Tommy Fleetwood of England capitalized on scoring conditions at the Los Angeles Country Club and used two eagles to card a 7-under-par 63 in the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Fleetwood set the early lead in the clubhouse at 5-under 275, but more importantly, he became the first player in history to shoot 63 at the U.S. Open twice.
Fleetwood, 32, was 8 under par through 14 holes before finishing par-bogey-par-par. His approach shot at the par-4 18th hole rolled up to 5 feet of the pin, to set up the birdie attempt that would have given him the third 62 in U.S. Open history — all coming this week in Los Angeles.
But Fleetwood pushed that putt right of the cup, and he settled for 63.
In 2018, Fleetwood became the sixth golfer in history to shoot a 63 at the U.S. Open when he carded the number in the final round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island.
He tied the mark held by Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Vijay Singh of Fiji and Justin Thomas — and that record stood until Thursday, when Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele recorded opening rounds of 62 about 20 minutes apart.
Fleetwood finished second to Brooks Koepka at the 2018 U.S. Open.
“It’s a strange feeling — I think Shinnecock, obviously I was a bit more in contention coming down the stretch with that 63,” Fleetwood said on the NBC broadcast. “Today was just, it was amazing to be playing so well today and have the putts rolling.
“But,” he cracked, “it’s a stupid game when you leave two rounds that are 63 at a U.S. Open, both disappointed.”
On Sunday, Fleetwood drove the green at the short par-4 sixth hole and made a 6-foot eagle putt to kick his round into high gear. His other eagle came at the par-5 14th, after he’d already added four birdies to the card, when he reached the green in two shots and sank a 20-foot eagle putt.
Fleetwood has yet to win a major championship in his career, nor has the 21st-ranked player in the world won in North America. Six of his nine professional wins have come on the DP World Tour.
He also took a back seat to Nick Taylor last week in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open, when Taylor made an unbelievable 72-foot eagle putt to win on the fourth hole and become the first Canadian champion of the tournament since 1954.
–Field Level Media