2016 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
The 2016 U.S. Open was the 116th time this major was played. But it was the first time that Dustin Johnson won a major championship.
Winner: Dustin Johnson, 276
Where it was played: Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Tournament dates: June 16-19, 2016
Leader after first round: Andrew Landry, 66
Leader after second round: Dustin Johnson, 136
Leader after third round: Shane Lowry, 203
What Happened at the 2016 U.S. Open Dustin Johnson played well through three rounds of the 2016 U.S. Open championship, shooting 67, 69 and 71. But it was Irishman Shane Lowry who led by four strokes over Johnson and Andrew Landry entering the final round.
Johnson had two birdies and a bogey on the front nine of the final round, while Lowry made no birdies and three bogeys on his first nine. So by the time Johnson reached the 12th tee, he was in the lead. But that's when a USGA official informed Johnson that rules officials would speak with him after the round about an incident that happened on the fifth green. The implication was that a penalty stroke might be applied — but nobody, not Johnson nor his competitors, would know until after the round.
That meant the leaders had to play the final holes not knowing for sure what Johnson's score was. And it brought back to mind several of Johnson's failures at previous majors when he had been in position to win:
- At the 2010 U.S. Open, Johnson led by three going into the final round, then shot 82.
- At the 2010 PGA Championship, Johnson led by one when he teed off his final hole. A bogey appeared to drop him into a playoff, until rules officials gave him a 2-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker on that final hole.
- At the 2015 U.S. Open, Johnson was tied for the lead as the final round began, and trailed by one as he played the final hole. He had a 12-footer for eagle that would have won him the tournament, but missed it — then also missed the 3-foot birdie putt and finished second.
Many of the golfers on the leaderboard seemed affected by the uncertainty of the possible penalty to Johnson hanging over the proceedings. Or maybe it was just the typical U.S. Open pressure. Either way, Johnson bogeyed the 14th. Lowry bogeyed the 14th, 15th and 16th. Jason Day, playing well ahead of the leaders, mounted a charge before sputtering late. Sergio Garcia was in the mix deep into the final round, but had his own string of three consecutive late birdies. Scott Piercy got within one before bogeys on 16 and 18.
When Johnson reached the 18th tee, he led by three (or was it just two?). Then he pounded a massive drive down the middle, hit a beauty of an approach to just a few feet from the cup, and rolled in the closing birdie putt.
He finally had that elusive major championship victory, and his 10th overall PGA Tour win. Following the round, the USGA did assess the 1-stroke penalty, but Johnson's margin of victory made it academic.
After shooting 76, Lowry finished tied with Piercy and Jim Furyk for second place. Lowry was the first golfer since Payne Stewart at the 1998 U.S. Open to start the final round leading by four or more and fail to win.
For Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open winner, it was the last of his 23 career Top 10 finishes in majors. Future major champ Bryson DeChambeau made his first U.S. Open start as a professional and tied for 15th place. Another future major winner, Jon Rahm, still an amateur, made his major championship debut here and earned low-amateur honors with a 23rd-place showing.
2016 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Dustin Johnson | 67-69-71-69—276 |
| Scott Piercy | 68-70-72-69—279 |
| Jim Furyk | 71-68-74-66—279 |
| Shane Lowry | 68-70-65-76—279 |
| Branden Grace | 73-70-66-71—280 |
| Sergio Garcia | 68-70-72-70—280 |
| Kevin Na | 75-68-69-69—281 |
| Daniel Summerhays | 74-65-69-74—282 |
| Jason Day | 76-69-66-71—282 |
| Zach Johnson | 71-69-71-71—282 |
| Jason Dufner | 73-71-68-70—282 |
| David Lingmerth | 72-69-75-67—283 |
| Kevin Streelman | 69-74-69-72—284 |
| Brooks Koepka | 75-69-72-68—284 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 71-70-70-74—285 |
| Andrew Landry | 66-71-70-78—285 |
| Brendan Steele | 71-71-70-73—285 |
| Sung Kang | 70-72-70-74—286 |
| Adam Scott | 71-69-72-74—286 |
| Gregory Bourdy | 71-67-75-73—286 |
| Graeme McDowell | 72-71-71-72—286 |
| Marc Leishman | 71-69-77-69—286 |
| Derek Fathauer | 73-69-70-75—287 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 76-68-69-74—287 |
| Yusaku Miyazato | 73-69-71-74—287 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 75-65-74-73—287 |
| Russell Knox | 70-71-73-73—287 |
| Andy Sullivan | 71-68-75-73—287 |
| Chris Wood | 75-70-71-71—287 |
| Byeong-Hun An | 74-70-73-70—287 |
| a-Jon Rahm | 76-69-72-70—287 |
| Billy Horschel | 72-74-66-76—288 |
| Rafael Cabrera-Bello | 74-70-69-75—288 |
| Justin Thomas | 73-69-73-73—288 |
| Ryan Moore | 74-72-72-70—288 |
| Lee Westwood | 67-72-69-80—288 |
| Daniel Berger | 70-72-70-77—289 |
| Harris English | 70-71-72-76—289 |
| Jordan Spieth | 72-72-70-75—289 |
| Jason Kokrak | 71-70-74-74—289 |
| Rob Oppenheim | 72-72-72-73—289 |
| Charley Hoffman | 72-74-70-73—289 |
| Danny Willett | 75-70-73-71—289 |
| Martin Kaymer | 73-73-72-71—289 |
| Angel Cabrera | 70-76-72-71—289 |
| Patrick Rodgers | 73-72-68-77—290 |
| Matt Kuchar | 71-72-71-76—290 |
| Matteo Manassero | 76-70-71-73—290 |
| Kevin Kisner | 73-71-71-76—291 |
| James Hahn | 73-71-75-72—291 |
| Bubba Watson | 69-76-72-75—292 |
| Bill Haas | 76-69-73-74—292 |
| Hideto Tanihara | 70-76-74-72—292 |
| Emiliano Grillo | 73-70-75-75—293 |
| Andrew Johnston | 75-69-75-74—293 |
| Matthew Fitzpatrick | 73-70-79-71—293 |
| Lee Slattery | 72-68-78-76—294 |
| Danny Lee | 69-77-74-74—294 |
| Cameron Smith | 71-75-70-79—295 |
| Brandon Harkins | 71-74-73-77—295 |
| Matt Marshall | 72-73-75-76—296 |
| Tim Wilkinson | 71-75-75-75—296 |
| Romain Wattel | 71-75-75-76—297 |
| Chase Parker | 75-70-72-81—298 |
| Spencer Levin | 73-72-77-77—299 |
| Ethan Tracy | 73-70-79-77—299 |
| Justin Hicks | 73-72-78-81—304 |
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