'He just imploded': Bryson DeChambeau in ugly US Open meltdown

No two holes better summed up Bryson's DeChambeau's epic final round collapse at the US Open than his near-hole-in-one at the eighth and his shambolic quadruple-bogey at the 17th.

On a dramatic final round at Torrey Pines that saw Jon Rahm clinch a history-making victory, DeChambeau's chances of defending his title went up in smoke in a disastrous back nine.

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Starting the final round in fourth, two birdies on the front nine left the bulked up DeChambeau with the outright lead heading into the turn.

The second of those birdies was arguably the shot of the day at the par-three eighth that came within a whisker of giving him a second career hole-in-one.

DeChambeau's laser like tee shot hit the green and tricked towards the pin, before pulling up agonisingly short of the cup for a tap-in birdie.

However, the big-hitting American's bid to become only the third player in 70 years to win back-to-back US Open titles unravelled after an inexplicable back-nine collapse.

It started with back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12 as the 27-year-old opted for sheer power but struggled to hit his tee shots straight.

A disastrous double bogey on the par-five 13th followed, punctuated by a scantily clad streaker who ran onto the course and proceeded to hit a couple of balls before being tackled by security.

Things got even weirder for DeChambeau when one of his wayward shots landed next to a carton of beer near one of the green-side galleries.

The drama was far from over for the American though, with his biggest implosion yet to come.

That unfortunate moment came at the 17th as DeChambeau's went from bad to worse, to downright awful.

DeChambeau blasted his tee shot into the hazard left of the 17th fairway, where he was forced to take a drop.

The reigning champion's third shot landed short of the green but an astonishing shank left him in a further spot of bother.

DeChambeau's fifth came up short again, his sixth found the green, before he two-putted for a quadruple-bogey 8.

It added up to a career-worst eight-over 44 on the back-nine and a 77 that saw him plummet from the lead at one stage to a tie for 26th.

“I don't know if we’ve seen anything like this. A guy on the back nine, trying to make it back-to-back US Opens. He’s just imploded,” one of the commentators remarked as fans reacted to the chaos on social media.

"Unfortunately, just had bad break after bad break happen," DeChambeau said after the round.

"It is what it is. It’s golf, it’s life... I just didn’t have full confidence in my swing and I got some unlucky lies down the stretch.”

Rahm makes history in fairytale win

There were no such worries for Rahm as the 26-year-old claimed his maiden major title to become Spain's first ever winner of the US Open.

Two weeks after testing positive to COVID-19, Rahm completed the fairytale with two monumental birdie putts at 17 and 18.

Rahm posted a closing four-under-par 67 to finish with a six-under 278 total and consign Louis Oosthuizen to his sixth major championship runner-up finish.

Rahm birdied his final two holes to match the lowest round of the day and snatch victory by a shot from third-round co-leader Oosthuizen.

Trailing Oosthuizen by a shot when he stepped to the 17th tee, Rahm tied for the lead with a 24-foot birdie putt on the par-4.

He hit his second shot on the par-5 18th hole into a bunker right of the green and blasted it out to 18 feet.

Rahm curled the putt into the hole and pumped his fist as the crowd roared.

His 12th professional victory returned him to No.1 in the world on his first Father's Day since son Kepa was born before the Masters.

The victory comes three weeks after 26-year-old Rahm tested positive for COVID-19 and had to pull out of the Memorial with a six-shot lead.

"I'm a big believer in karma," Rahm said when interviewed immediately after the win by NBC.

"After what happened a couple of weeks ago, I stayed really positive, knowing big things were coming.

"I didn't know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place, I know I got my breakthrough win here, and it's a very special place for my family.

"The fact my parents were able to come, I got out of Covid protocol early, I just felt like the stars were aligning.

"I can't even believe I made the first two putts!

"This was definitely for Seve. I know he tried a lot, and wanted to win this one most of all."

with agencies

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