5 Biggest US Open Wins

Winning a Major in golf is not easy, but these five individuals ended up cruising to victory at the US Open.

Sergio Garcia teeing off in Spain.

The 2023 US Open will be held at Los Angeles Golf Club in California, starting on June 15, and Matt Fitzpatrick will be the defending champion.

Here is a list of the five biggest winning margins at the Major in the modern era.

Bryson DeChambeau (2020) – 6 shots

Big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau claimed his first Major at Winged Foot in New York when his final round of 67 was three better than anyone else in the field.

That helped him to a six-shot margin of victory, but that was a huge surprise as he had started the day two shots behind Matthew Wolff, who was making his tournament debut.

However, DeChambeau proved too hot and a glittering future beckoned, but it hasn’t really turned out like that.

His previous best finish at the US Open in five attempts had been 15th and he has posted just one top 10 in eight Majors since.

Tony Jacklin (1970) – 7 shots

Tony Jacklin had won the Open the previous year and he led at Hazeltine in Minnesota from start to finish.

Treacherous conditions meant only seven players broke 75 on the opening day but Jacklin relished the win and hit 71, which he followed with three rounds of 70 to beat nearest challenger Dave Hill.

Jacklin became the first European to win the US Open and it would be a wait of another 40 years for the next one when Graeme McDowell won at Pebble Beach. The next English success would come from Justin Rose three years later.

Rory McIlroy (2011) – 8 shots

It has only been a couple of months since Rory McIlroy had squandered a four-shot lead at the Masters, but he was in no mood to let lightning strike twice at Congressional Country Club in Maryland.

McIlroy established a three-shot lead after the first round as he looked to secure his first Major and he had doubled that lead by the end of round two.

Any hope of catching the Northern Irishman looked to have gone by the time he ended the third round with an eight-shot advantage, which he maintained until the close of the tournament.

His 16-under-par 268 was the lowest 72-hole in the tournament’s history.

Martin Kaymer (2014) – 8 shots

Germany’s Martin Kaymer was another player who led wire to wire and he set a record for the first two rounds after he carded 130 shots with a couple of 65s.

He established a three-shot lead on the first day when he was five-under-par and the average score at Pinehurst in North Carolina was three-over.

Things were tougher at the weekend as Kaymer slipped to a two-over-par 72 on the Saturday but he held his nerve on the final day as Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton became the only other players to break par for the tournament.

Tiger Woods (2000) – 15 shots

Tiger Woods’s triumph at Pebble Beach in 2000 remains the greatest margin of victory in any Major tournament and gave him his first US Open triumph.

While his fellow competitors struggled with the windy conditions, Woods had no such concerns and it was perhaps fitting that he made such a statement in what was Jack Nicklaus’s final US Open.

Woods benefitted from an early tee-time for the first round and had a one-shot lead, but he was not affected by having to finish his second round on Sunday morning, and he took a six-shot lead into the final two rounds.

He ended the third round 10 ahead, despite a triple bogey on his third hole and as his rivals toiled, he carded a closing 67 to cruise to victory.

A vastly experienced journalist, Ian has worked the beat on a number of local newspapers and covers a number of different sports for the Racing Post
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