LOS ANGELES – Tommy Fleetwood hit a 63 in the final round of the US Open for the second time in five years.
Fleetwood missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole on Sunday that would have given him a 62 and a share of this course’s new single-round record. Rickie Fowler and Xander Schavelli each shot 62 on Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club.
However, the 32-year-old English golfer is still part of an exclusive group. He became the fourth player to make multiple runs of 63 at Grand Slams, joining Greg Norman (1986 US Open and 1996 Masters), Vijay Singh (1993 PGA Championship and 2003 US Open) and Brooks Koepka, who did so in both 2018 and 2018. 2019 PGA Championships.
Fleetwood climbed up the leaderboard with his tumultuous final run, finishing at 5-under 275.
“On Sunday you want to get as good as you can and I just happen to be playing very well and got a momentum in my side,” Fleetwood said. “I hit some amazing golf putts.”
He had a remarkably similar Sunday in the final round in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, becoming the sixth player in US Open history to shoot a 63, matching the tournament record at the time.
Fleetwood missed an 8-foot putt on the final hole at Shinnecock that would have led to the first 62 in US Open history and eventual two-legged playoff with winner Koepka.
“I just want to be higher on the leaderboard coming into Sunday and then have another day like today,” said Fleetwood. “It’s a nice little piece of history, of course it is. And you could be disappointed with what I didn’t get out today, but I think having something like that and shooting several 63s on a mission… where you can put it in the memory bank and know you can get rounds And that your game can stand up on a big golf course and shoot low is really nice.”
Fleetwood started the final round in Los Angeles 12 shots back in 2, and performed nearly four hours ahead of teammates Fowler and Windham Clark. In pleasant conditions under a heavy offshore coat, Fleetwood barely missed a 5-foot putt on the first hole, but then made early birdie and shot the 4-foot putt by putting the 286-yard putt at 6-foot .
Fleetwood made three birdies in four holes around the turn before making an eagle on the 5-14 14th, hitting his second putt 276 yards on the green and holed a 20-foot putt. He only slowed when he missed the par-4 16th, sending his tee shot into a fairway bunker and leaving a short 24-foot 2-inch.
His approach to 210 yards on the 18th was great, but his birdie putt went past the hole on the right.
Fleetwood said he “never felt conflicted” Sunday in Los Angeles.
He added, “I think that was one of the differences between today and Shinnecock, really.” “Shinnecock, once I got halfway through the back nine, I had a chance. So I had a longer period where I was trying to win one of the main positions, whereas today it was more about shooting the best score I could, and I was enjoying it and believing in my game.”
In other ways, Fleetwood’s round repeated his efforts in 2018. Playing on generous Shinnecock greens watered overnight after it was very dry on Saturday, Fleetwood putt a 56-foot putt on the second hole and eventually scored a round so impressive that he finished with just one stroke. Behind Koepka after the start of Day 6 was the lead.
No one else in the LACC field has shredded the North Course as impressively as Fleetwood on Sunday, though Austin Eckrot shot a 65.
Fleetwood has never won on the PGA Tour, but has recorded top five finishes in three of the four majors, including a distant runner-up to Shane Lowry at the 2019 British Open.
The LACC’s No. 63 Fleetwood was too late to win, but it probably made it a big change. The top 19 players at the US Open have earned more than $250,000, while the top nine have earned more than $500,000. The finish would also help him move up the European Ryder Cup standings.