Bryson DeChambeau won his second career U.S. Open by a single stroke over Rory McIlroy on Sunday. He’ll take home a major championship record $4.3 million for his victory.
The last time DeChambeau won the U.S. Open was during the pandemic, when he walked to the 18th green to near silence due to the absence of fans. On Sunday, the crowd roared for the fan favorite as he sank a putt to save par and win the championship. He has 1.2 million Instagram followers.
Both DeChambeau and McIlroy were among the betting favorites going into the tournament, with identical 10-to-1 odds to win prior to the first round and were neck-and-neck throughout Sunday’s back nine. McIlroy didn’t miss a putt inside of five feet during his first 69 holes but failed to convert two such putts in the last three holes to lose his lead.
DeChambeau missed the fairway on his drive on the 18th hole, and then hit his second shot into a bunker. It appeared that audiences would be treated to just the second major championship playoff in the past seven years, but DeChambeau got up and down for the win.
DeChambeau, who moved from the PGA Tour to the upstart LIV Golf tour in 2022, was not one of the 10 golfers on Sportico’s list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in 2023, but his performance last year generated $18 million in a 12-month span.
DeChambeau’s haul for winning at Pinehurst No. 2 is more than the $3.6 million Scottie Scheffler earned at the Masters and the $3.3 million Xander Schauffele won at the PGA Championship.
The total purse for the event was $21.5 million, up from $20 million last year. McIlroy, who ended the tournament at 5-under par, snagged $2.32 million for finishing in second place, while Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau tied at 4-under for the third place prize of $1.23 million. Everyone inside the top 10 earned at least $500,000.
The victory for DeChambeau came on Father’s Day, roughly two years after the 30-year-old’s dad died. At the trophy presentation, DeChambeau told NBC he was dedicating the victory to his father.
