. He’s now -2 for the week.

-6: DeChambeau (8)
-5: McIlroy (9)
-4: Cantlay (9)
-2: Henley (14), Finau (10), Pavon (8)

Birdie for McIlroy at 9! His 14-foot putt wanders in two subtle directions and then drops. Meanwhile, DeChambeau impresses the TV commentary team by finding the green with his chip shot at 8 but he has 11 feet for par. Cantlay can’t follow McIlroy into the hole up ahead for his own birdie. The Northern Irishman is solo second and might be sharing the lead soon.

Bryson in the trees. They’re not thickly wooded so there is space for his ball to re-emerge, but it’s far from ideal. The ball rests a little awkwardly on the pine straw, among the shawdows. Wayne Riley says he needs a “low slicey thing”. He has 199 yards to the green and commits to the shot. He’s back on the course but beyond the green and Riley says the next shot is “horrendous”. The Aussie on-course reporter does tend to make a meal of things for dramatic purposes but a big moment or two coming up.

DeChambeau has crushed yet another drive, this time at the 8th. But he’s sent it clattering into the trees and it could be nasty for him. All the more important that, up ahead, McIlroy saves par after missing the green.

Henley likes a low score in the US Open. He was the first round leader in 2018 and again in 2021 when he remained tied for the lead through 54 holes. He closed 68-68 in last year’s championship.

Is there potential for a scene-stealer? Russell Henley is -3 through 13 holes and -1 for the tournament. Could he get it to -3 for the week? Would that be enough? He wouldn’t go home, let’s put it that way.

DeChambeau can’t make birdie at 7. The putt slips by and his lead remains two. At half-time in the football, England lead Serbia 1-0.

DeChambeau crushes his drive at the 7th. He really does crush the ball doesn’t he?! When the editor zooms in to allow us to see him close-to at impact it is just extraordinary. His drive runs out of gas at 341 yards and a graphic reveals it is the longest of the day at this hole. He has 88 yards to the pin and the approach hops around it but leaves no gimme. He’ll have 14 feet for birdie.

A big moment for Rory McIlroy. His approach to 7 scuttled through the green and his chip shot didn’t look good but it kept on moving toward the hole. He has nearly 6-feet for par … and makes it. Patrick Cantlay makes an excellent birdie at the same hole from short range to join McIlroy in a share of second.

-6: DeChambeau (6)
-4: McIlroy (7), Cantlay (7)
-3: Pavon (6)
-2: Matsuyama (7)
-1: Finau (8)

Canada’s Corey Conners gets his round back to level-par with a birdie at 8. His record coming into this week was a delight for those who enjoy the event form versus current form debate. He’d played the championship five times and missed the cut every time. But he’d also not missed a cut in a year (i.e. since last year’s US Open). Current form has prevailed this week – he’s also level-par for the week and currently tied 7th.

There’s quite the vibe for DeChambeau on the course. His arrival at the par-3 6th tee is Ryder Cup-like and very loud. He launches his tee shot high but it lands on the false front and dribbles back. It’s possible the caddie is getting more flak.

An excellent bunker shot from Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai who is +1 for the tournament and tied for 10th. He always makes me think fondly of my granddad, also from the Black Country, who was quite an emotional watcher of sport and any success by a local sportsman or woman prompted tears. Tessa Sanderson’s Olympic gold? Stevie Bull playing for England? Rachel Heyhoe Flint at Lord’s? He loved it all and Rai’s progress would delight him too.

In his traditional Sunday black, Shane Lowry drains a 25-foot birdie at the 18th hole to finish +4 for the tournament. Back on the front nine, DeChambeau has found the green in three at the par-5 5th and Åberg is facing a remarkable shot with his ball hanging over the edge of a bunker. When he tries to stand conventionally he’s in the bunker with the ball at midriff height. He’s putted it, Adam Scott-style.

DeChambeau has found a terrible lie at the par-5 5th. His drive has dug deep into gnarly, tangly grass. Few golfers have more might to attack this kind of lie and he duly pummels it forward to sand but remains 35 yards from the hole with McIlroy’s nemesis behind the pin. He’s got a shot full of threat to come. Will he play safe?!?!

So close but ouch! McIlroy strikes a beautiful par putt from 22 feet and it oh-so-narrowly slips past the hole. On commentary Ewan Murray bemoans the unfair set-up of the hole and says the approach shot was one of the best of the day. Up ahead, Sam Burns is eyeing a first major championship top 10 in his 17th start. He’s -2 for the day, +1 for the week and tied 12th.

Trouble for McIlroy. A terrible lie among the hard pan sandy scrub behind the green and his bunt doesn’t find the top of the turtleback. It swings back into a genuine bunker. It is a par-5 so he can escape with a par with a good 4th shot – but he played it safe and now has a very lengthy par putt. (England are 1-0 up, by the way, courtesy of a Jude Bellingham header. )

The defending champions’s week is done. Wyndham Clark signs for a 77 and a final total of 12-over. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy’s approach to the 5th takes an agonising length of time to dribble into a back bunker and DeChambeau has made a bogey at 4 (Pavon a double bogey).

Birdie for Ludvig Åberg at the 5th – and now we have six players in red numbers. Back at the 4th Pavon has played three shots and is still off the green of the par-4.

-7: DeChambeau (3)
-5 McIlroy (4)
-4: Pavon (3)
-3: Cantlay (4)
-2: Matsuyama (5)
-1: Finau (6), Åberg (5)

“What are we doing, dude?!” cries the leader. DeChambeau’s approach to the 4th bounces through the green and he’s not happy with the club selection. Implication: it’s the caddie’s fault.

Missed green trouble for the penultimate group at 4. Cantlay, from sand, has 6 feet for par. McIlroy chips to 4 feet and Paul McGinley, on Sky Sports, is impressed. Cantlay misses his par saver, McIlroy makes no mistake.

A birdie for Pavon at 3 get him back to level-par for the round. How much is a good caddie worth? In the recently published book ‘The Secret Tour Caddy’ the anonymous author notes, among many nuggets of info, that he and his colleagues were somewhat disappointed when Matthieu Pavon and his long-time caddie went their separate ways after last year’s BMW PGA Championship. He was replaced by current bagman (the very experienced Mark ‘Woody’ Sherwood) and the caddie community soon accepted the best decision had been made because the pair won on their third start in Spain and won again on the PGA Tour in January. I messaged TSC today and he said that Pavon, “always had the potential but the minute he gets Woody on the bag suddenly he starts winning. Like everyone knew he would, apart from himself! Woody has really got rid of the mistakes on the course.” It’s going very well this week.

Thanks, Dave. So, England are playing in the European Championship and English golfers, who might be interested in the result, are playing a major – sound familiar? It might be for Sky Sports commentator Laura Davies. Back in 1996 the final round of the Evian Masters (as it was then – it has since been retitled a championship and become a major) coincided with the Euro 96 quarter final between England and Spain. LD watched the match on a portable TV and was fined. She was gloriously unrepentant, however, and said the €50 fine was worth it. She also won the event.

And while I sit down for a bit of Father’s Day pizza and flick my eyes between the golf and the England game, I’ll hand you over to Matt Cooper for the next couple of hours.

Booming drive by McIlroy finds the fairway at 4. It’s been a heartening start for Rory. Meanwhile, you can find coverage of England v Serbia right here.

Is US PGA winner Xander Schauffele still in this? Birdies at 3 and 7 after an opening bogey have lifted him to even par. That’s still seven behind the man he pipped at Valhalla but there are only five players above Schauffele on the leaderboard now. A two-putt par for Rory at 3 keeps him two behind DeChambeau.

-7: DeChambeau (2)
-5 McIlroy (2)
-4: Cantlay (2)
-3: Pavon (2)
-2: Matsuyama (1)
E: Thompson (7), Schauffele (7), Kim (5), Aberg (3)

Pavon is in danger of also dropping a shot at 2 but he ranks 1st for Strokes Gained: Putting this week and rolls in the par putt to remain at -3. That’s four behind playing partner and leader DeChambeau who shows off his nifty chipping skills for an easy par save at the second. A par-par start is just fine, especially with so many others making mistakes beneath him – apart from Rory!

A bit late but here are the pin positions today.

And this is a nice touch…

It seems that Dechambeau cracked his driver head on the driving range although perhaps he’ll be less affected than most given how much clobber he carries around and tinkers with. He’ll need to get his short-game skills going at 2 after missing the green left.

Hatton’s 5-6-5 start has cost him four shots in the first three holes and a spiral down the leaderboard to tied 18th. Pinehurst has got him. Morikawa and Conners are also suffering, both +2 for the day and now the tournament after four holes. At least there’s a slither of good news for Aberg after his triple at 2. The Swede has bounced back with a birdie at 3 and is now tied sixth alongside Finau and Thompson at even par.

Ouch. Pavon three-putts the 1st to give one away cheaply. DeChambeau makes his par, as does Rory after finding the green at 2. There are now just five players under par as Pinehurst continues to flash its teeth.

-7: DeChambeau (1)
-5 McIlroy (2)
-4: Cantlay (1)
-3: Pavon (1)
-2: Matsuyama (1)
E: Thompson (6), Finau (3)

Scottie Scheffler’s trying week comes to an end. Well, at least he avoided arrest. Not that four straight over-par rounds of 71-74-71-72 and a tally of +8 will do much for his mood. The haircut that left him far too shorn wasn’t great either. Move on to the next one. That’ll be the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.

DeChambeau’s approach from a divot is nicely judged. He finds the green and in a similar place to where Rory just made birdie. Matthieu Pavon changes clubs as a gust of wind comes up. “It’s downwind now,” says his caddie. The Frenchman pulls the trigger and he’s also in that 20 feet left of the flag range. At the 2nd, Aberg’s tournament is unravelling. He made a triple at the 13th yesterday, a massive punch to the gut, and he’s just scribbled another ‘7’ on his card at the par-4. In the blink of an eye he drops eight behind DeChambeau.

It’s Bryson time! The three-shot leader also goes with iron – a popular play – and finds the short … oh, wait, it lands in a divot. And an ugly one at that. Up at the green there’s a huge roar as McIlroy gets the start he wanted so badly: a birdie courtesy of a 20-foot putt. That could be a huge moment. Rory has struggled to get out of second gear in recent final rounds with a major on the line but he’s up and running here. The Northern Irishman cuts DeChambeau’s lead to two. Game on!

Lots of talk that the course is playing a little easier and could yield something in the mid-60s but where’s the evidence? Still there’s no round – either completed or live – that is better than -2 for the day … although, scrub that! Tommy Fleetwood has just birdied 13 to go -3 for his round and +2 overall. The 2018 US Open runner-up is up to tied 16th and, gulp, he’s been joined there, but not in a good way, by compatriot Tyrrell Hatton, who has started bogey, double bogey.

Here goes Rory! McIlroy goes with iron off the 1st tee and draws one nicely into the middle of the fairway. Up at the green, Åberg and Matsuyama hole putts from 8 feet and 5 feet respectively to save par. Time for a leaderboard update although there’s not much to show yet.

-7: DeChambeau (-)
-4: Pavon (-), McIlroy (-), Cantlay (-)
-2: Matsuyama (1), Åberg (1)
-1: Finau (1)
E: Hatton (1)

The chasing pack can’t afford mistakes but that’s easier said than done at Pinehurst. Tom Kim has followed an opening birdie with back-to-back-bogeys while Morikawa has given one back at 2. Both drop to +1 and eight behind DeChambeau. That looks quite a gap now.

Some last-minute alterations from the man nicknamed ‘The Scientist’ ahead of his NASA launch in 12 minutes’ time.

We’ve not seen any footage yet but there could well be steam coming out of Tyrrell Hatton’s ears after a bogey at the opening hole. An approach that never found the green was the culprit there. Hatton’s hopes of coming from six back have suffered a major dent as he drops back to evens. It’a par for playing partner Tony Finau, who stays at -1. The opening five holes present several birdie chances so you sense that Hatton will have to find something at the 3rd and 5th, the two most obvious opportunities.

Nick Faldo in the Sky commentary box is talking us through how he would approach the situation facing Bryson DeChambeau today: entering the final round with a three-shot lead. Not surprisingly, the six-time major winner’s tactic would be “head down, blinkers on”. That’s obviously a stark contrast to what we’ve seen from DeChambeau this week. At one stage Bryson was even signing autographs during his round yesterday but will the winks and gurns to camera continue today with the heat on? Faldo suspects not although, put under the gun to name the winner, Faldo admits: “I’ve got a feeling that Bryson will find a way.” Fun fact: Faldo never won a US Open. His best was runner-up on just his second appearance in 1988.

Just a two-putt par for Morikawa at the 1st hole keeps him at even par. He’s been joined there by Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who has birdied the second hole after a sumptious approach and now has a 12-footer for another red circle at 3. Back at the 2nd, Tom Kim will need to hole from just over six feet to par and stay at -1. Can any of this trio get in the hunt later today?

Collin Morikawa shot the low round of the day on Saturday, a well-crafted 4-under 66 that elevated him up to tied ninth and seven back. At the 1st, his approach from the middle of the fairway lands pin high and around 20 feet left of the flag. A chance for the double major champion and runner-up at week’s Memorial Tournament to make an immediate gain.

A tough last 20 minutes for Nicolai Hojgaard. He’s dropped a fourth shot of the day to slump to +9 and Denmark have conceded an equaliser against Slovenia. Better news though for Tom Kim, the Korean who (true story) named himself after Thomas The Tank Engine. Good job it wasn’t Spongebob Squarepants who won his heart as a toddler. Kim, the runner-up in last summer’s Open at Hoylake after a fast finish, has birdied the 1st and moved to -1 for the tournament and tied seventh. Could the 21-year-old produce something spectacular today?