Wednesday 10 June 2015 18:58, UK
Martin Kaymer completed a commanding performance to win the US Open at Pinehurst No 2 by eight shots and secure his second major title.
The German, who had opened with back-to-back 65s to record the lowest 36-hole start in US Open history, carded a classy final round 69 to finish on nine-under and leave the field trailing in his wake.
Eric Compton (72) and Rickie Fowler (72) finished joint runners-up on one-under and were the only two other players to finish under par in a tournament dominated by former world No 1 Kaymer from start to finish.
Keegan Bradley (67), Jason Day (68), Brooks Koepka (71), Dustin Johnson (73) and Henrik Stenson (73) finished tied fourth on one-over.
Although a relatively easier course set-up to Saturday’s ultra-tough third round gave Kaymer's closest rivals some hope, all the best scores came from further down the pack. And it meant the German, whose first major came in the 2010 US PGA, was never troubled as he produced a masterclass on how to close out victory.
Kaymer's overnight lead of five shots was temporarily reduced to four when he bogeyed the seventh and Compton made birdie at eight but that was as close as anyone got.
A Kaymer birdie at the ninth extended his lead to six shots at the turn after Compton had bogeyed the same hole and, despite a bogey six at the 10th, the back nine turned into a victory lap.
He increased his advantage to seven when he rolled in a 12 foot birdie putt at the 13th and nailed another from 20 feet at the 14th to stretch it to eight.
A bogey at 16 made no difference and Kaymer closed out with two pars to become only the seventh wire-to-wire winner in the history of the US Open.
It also made him the first German winner of the tournament and the fourth European in the last five years after Ryder Cup team-mates Graeme McDowell (2010), Rory McIlroy (2011) and Justin Rose (2013).
Stenson would have overtaken Adam Scott as world No 1 by claiming his first major title, as long as Scott finished outside the top four (the Aussie finished ninth). But with Kaymer in such dominant form that was never going to happen.
Defending champion Justin Rose had conceded he was playing for second place after starting the day nine shots off the lead, but an eagle from 25 feet on the fifth lifted him to one under par for the tournament and with hope of finishing runner-up.
It was a struggle after that though as he racked up six bogeys but the Englishman ended the tournament on a nice note as he copied the late Payne Stewart’s victory celebration from 1999 as he holed a very similar 15 foot putt on the final green to secure a share of 12th place.
England's Matt Fitzpatrick brought the curtain down on his stellar amateur career in style with a closing 69. The 19-year-old from Sheffield, who finished tied 48th, now heads straight to Cork to make his professional debut in the Irish Open at Fota Island.
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson completed frustrating weeks with rounds of 73 and 72 respectively.
McIlroy, the 2011 US Open champion, finished in tied 23rd while MIckelson, a six-time runner-up in his home Open, was a short further back on seven-over which left him down in 28th.
Former Masters champion Zach Johnson produced the shot of the day as he recorded the first hole-in-one of the week on the ninth, his tee shot pitching well left of the flag but catching a slope and rolling 20 feet into the hole.
