OAKMONT, Pa. — Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked player, simply never got it going this week.
Despite entering the U.S. Open as the overwhelming favorite to win, having won three of his previous four starts (including the PGA and the Memorial), Scheffler finished with an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish 4-over par and in a tie for seventh.
Scheffler, who leads the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance, had 17 of them (and a double), which is more than he has made in any PGA Tour event in his career.
“I felt like I did some good things out there,’’ Scheffler said. “A few more putts drop today, I think it’s a little different story. My first three days, I felt like I was battling the whole time. Today I hit some shots. I hit some putts that I really thought were going in, hit some lips. It was just challenging. I was just right on the edge today. I battled as hard as I did this week.’’
Tyrrell Hatton, who finished tied for fourth after bogeys on the final two holes to close at 3-over, was gutted afterward.
He got a bad break with a downhill lie near a bunker on 17, which halted his momentum.
“It was [a] pretty tough day,’’ Hatton said. “The finish at the end hurts a lot. What happened on 17 is going to hurt a lot for a long time. I’m sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. [Spaun, the winner], like to win a major in that fashion is amazing.’’
Among the five Met Area local players in the field — all of whom played the weekend — Cameron Young, who grew up playing his golf at Sleepy Hollow, pushed himself into contention early in his round with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 to get to 1-over par.
But he couldn’t maintain the momentum and finished 3-over and in a tie for fourth.
“I got off to a really nice start, then had no idea where the ball was going to go for about 12 holes,’’ Young said.
First-timer Ryan McCormick, from Middletown, N.J., finished 14-over for the week after shooting a 71, his low round of the tournament. And fellow first-timer James Nicholas, from Scarsdale, closed with a 77 to finish 19-over.
Fair Haven, N.J.’s Chris Gotterup, coming off a pair of 69s, never made a big push, shot 74 and finished 8-over. And Max Greyserman, from Short Hills, N.J., also shot 74 and finished 8-over.
Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy shot the low rounds of the day, at 3-under-par 67. Rahm finished 4-over, thanks to birdies on his final three holes.
“It’s crazy because it doesn’t feel like I played that different to every other round,’’ he said.
McIlroy finished 7-over, which ended an impressive streak of four consecutive U.S. Opens that he’s finished under par. McIlroy carded seven birdies in the first three rounds and six on Sunday.
This was the third consecutive U.S. Open at Oakmont in which the 54-hole leader failed to win.
Shane Lowry lost a four-shot lead to winner Dustin Johnson in 2016, and in 2007 Aaron Baddeley shot 80 in the final round after leading by two shots entering the day.
And on Sunday, Sam Burns, who took a one-shot lead into the final round, shot 78 and finished 4-over for the week.
Justin Hastings was the only one of 15 amateurs in the field to make the cut, so he was going to finish as the low amateur regardless of what he shot on the weekend. He finished 15-over par after Sunday’s final-round 76.
“It was such a treat just to be able to play in the U.S. Open and then let alone have the success to be able to call yourself low amateur, Hastings, a native of the Cayman Islands, said. “It’s something I’ll hold onto for the rest of my life.’’
Hastings earned his way into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open fields by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in January.
He said he plans to turn pro after the British Open next month, saying. “We want to get on the PGA Tour as soon as possible.’’
Canadian Corey Conners withdrew before his final round was to begin with a wrist injury.
The 33-year-old Conners, who was competing in his seventh U.S. Open, was scheduled to tee off at 10:20 a.m., paired with Ryan Fox, of New Zealand.
The par-3 eighth hole was playing 302 yards on Sunday, making it the longest par-3 in U.S. Open history.
“Luckily, it was downwind, I’ll just say that,’’ Rahm said. “How do you approach that? You most likely pull the head cover off one of the clubs and then hope it goes straight. Today, I chose to hit a 5-wood. I think 3-wood I could have landed it closer to pin high.’’
