US Open - Cameron Smith "I am Speechless." (Golf Master Tips) - There was no fairytale US Open finish for Jason Day on Monday (AEST), as the gritty Australian missed out on a first major but won a host of admirers for battling on after collapsing on the course.
The Queenslander struggled through the final round to finish tied for ninth, in a big day for Australian golfers with five players in the top 18 or ties, including Adam Scott and newcomer Cameron Smith tied for fourth.
Just completing 72 holes on the punishing Chambers Bay layout was being hailed as a major victory by many after Day sent a scare through the galleries on Saturday (AEST) when he dropped to the ground on his final hole of the second round.
Suffering from vertigo, Day had to be treated on course and helped to his feet, grimly hanging on to complete the hole before collapsing again.
There was concern the world number 10 would have to withdraw but Day dug deep and fought to the very end to sign off with a 4-over 74 to tie for ninth, five shots behind winner Jordan Spieth.
"I'm just glad that I got it in on the weekend," Day told reporters as he made his way off the course.
Playing in the final pair with big-hitting American Dustin Johnson, Day appeared unsteady and fatigued in the final round, managing to hang on at the top of the leaderboard until his round began to unravel with a bogey at the fourth.
The 27-year-old Queenslander answered with a birdie five but that was followed by two bogeys. There was more trouble after the turn with a bogey at 10 and a double-bogey at 13, but Day refused to throw in the towel collecting his final birdie at the 16th.
"Not bad considering," said Day. "I started feeling a lot better after the 12th hole.
"I think I hit 13 greens and just didn't capitalise at all on the stuff that I had. It's unfortunate because I felt like I gave myself enough opportunities.
"If you don't hole those, it doesn't go your way."
Day did not announce his future plans but is expected to return to his home base in Columbus, Ohio, where he will rest and undergo treatment.
Scott fires final round 64 to fall short of playoff
Adam Scott celebrates with caddie Steve Williams after the final round of the 2015 US Open.
PHOTO: Adam Scott marked the return of his partnership with caddie Steve Williams with the equal second-lowest final round in US Open history. (AFP: Ross Kinnaird)
Adam Scott threw the cat amongst the pigeons on Monday (AEST), shooting the equal second-lowest final round score in US Open history that left him just two shots back.
The former world number one shot a flawless 6-under 64, moving him to 3-under for the championship.
Scott's tie for fourth represented his best ever US Open finish and sends him towards the British Open in St Andrews next month full of confidence.
"I feel like I had nothing to lose today and everything to gain," he said after the round. "I knew I was playing well and I just couldn't quite put it all together the first three days. I really wanted to today.
"To be honest, it's the kind of round I needed to get things going for me this year, hopefully.
Scott's return to form coincided with caddie Steve Williams' return on his bag.
"We make a good team and we've had some success together in big events and it was great to get that back again today," he said.
"We had fun out there and I hope that continues for the remainder of the season."
Smith's cool eagle on the last hole at Chambers Bay is set to send his golf career into the stratosphere.
The 21-year-old majors debutant drilled a 265-metre three wood shot to the 18th green and saw it stop within a foot of the flag before tapping in for the eagle that secured him a share of fourth place.
The result ensured Smith can take up temporary membership on the US PGA Tour for the remainder of the season, giving him unlimited sponsor invitations to earn his card for the 2015-16 season.
Given the $524,460 he earned at Chambers Bay brings his season total to $1.05 million, he is already all but guaranteed a spot on the main tour next season.
His finish also brings the Brisbane boy invitations to the Masters and US Open next year and it should also lift him into the top 100 in the world rankings.
"I'm speechless," said Smith. "I just want to sort of sit in the hotel room and let it all absorb. "That sounds pretty good, though, doesn't it?"
"It was spine-tingling, it was crazy," he said of his shot on the last. "I said to my caddie Dan on the tee, `Do we have a shot at getting there (in two shots)?'.
"He said, `If you hit a good drive', so I hit a really good drive, ended up just short of the bunker on the uphill slope which helped a lot. It was just a perfect 3-wood (position). And I hit it and it went a lot closer than I thought it was going to go."
Despite playing in his first major, Smith went into the last round three off the lead and he believed he could have contended for the title had he putted just a little better.
"I thought I could definitely compete and if I could get my way around the golf course pretty good, I'd sort of thought I had a shot," he said. "It wasn't to be but I'm happy with where I finished, for sure."
The other Australians to finish were John Senden, who tied for 14th on 2-over, Geoff Ogilvy, who ended the tournament on 3-over, tied for 18th and Marcus Fraser, whose four-round total was 13-over, tied for 64th. (Latest Golf News article source: Reuters/AAP)
The Queenslander struggled through the final round to finish tied for ninth, in a big day for Australian golfers with five players in the top 18 or ties, including Adam Scott and newcomer Cameron Smith tied for fourth.
Just completing 72 holes on the punishing Chambers Bay layout was being hailed as a major victory by many after Day sent a scare through the galleries on Saturday (AEST) when he dropped to the ground on his final hole of the second round.
Suffering from vertigo, Day had to be treated on course and helped to his feet, grimly hanging on to complete the hole before collapsing again.
There was concern the world number 10 would have to withdraw but Day dug deep and fought to the very end to sign off with a 4-over 74 to tie for ninth, five shots behind winner Jordan Spieth.
"I'm just glad that I got it in on the weekend," Day told reporters as he made his way off the course.
Playing in the final pair with big-hitting American Dustin Johnson, Day appeared unsteady and fatigued in the final round, managing to hang on at the top of the leaderboard until his round began to unravel with a bogey at the fourth.
The 27-year-old Queenslander answered with a birdie five but that was followed by two bogeys. There was more trouble after the turn with a bogey at 10 and a double-bogey at 13, but Day refused to throw in the towel collecting his final birdie at the 16th.
"Not bad considering," said Day. "I started feeling a lot better after the 12th hole.
"I think I hit 13 greens and just didn't capitalise at all on the stuff that I had. It's unfortunate because I felt like I gave myself enough opportunities.
"If you don't hole those, it doesn't go your way."
Day did not announce his future plans but is expected to return to his home base in Columbus, Ohio, where he will rest and undergo treatment.
Scott fires final round 64 to fall short of playoff
Adam Scott celebrates with caddie Steve Williams after the final round of the 2015 US Open.
PHOTO: Adam Scott marked the return of his partnership with caddie Steve Williams with the equal second-lowest final round in US Open history. (AFP: Ross Kinnaird)
Adam Scott threw the cat amongst the pigeons on Monday (AEST), shooting the equal second-lowest final round score in US Open history that left him just two shots back.
The former world number one shot a flawless 6-under 64, moving him to 3-under for the championship.
Scott's tie for fourth represented his best ever US Open finish and sends him towards the British Open in St Andrews next month full of confidence.
"I feel like I had nothing to lose today and everything to gain," he said after the round. "I knew I was playing well and I just couldn't quite put it all together the first three days. I really wanted to today.
"To be honest, it's the kind of round I needed to get things going for me this year, hopefully.
Scott's return to form coincided with caddie Steve Williams' return on his bag.
"We make a good team and we've had some success together in big events and it was great to get that back again today," he said.
"We had fun out there and I hope that continues for the remainder of the season."
Smith's cool eagle on the last hole at Chambers Bay is set to send his golf career into the stratosphere.
The 21-year-old majors debutant drilled a 265-metre three wood shot to the 18th green and saw it stop within a foot of the flag before tapping in for the eagle that secured him a share of fourth place.
The result ensured Smith can take up temporary membership on the US PGA Tour for the remainder of the season, giving him unlimited sponsor invitations to earn his card for the 2015-16 season.
Given the $524,460 he earned at Chambers Bay brings his season total to $1.05 million, he is already all but guaranteed a spot on the main tour next season.
His finish also brings the Brisbane boy invitations to the Masters and US Open next year and it should also lift him into the top 100 in the world rankings.
"I'm speechless," said Smith. "I just want to sort of sit in the hotel room and let it all absorb. "That sounds pretty good, though, doesn't it?"
"It was spine-tingling, it was crazy," he said of his shot on the last. "I said to my caddie Dan on the tee, `Do we have a shot at getting there (in two shots)?'.
"He said, `If you hit a good drive', so I hit a really good drive, ended up just short of the bunker on the uphill slope which helped a lot. It was just a perfect 3-wood (position). And I hit it and it went a lot closer than I thought it was going to go."
Despite playing in his first major, Smith went into the last round three off the lead and he believed he could have contended for the title had he putted just a little better.
The other Australians to finish were John Senden, who tied for 14th on 2-over, Geoff Ogilvy, who ended the tournament on 3-over, tied for 18th and Marcus Fraser, whose four-round total was 13-over, tied for 64th. (Latest Golf News article source: Reuters/AAP)
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