Numbers to Know: U.S. Open

Welcome to Numbers to Know, where we’ll take a closer look at Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open victory. Here’s the key stats to remember from a groundbreaking week. 1. UNPRECEDENTED: Is DeChambeau ushering in a new era of golf? That is up for debate, but there’s no debating that he won the U.S. Open in a manner that’s never been done before. He had the highest driving-distance average, and the lowest driving-accuracy percentage, ever recorded by a U.S. Open champion (since hole-by-hole data became available starting in 1983). DeChambeau, who finished seventh in driving distance at Winged Foot, is the fifth consecutive U.S. Open champion to finish in the top seven in driving distance. DeChambeau is just the second U.S. Open winner since 1983 to hit less than half his fairways. Angel Cabrera also did it in 2007. 2. LONG BALL: Let’s not oversimplify things. You need to be highly-skilled in several facets of the game to win any golf tournament, let alone a major. That’s especially true when the USGA sets up one of the game’s classic courses in its traditionally tough manner. But having high clubhead speed is a major advantage in these instances, and we’ve seen it in the past five U.S. Opens. Four of the last five U.S. Open winners ranked in the top 10 in driving distance in the season that they won. Even if they miss more fairways, hitting it farther allows a player to have shorter clubs from the rough and their high clubhead speed helps them power it out of the thick stuff. 3. THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: DeChambeau’s incredible distance came in especially handy at the par-5 ninth hole. He eagled it twice, in the second and fourth rounds. He hit pa short-iron both times. On Friday, he hit a pitching wedge from 179 yards to 6 feet. He had just 182 yards to the hole Sunday and hit that shot to 40 feet. He’s the first U.S. Open champion since Tiger Woods in 2008 to make multiple eagles. Woods and DeChambeau are the only U.S. Open winners since 1983 to make multiple eagles. DeChambeau was the only player this week to make more than one eagle. 4. LINE OF DEMARCATION: DeChambeau’s transformation has received major validation. His win at the U.S. Open was preceded by a fourth-place finish at the PGA Championship. He’d never had a top-10 in a major before this year. 5. X MARKS THE SPOT: Xander Schauffele finished fifth at the U.S. Open. It was another high finish in one of the four Grand Slam events. He’s finished in the top 10 in seven of his 13 career major starts. That includes five top-5 finishes. It’s the second-most top-fives in majors since 2017, trailing only Brooks Koepka. All Schauffele needs now is a win. Dustin Johnson (T6), Rory McIlroy (T8) and Tony Finau (T8) all finished in the top 10 at Winged Foot, as well, continuing their strong play at the majors.

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