Rd. 4 notes: Rahm finishes strong on Sunday at Oakmont

OAKMONT, Pa. – Two-time major winner Jon Rahm didn’t add to his total Sunday at the U.S. Open. But he did shoot a 3-under 67 in the final round at Oakmont.

And he did finish his week making three consecutive birdies.

Oh, and he’s likely headed for another top-10 finish in a major, which would be the 15th of his career and his second straight this season, a positive trend with The Open Championship approaching next month.

So ….

“I can’t be in a bad mood after that,” he said after finishing his four rounds at 4 over.

Even so, the Legion XIII captain couldn’t help but contemplate the what-ifs of a week that was encouraging at times but ultimately derailed with a second-round 5-over 75 in which he missed six putts between 5-10 feet. A double-bogey in Saturday’s third round also proved untimely.

“It was just one bad hole on 15 that made everything much worse,” he said. “Even the 5-over on Friday, that didn’t feel that different to maybe the last two rounds, right? But it’s a significant difference in the score.”

Indeed, it negated bookend rounds in the 60s, which Rahm certainly would’ve taken earlier in the week.

“A 100%,” said Rahm, whose tee-to-green play was outstanding, as he ranked inside the top 10 in both strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained approach.

“It’s been a good tournament. I just wish Friday I could have made any putts. That was the biggest mistake. If I had made any putts and had an acceptable round of a couple over, three over, it could’ve been a different look at the championship.”

REED’S OAKMONT LEGACY: 4Aces GC star Patrick Reed posted his lowest score of the week, an even-par 70, to finish the U.S. Open at 8 over and inside the top 30.

But his lasting legacy will be his first-round albatross at the par-5 fourth – just the fourth albatross in tournament history.

He said he’s watched the replay just once, after his round Thursday. He was curious how the ball tracked since he wasn’t able to see the shot live after he struck it.

“Can’t see the green, can’t see the flag,” Reed recalled. “So, I kind of wanted to see how it went in and all that. Yeah, it was about the best speed I’ve had all week. That rolled in perfectly.”

But for the most part, it was a frustrating week for Reed, who only missed four fairways in his final two rounds but converted just four birdie attempts.

“Felt like I played a lot better than my score reflected,” he said. “And you hate that, especially in majors.

“I wish the week as a whole was a little better than it turned out, but there's a lot of things I can take positive from it. The ball-striking was a lot better than it has been. And I finally got a new shaft of my driver, and I felt really confident with it. … Hit a lot of quality drives and that's all we really can do.”

Reaching the weekend did provide Reed with a measure of revenge. His only missed cut in a U.S. Open came nine years ago at Oakmont. When he finished his second round Friday with a bogey to fall to 7 under, he was outside the cutline at the point, until it eventually moved to 7 under.

“I was sitting there thinking, all right, well it just must be this place,” Reed said. “This might be my Achilles’ heel. And to get in on the weekend and really kind of have control of my golf ball yesterday and today like I did, and to shoot the scores I shot … just felt like I left a ton of shots out there on the weekend.”

As for the albatross? It’s a nice addition to Reed’s growing collection of memorable major shots. At the 2020 U.S. Open, he made an ace at Winged Foot.

“It's awesome,” he said. “Cool to have memories like that.”

KOEPKA ENDS WITH 71: Brooks Koepka suffered just two bogeys in an opening 68 that put him among the early contenders. Unfortunately for the Smash GC captain, the rest of his week was littered with bogeys, as he made 17 over the next three rounds.

His final-round 1-over 71 left him at 6 over for the tournament and a possible top-15 finish, which would be his best result in a major since winning the 2023 PGA Championship.