2016 U.S. Open (golf)

The 2016 United States Open Championship was the 116th U.S. Open, held June 16–19 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont and Plum, Pennsylvania, suburbs northeast of Pittsburgh. Dustin Johnson won his first major championship.

Play was delayed on the first day due to heavy rainfall, forcing most of the field to play half a round behind schedule. Andrew Landry was a surprise leader after the first round before Johnson led the field in the second. Shane Lowry carded a 65 in the third round to take the overall lead into the final round. Despite a controversial penalty on the 5th green, Johnson took the title three strokes ahead of runners-up Lowry, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy.

This was the ninth U.S. Open at Oakmont and its twelfth major championship.

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Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

• 7,230 yards (6,611 m), par 70 - 2007 U.S. Open
• 6,946 yards (6,351 m), par 71 - 1994 U.S. Open
• 6,972 yards (6,375 m), par 71 - 1983 U.S. Open
• 6,989 yards (6,391 m), par 71 - 1978 PGA Championship
• 6,921 yards (6,329 m), par 71 - 1973 U.S. Open
• 6,894 yards (6,304 m), par 71 - 1962 U.S. Open
• 6,916 yards (6,324 m), par 72 - 1953 U.S. Open
• 6,882 yards (6,293 m), par 72 - 1951 PGA Championship
• 6,981 yards (6,383 m), par 72 - 1935 U.S. Open
• 6,965 yards (6,369 m), par 72 - 1927 U.S. Open
• 6,707 yards (6,133 m), par 74 - 1922 PGA Championship

Through 1994, the 9th hole was a par 5; before 1962, the 1st hole was also a par 5.

2016 yardages by round

• Scoring average: 73.5697
  • by round: 74.2436, 73.6037, 72.0298, 73.4630
• Most difficult holes in relation to par: 1, 9, 15, 10

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About half the field consisted of players who were exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. Each player is classified according to the first category in which he qualified, and other categories are shown in parentheses.

1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship during the last ten years

• Tiger Woods did not play.

2. Winner and runner-up of the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship

• Derek Bard (a)
• Bryson DeChambeau forfeited his exemption by turning professional in April 2016 but subsequently earned a spot through sectional qualifying.

3. Winner of the 2015 Amateur Championship

• Romain Langasque forfeited his exemption by turning professional in April 2016.

4. Winner of the 2015 Mark H. McCormack Medal (men's World Amateur Golf Ranking)

• Jon Rahm (a)

5. Winners of the Masters Tournament during the last five years

6. Winners of The Open Championship during the last five years

• Darren Clarke did not play.

7. Winners of the PGA Championship during the last five years

8. Winners of The Players Championship during the last three years

• Rickie Fowler (12,13,14)

9. Winner of the 2016 European Tour BMW PGA Championship

• Chris Wood (13,14)

10. Winner of the 2015 U.S. Senior Open Championship

• Jeff Maggert

11. The 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place at the 2015 U.S. Open Championship

12. Players who qualified for the season-ending 2015 Tour Championship

• Bae Sang-moon was unable to compete due to a military obligation in South Korea.

13. The top 60 point leaders and ties as of May 23, 2016 in the Official World Golf Ranking

• Thongchai Jaidee (14) did not play.

14. The top 60 point leaders and ties as of June 13, 2016 in the Official World Golf Ranking

• William McGirt

15. Special exemptions given by the USGA

• Retief Goosen

The remaining contestants earned their places through sectional qualifiers.

• Japan: Yuta Ikeda, Yūsaku Miyazato, Toru Taniguchi, Hideto Tanihara
• England: Matthew Baldwin, Grégory Bourdy, Søren Hansen, Peter Hanson, Andrew Johnston, Maximilian Kieffer, Mikael Lundberg, Matteo Manassero, Alex Norén, Lee Slattery, Sebastian Söderberg, Gary Stal, Romain Wattel
• United States

Daly City, California: Mark Anguiano (L), Brandon Harkins (L), Gregor Main (L), Justin Suh (a,L), Tyler Raber (L), Miguel Tabuena Jacksonville, Florida: Matt Borchert (L), Sam Horsfield (a), Aron Price, Tim Wilkinson Roswell, Georgia: Frank Adams III (L), Kent Bulle, Ryan Stachler (a,L) Rockville, Maryland: Billy Hurley III, Denny McCarthy, Chase Parker (L) Summit, New Jersey: Chris Crawford (a,L), Jim Herman, Justin Hicks, Michael Miller (L), Rob Oppenheim, Andy Pope Powell, Ohio: Jason Allred (L), Bryson DeChambeau, Luke Donald, Jason Kokrak, Spencer Levin, Carlos Ortiz, Patrick Rodgers, Scottie Scheffler (a), Richie Schembechler (L), Wes Short Jr. (L), Brendan Steele, Kevin Streelman, Ethan Tracy (L) Springfield, Ohio: Charlie Danielson (a), Nick Hardy (a), Kyle Mueller (a,L), Patrick Wilkes-Krier (L) Memphis, Tennessee: Sam Burns (a,L), Derek Fathauer, Andres Gonzales, J. J. Henry, Tom Hoge, Kang Sung-hoon, Andrew Landry (L), Dicky Pride, David Toms, D. J. Trahan Houston, Texas: Derek Chang (L), Austin Jordan (L), Kevin Tway Vancouver, Washington: T. J. Howe (L), Matt Marshall (L), Aaron Wise (L)

Alternates who gained entry:

• Thitiphun Chuayprakong (Japan) – replaced Tiger Woods
• Jeev Milkha Singh (England) – replaced Thongchai Jaidee
• Thomas Aiken (Memphis) – replaced Darren Clarke
• Zach Edmondson (L, Jacksonville) – claimed spot held for category 14
• Tony Finau (Springfield) – claimed spot held for category 14
• Kevin Foley (L, Summit) – claimed spot held for category 14
• Daniel Summerhays (Powell) – claimed spot held for category 14
• Mike Van Sickle (L, Rockville) – claimed spot held for category 14

(a) denotes amateur

(L) denotes player advanced through local qualifying

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Play was suspended three times during the morning wave of players, all for dangerous weather conditions. At 4:40 pm EDT, play was called for the day with the second wave of players yet to tee off. Only three groups, nine players, finished their first rounds. Andrew Landry, who was ranked 624th in the world and had to go through local and sectional qualifiers, was the leader at 3 under par, with a birdie putt on his last hole, hole 9. Amateur Scottie Scheffler was the leader in the clubhouse at 1 under par.

*Started on hole 10

Friday, June 17, 2016

After more rain overnight, nearly three inches (7.5 cm) total since Wednesday, play resumed at 7:30 am under mostly sunny skies and the round was completed shortly after 3 pm. Landry, the overnight leader, had a cushy end to his round: he only brought his putter to the course, to which he sank his birdie putt to lead at 4-under par. He would not play another hole for the rest of the day (see round 2).

Friday, June 17, 2016

Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:43 pm with 27 players of the first wave still on the course and the second wave of players yet to tee off. Dustin Johnson completed his round and was tied for the lead with Andrew Landry, who had not started his second round yet, at 4 under par.

*Completed their second round on Saturday (had not yet started second round)

Saturday, June 18, 2016

The 27 members of the first wave resumed their rounds and the second wave began theirs at 7 am. The second round was completed after 2 pm; 67 players made the cut at 146 (+6) or better.

Amateurs: Rahm (+5), Scheffler (+7), Suh (+8), Burns (+9), Horsfield (+9), Hardy (+10), Mueller (+10), Crawford (+12), Bard (+15), Danielson (+19), Stachler (+24)

Saturday, June 18, 2016

The round began at 3 pm, on split tees in groupings of three; the final grouping of Dustin Johnson, Andrew Landry, and Scott Piercy teed off at 5:01 pm and completed 13 holes. Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:49 pm with Shane Lowry as the overnight leader at 5 under par, through 14 holes.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Play resumed at 7 am and Shane Lowry birdied 15 and 17 for a round of 65 (−5) to extend his lead to four strokes. Andrew Landry bogeyed 14 and 15, but birdied 17 and 18 to move into the final pairing. Daniel Summerhays birdied 15 and eagled 17 to climb into a tie for fourth. After 54 holes, the top eight players on the leaderboard were all seeking their first major title.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Play in the final round began at 10 am, in pairs from the first hole, with the final pair of Shane Lowry and Andrew Landry starting at 3:30 pm. Dustin Johnson shot a 69 and won his first major, three shots ahead of three runners-up. After finishing at five under par, Johnson was penalized a shot as he was judged to have made his ball move as he addressed it on the fifth green, despite being initially absolved of wrongdoing. His score was amended to four under par, but he still finished three strokes ahead. The top four of the leaderboard were the only ones left under par.

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Final round

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

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During the final round of the tournament, there was a controversial incident on the fifth green that involved eventual winner Dustin Johnson. As he prepared to address the ball for a par putt, his ball moved slightly. Johnson stepped away, saying that he had not addressed the ball. After he spoke to an on-site rules official, he was told to carry on with his shot and sank the putt. Later, on the 12th tee, an official informed him that he might be penalized a stroke, but that no decision would be made until the round was complete. The penalty was ultimately assessed against Johnson which still left him three strokes ahead of three second-place finishers. Several of the world's top golfers, such as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler, as well as many viewers on their local Fox stations and spectators at the course, took to social media to criticize the USGA for its decision.

For the second year, Fox Sports televised the championship in the United States. The first two rounds were on FS1 cable and over-the-air on Fox, with the last two rounds shown only on Fox. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was carried by Sky Sports.

• Official website
• United States Golf Association
• Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site
• Coverage on the PGA of America's official site
• Oakmont Country Club – official site