PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The right man won the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Gary Woodland was the best player in the field from the moment the 119th U.S. Open began Thursday at Pebble Beach. And fittingly, he was the last man standing in triumphant pose, arms and putter in the air on the 18th green, having put an exclamation-point, finishing birdie-bomb touch on an exquisite round and week.
Woodland, who began the day with a precarious one-shot lead over Justin Rose, shot a final-round 69 to finish 13-under, three shots clear of Brooks Koepka, who shot 68 in his effort to become the first player in 114 years to win three consecutive U.S. Opens.
Woodland’s 13-under total was actually one shot lower than Tiger Woods’ historic 15-shot victory in 2000, also at Pebble Beach.
Seven times prior to Sunday’s final round, Woodland had owned 54-hole leads and failed to convert them to victory. That pesky negative number hung heavy in the marine-layer air as the day began.
Afterward, Woodland, still shaking with emotion, called his play this week “as good as I’ve ever been.”
“I knew my record coming in,’’ said Woodland, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour in his 10 seasons. “I kept hearing about my 54-hole record and I kept telling myself that records are made to be broken. I kept telling myself during the round that it’s not over and to, ‘Finish, finish, finish.’ I’m glad it’s over with. I’m more nervous right now than I was playing today.
“A lot of hard work went into this and I’ve surrounded myself with a lot of great people who’ve helped me get to this moment.’’
Two of them were his parents, Linda and Dan, who were green-side on 18 when their son delivered the best Father’s Day gift of all.
Woodland lost the lead on the first hole when he parred and Rose birdied. But he never flinched, regaining the lead with a birdie on No. 2 and then extending it with another on No. 3. The lead grew to as many as three shots before Woodland bogeyed Nos. 9 and 12 and the lead was shaved back to one over Koepka.
“Rosey birdied [the] first hole to eliminate the lead quickly and I made a huge birdie on the second hole to get the lead back and that gave me confidence,’’ Woodland said.
Everyone in the galleries and the millions watching on TV likely expected Koepka, with his cold-blooded-killer reputation, having won four of his previous eight majors and the last two U.S. Opens, to win.
“I played great,’’ said Koepka, who became the first player in U.S. Open history to shoot four rounds in the 60s and not hoist the trophy at the end of the week. “Nothing I could do. Gary played a great four days. That’s what you’ve got to do if you want to win a U.S. Open, win a major championship and hats off to him. Cool way to go out on 18, to make that bomb. He deserves it, he’s worked hard and I’m happy for him.’’
Playing in the final pairing with Woodland, Rose, who’d been hanging around the lead all week as if he were doing it with mirrors, without his ball-striking in form but scrambling madly, fell out of contention with bogeys on Nos. 12, 13 and 15 and became a spectator with the best seat in the house.
Koepka gave Woodland some breathing room with a bogey on No. 12, and failed to birdie a hole on the way in from there.
Along with his win at the PGA Championship last month at Bethpage, this was Koepka’s second runner-up in a major championship this year after his second-place finish to Woods at the Masters.
There were two shots that defined the final round for Woodland — an aggressive 3-wood play to the back edge of the green in two on the par-5 14th hole that led to birdie and an added cushion, then a sand wedge punch chip from the 17th green over a ridge to about 18 inches for an easy par putt that gave him a two-shot lead with one hole to play.
“That 3-wood at 14 is what gave me the confidence to even execute that shot on 17,’’ Woodland said. “I felt better after hitting that shot than I have in a long, long time.’’
When Woodland walked off the 18th green, he was immediately met by his parents, both of whom he embraced with long, emotional hugs. Also waiting to greet him after he signed his card were fellow players Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar.
“He stayed calm all day, he looks calm all the time, he was unflappable and great finish on 18,’’ Rose said.
“From a mental standpoint, I was as good as I’ve ever been,’’ Woodland said. “I never let myself get ahead. I knew I was playing well going in, but I’ve been playing good going into a lot of tournaments and haven’t had the results I wanted.’’
On this day, he got the ultimate result.
“I think I proved what I always believed,’’ Woodland said. “That I’m pretty good.’’