PGA Golf: A Recap Of The 2022 US Open

Read Time:3 Minute, 48 Second

The 2022 US Open took place at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The golf course is nearly 7300 yards. This is the 122nd US Open. This is the third major of the year at one time it used to be the second major of the year on the PGA Tour. One of the aspects that makes the US Open one of the premier tournaments is the narrow fairways and thick deep rough. This is the first time the LIV golf tour players have come to play on the PGA Tour since they left the tour. They have all had to answer questions about their move to the LIV tour. At the end of the day, we all know that it is about money. There are a few players in the field that have never won a US Open including Phil Mickelson. The tournament has eluded him.

Round one began at the Country Club. It was a sports mecca with the US Open and the Boston Celtics playing in game six of the NBA Finals. Last week Rory McIlroy won the Canadian Open and coming into this week with some momentum, he spoke out about the LIV golf tour and said nothing positive. McIlroy was one of five that were tied for second place after the first round. The other four players are Callem Tarren, David Lingmerth, Joel Dahmen, and MJ Daffue. The leader was Adam Hadwin. He shot a 4-under 66 that included six birdies with one of them being a long putt on hole 13. What I liked about round one is that outside of Hadwin and McIlroy we have new names and that is what makes the US Open so exciting. It was going to be interesting to see how round two went and would Hadwin still be the leader?

Round two is the round where a player makes a cut. The biggest nightmare the PGA Tour would be if a LIV Tour player wins the US Open. Well one of them, Phil Mickelson, missed the cut as he shot a 78 and 73 and did not play over the weekend. Sergio Garcia also missed the cut. By the end of the day, Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen shared the lead. That means that Dahmen was the only one from the group that had the lead after the first round. Morikawa has experience in the majors as he has two to his name, the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship. This was a tough tournament and that is why many players do not make the cut. McIlroy ended the day only one shot back of the lead. That means he had a good chance of winning this week.

Round three started the weekend and it is where the players that could be in contention rise. I am not saying that a player that was not near the top of the leaderboard cannot win. The Country Club disposes of the players that did not make the cut. At the end of round three, William Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick were tied for the lead. Zalatoris has been doing well in the majors this year. He was in contention at the Masters. Fitzpatrick has been a solid player in the majors over the last few years. Jon Rahm, who is one of the top players in the world, was only one shot back. He is the defending champ. Another name that surfaced is Keegan Bradley who has also won a major. This set everyone up for an exciting final round which is normally the hardest of the four rounds at the US Open.

The final round had some players slip back out of contention with the likes of Jon Rahm moving back. When it came down to it, three golfers took center stage. Those were Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler won the Masters earlier this year. Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris were in the final pair. The two went wire to wire. In the end, Fitzpatrick has crowned the 2022 US Open champion. He has won at the Country Club before he won the US Amateur back in 2013. Zalatoris once again came close but fell short. Fitzpatrick won by a single shot. It is his first major in his career. The PGA Tour avoided a big disaster by not having a LIV Tour player winning the US Open. This setup for the final major, the Open Championship, that will be held at St. Andrews. It is the oldest golf course on planet earth.