Martin Kaymer took over the lead during the first round of the U.S. Open and he never relinquished it. The 29-year-old German led wire-to-wire to win the 2014 U.S. Open and capture the second major championship of his career. Kaymer didn't limp into the clubhouse either, shooting a final-round 69 to finish at 9-under and win by eight strokes.
2014 U.S. Open
2014 U.S. Open
The strong final round capped an extremely impressive week for Kaymer. He opened the tournament with back-to-back 65s to jump into double-digit red numbers and set the U.S. Open 36-hole record at 130. While he wasn't able to duplicate those scores on the weekend, he remained in control throughout the tournament. Kaymer was impressive in all facets. He hit fairways, found greens in regulation and continually made crucial putts. The challenging Pinehurst No. 2 track can wear down a player, but not Kaymer. In addition to hitting the ball well, he also made smart decisions, knowing when to attack and when to mitigate damage. He never carded worse than a bogey.
Although the course played easier on Sunday than it did in the third round, no one was able to go low enough to really challenge Kaymer's lead. Keegan Bradley and Jim Furyk played well, carding 3-under 67s, but neither began the day close enough to the lead to be a factor. Rickie Fowler began the final round tied for second place at 3-under. Although he didn't play poorly, he ran into early issues with a double bogey on No. 4 and was never able to make up the ground. He went on to shoot 72 and finish at 1-under.
Early on, Erik Compton proved to be Kaymer's biggest challenger on the day. The 34-year-old recipient of two heart transplants was up and down on Sunday. He carded a few birdies, staying within range of Kaymer early on. He was five back following a birdie at No. 10, but back-to-back bogeys took on Nos. 11 and 12 took him out of contention. He finished at 1-under, eight strokes back. By finishing in the top 10, he'll gain an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Open field.
Phil Mickelson wasn't successful in his first attempt to complete the career grand slam. He shot a 2-over 72 in the final round and finished at 7-over. Mickelson had his moments and drove the ball very well, but he continued to have issues on the greens and didn't putt well enough to be a factor. Adam Scott finished at 2-over while Jordan Spieth checked in at 4-over and Rory McIlroy finished at 6-over.
Here is a complete look at the 2014 U.S. Open final leaderboard:
Place |
Player |
Score |
1st Round |
2nd Round |
3rd Round |
4th Round |
Total |
1 |
Martin Kaymer |
-9 |
65 |
65 |
72 |
69 |
271 |
T2 |
Rickie Fowler |
-1 |
70 |
70 |
67 |
72 |
279 |
T2 |
Erik Compton |
-1 |
72 |
68 |
67 |
72 |
279 |
T4 |
Keegan Bradley |
1 |
69 |
69 |
76 |
67 |
281 |
T4 |
Jason Day |
1 |
73 |
68 |
72 |
68 |
281 |
T4 |
Brooks Koepka |
1 |
70 |
68 |
72 |
71 |
281 |
T4 |
Dustin Johnson |
1 |
69 |
69 |
70 |
73 |
281 |
T4 |
Henrik Stenson |
1 |
69 |
69 |
70 |
73 |
281 |
T9 |
Adam Scott |
2 |
73 |
67 |
73 |
69 |
282 |
T9 |
Jimmy Walker |
2 |
70 |
72 |
71 |
69 |
282 |
T9 |
Brandt Snedeker |
2 |
69 |
68 |
72 |
73 |
282 |
T12 |
Jim Furyk |
3 |
73 |
70 |
73 |
67 |
283 |
T12 |
Marcel Siem |
3 |
70 |
71 |
72 |
70 |
283 |
T12 |
Kevin Na |
3 |
68 |
69 |
73 |
73 |
283 |
T12 |
Justin Rose |
3 |
72 |
69 |
70 |
72 |
283 |
T12 |
Matt Kuchar |
3 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
73 |
283 |
T17 |
Brendon Todd |
4 |
69 |
67 |
79 |
69 |
284 |
T17 |
Ian Poulter |
4 |
70 |
70 |
74 |
70 |
284 |
T17 |
J.B. Holmes |
4 |
70 |
71 |
72 |
71 |
284 |
T17 |
Jordan Spieth |
4 |
69 |
70 |
72 |
73 |
284 |
T21 |
Cody Gribble |
5 |
72 |
72 |
72 |
69 |
285 |
T21 |
Steve Stricker |
5 |
70 |
71 |
73 |
71 |
285 |
T23 |
Billy Horschel |
6 |
75 |
68 |
73 |
70 |
286 |
T23 |
Aaron Baddeley |
6 |
70 |
71 |
73 |
72 |
286 |
T23 |
Shiv Kapur |
6 |
73 |
70 |
71 |
72 |
286 |
T23 |
Rory McIlroy |
6 |
71 |
68 |
74 |
73 |
286 |
T23 |
Francesco Molinari |
6 |
69 |
71 |
72 |
74 |
286 |
T28 |
Daniel Berger |
7 |
72 |
71 |
78 |
66 |
287 |
T28 |
Graeme McDowell |
7 |
68 |
74 |
75 |
70 |
287 |
T28 |
Kenny Perry |
7 |
74 |
69 |
74 |
70 |
287 |
T28 |
Phil Mickelson |
7 |
70 |
73 |
72 |
72 |
287 |
T28 |
Brendon de Jonge |
7 |
68 |
70 |
73 |
76 |
287 |
T28 |
Victor Dubuisson |
7 |
70 |
72 |
70 |
75 |
287 |
T28 |
Chris Kirk |
7 |
71 |
68 |
72 |
76 |
287 |
T35 |
Patrick Reed |
8 |
71 |
72 |
73 |
72 |
288 |
T35 |
Ernie Els |
8 |
74 |
70 |
72 |
72 |
288 |
T35 |
Sergio Garcia |
8 |
73 |
71 |
72 |
72 |
288 |
T35 |
Bill Haas |
8 |
72 |
72 |
71 |
73 |
288 |
T35 |
Hideki Matsuyama |
8 |
69 |
71 |
74 |
74 |
288 |
T40 |
Louis Oosthuizen |
9 |
71 |
73 |
78 |
67 |
289 |
T40 |
Zac Blair |
9 |
71 |
74 |
73 |
71 |
289 |
T40 |
Zach Johnson |
9 |
71 |
74 |
72 |
72 |
289 |
T40 |
Lucas Bjerregaard |
9 |
70 |
72 |
72 |
75 |
289 |
T40 |
Garth Mulroy |
9 |
71 |
72 |
70 |
76 |
289 |
T45 |
Danny Willett |
10 |
70 |
71 |
78 |
71 |
290 |
T45 |
Webb Simpson |
10 |
71 |
72 |
73 |
74 |
290 |
T45 |
Retief Goosen |
10 |
73 |
71 |
71 |
75 |
290 |
T48 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick |
11 |
71 |
73 |
78 |
69 |
291 |
T48 |
Billy Hurley III |
11 |
71 |
74 |
75 |
71 |
291 |
T48 |
Harris English |
11 |
69 |
75 |
75 |
72 |
291 |
T48 |
Ryan Moore |
11 |
76 |
68 |
71 |
76 |
291 |
T52 |
Seung-yul Noh |
12 |
70 |
72 |
76 |
74 |
292 |
T52 |
Gary Woodland |
12 |
72 |
71 |
75 |
74 |
292 |
T54 |
Scott Langley |
13 |
72 |
71 |
75 |
75 |
293 |
T54 |
Stewart Cink |
13 |
72 |
72 |
74 |
75 |
293 |
T56 |
Fran Quinn |
14 |
68 |
74 |
79 |
73 |
294 |
T56 |
Paul Casey |
14 |
70 |
75 |
74 |
75 |
294 |
T56 |
Nicholas Lindheim |
14 |
72 |
73 |
72 |
77 |
294 |
59 |
Justin Leonard |
15 |
75 |
70 |
75 |
75 |
295 |
T60 |
Kevin Tway |
17 |
72 |
72 |
81 |
72 |
297 |
T60 |
Russell Henley |
17 |
70 |
74 |
82 |
71 |
297 |
T60 |
Alex Cejka |
17 |
73 |
71 |
77 |
76 |
297 |
T63 |
Kevin Stadler |
18 |
77 |
68 |
78 |
75 |
298 |
T63 |
Clayton Rask |
18 |
73 |
71 |
77 |
77 |
298 |
T63 |
Bo Van Pelt |
18 |
72 |
72 |
75 |
79 |
298 |
66 |
Boo Weekley |
19 |
71 |
73 |
80 |
75 |
299 |
67 |
Toru Taniguchi |
29 |
72 |
73 |
88 |
76 |
309 |