Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed another magical moment in the US Open as Rory McIlroy’s fast finish kept him firmly in contention to end his major drought.
Fitzpatrick recorded the third hole-in-one of the week on the 115-yard 15th at Los Angeles Country Club, his tee shot spinning back into the hole just as those of Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns had done in round one.
However, Fitzpatrick could not see where the ball had landed and was walking off the tee before the roar from the crowd sparked enthusiastic, if somewhat belated, celebrations.
The eagle briefly lifted Fitzpatrick into red figures, but he eventually slipped back to where he started the day on one over to trail early clubhouse leader Wyndham Clark by 10 shots.
Clark carded four birdies and a solitary bogey as he added a 67 to his opening 64 to reach nine under par, a shot ahead of four-time major winner McIlroy.
McIlroy looked set for a frustrating day as he covered the back nine in 37, but then birdied the first, third, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth to storm home in 30 – as far as it is possible to ‘storm’ in a round which took five hours, 39 minutes to complete.
McIlroy revealed he had been inspired to take a somewhat more cautious approach this week after watching the highlights of his 2014 Open victory at Royal Liverpool, which will host the year’s final major again next month.
“For whatever reason I went on to YouTube a few weeks ago and was looking back at Hoylake 2014 and I could not believe how many irons and three woods I was hitting off the tee and it set something off in my mind,” McIlroy said.
“You know how to do this, you know how to play smart. You don’t have to take driver – yes it’s a big weapon but I feel like I have more weapons in my arsenal than I did then so I may as well use them.”
Asked how much he wanted to win another major after a drought of almost nine years, McIlroy added: “I started thinking about winning this thing on Monday and no-one wants me to win another major more than I do.
“The desire is obviously there. I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years and I keep coming back.
“I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, whether I get rewarded or punched in the gut I’ll always keep coming back.”
Dustin Johnson had recovered from a quadruple-bogey eight on the second to add a 70 to his opening 64 and remain six under par, a total matched by Australia’s Min Woo Lee thanks to a superb 65.
Overnight leaders Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele were among the later starters, Fowler starting brilliantly with three straight birdies to improve to 11 under.
Fowler and Schauffele had both shot 62 in the first round to record the lowest score in US Open history and equal the lowest in any men’s major, while the scoring average of 71.38 was another tournament record.
Tournament officials insisted they would not respond by making conditions “stupid hard”, although the par-three 11th was playing 297 yards and water had only been applied to “isolated spots on the greens for turf health”.
John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer of the USGA, told NBC: “[On Friday], as planned, we will play the golf course longer.
“We’re not going to force anything. We could do things that could make it stupid hard. We’re not going to do that.”
Oakley runs personal best 22.60 to win 200m title at Big 12 Championships; Texas sweeps men’s and women’s titles
Jamaican Texas sophomore Dejanea Oakley claimed her maiden Big 12 Outdoor title with gold in the women’s 200m at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Waco, Texas on Saturday.
Oakley, who was the fastest qualifier from Thursday’s heats with 23.00, won comfortably on Saturday with a personal best 22.60, bettering her previous mark of 22.73 done at the Texas Invitational on April 26 this year.
TCU’s Iyana Gray was second in 22.81 while Texas’s Kenondra Davis was third in 22.82, just ahead of teammate Kevona Davis who ran 22.84 in fourth.
Kevon Davis went one better in the 100m with 11.32 to finish behind TCU’s Gray (11.24) and Texas Tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma (11.12).
Jamaican Baylor University senior Demar Francis was also a standout performer on Saturday.
First, he ran 45.44 to win the 400m title ahead of Oklahoma’s Richard Johnson (45.45) and Texas’s Logan Popelka (45.62) before returning to get third in the 200m final with a personal best 20.38.
Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi won that race in 20.10 followed by Texas’s Nolton Shelvin (20.22).
Francis was also a part of Baylor’s 4x400m quartet who ran 3:03.49 to finish as runners-up to Texas Tech (3:03.09). Jamaican Shaemar Uter was a member of Texas Tech’s winning team.
Jamaican Houston senior Kelly-Ann Beckford ran 2:01.33 for second in the women’s 800m behind Oklahoma State’s Gabija Galvydyte (2:00.42). Texas’s Olivia Howell was third in 2:02.23.
The men’s 110m hurdles saw Bahamian Texas Tech sophomore Antoine Andrews run 13.63 for second behind Houston’s De’Vion Wilson who did 13.35 to take top spot. Texas Tech’s DeVontae Ford ran 13.67 in third.
In the field, Texas junior and Jamaican World Championship representative Ackelia Smith produced 13.92m to win the women’s triple jump ahead of Texas Tech’s Anne-Suzanna Fosther-Katta (13.62m) and Baylor’s Koi Johnson (13.44m).
Texas’s Trinidadian junior Kelsey Daniel produced 16.04m for silver in the men’s triple jump behind Oklahoma’s Brandon Green Jr who did 16.52m. Texas Tech’s Stacy Brown Jr jumped 15.78m for third.
At the end of proceedings, Texas were crowned champions of both the men’s and women’s categories.
Texas scored 134 points in the men’s section, 19 ahead of Texas Tech in second and 54 ahead of Iowa State in third.
The women were more dominant, securing 150 points compared to 98 from BYU and 96.5 from Texas Tech.
'Stars aligning' for in-form McIlroy ahead of PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy believes "the stars are aligning" for him as he approaches this week's PGA Championship on the back of a fourth triumph at the Wells Fargo Championship.
McIlroy hauled in leader Xander Schauffele to win in Charlotte with a fine finish to his final round, surging clear with a run of four birdies and two eagles within eight holes.
That saw the Northern Irishman – who also won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2010, 2015 and 2021 – card a six-under 65 as he won by five shots.
Max Homa, in 2019 and 2022, is the only other player to have won the Wells Fargo Championship more than once.
McIlroy has now claimed back-to-back PGA Tour titles, having won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Shane Lowry last month.
With the PGA Championship beginning at Valhalla Golf Club on Thursday, the course where McIlroy captured his last major crown in 2014, he feels he is building up a head of steam.
"I really got some confidence winning in New Orleans with Shane," McIlroy said after his final round.
"Coming into this week, at a golf course I am comfortable with, my golf swing feels more comfortable than it has done.
"Going to a venue next week where I have won, it feels like the stars are aligning a little bit. But I have a lot of golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat.
"I am going into the next major of the year feeling really good about myself."
Even with a double bogey on the 18th hole, McIlroy played the final 11 holes at six under, leaving Schauffele with no way to respond.
"He's Rory McIlroy, you know?" Schauffele said. "He hits it 350 yards in the air downwind and he has shorter clubs into firm greens than anyone else.
"When he's on, he's on. Hats off to him for winning. He played unbelievably well."
McIlroy: Golf could learn from Northern Ireland peace process
Rory McIlroy has urged professional golf to find a "compromise" to the ongoing rift between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV circuit.
The world number two suggested they should follow the example of the Northern Ireland peace process, recalling the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a peace deal that helped to end the Troubles in his homeland.
McIlroy noted the advantages of a deal being reached soon while admitting that both golf tours would have to compromise in the process.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, McIlroy said: "I sort of liken it to like when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the '90s and the Good Friday Agreement. Neither side was happy.
"Catholics weren't happy, Protestants weren't happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?
"That was in 1998, and 20, 25, 30 years ahead, my generation doesn't know any different. It's just this is what it's always been like, and we've never known anything but peace.
"That's sort of my little way of trying to think about it and trying to make both sides see that there could be a compromise here.
"It's probably not going to feel great for either side, but if it's a place where the game of golf starts to thrive again, and we can all get back together, then I think that's ultimately a really good thing."
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