The 6 Biggest Near Misses At The US Open Over The Last 20 Years

The US Open is known as the toughest test in golf and it's certainly been a tough test to get over the line in, with several heartbreaking near misses over the last 20 tournaments.

We're looking back at the last two decades as it's almost 20 years since one of the most dramatic final days in US Open history, with complete carnage down the closing stretch at Winged Foot in 2006.

But that's not the only one, as even just last year served us up an epic, crushing finish for Rory McIlroy, while a decade ago at Chambers Bay Dustin Johnson suffered a similar fate.

Throw in Tommy Fleetwood shooting 63 and still coming unstuck among others and the last 20 US Opens have been filled with hard luck stories and heartbreaking close calls.

Here's our pick of the bunch.

Rory McIlroy - 2024

Just a year ago Rory McIlroy suffered one of the most agonising near misses at the US Open with his epic late collapse at Pinehurst No.2.

Bryson DeChambeau had to dial up a bit of magic himself with a stunning bunker shot, but the damage was self-inflicted from McIlroy, as he missed putts of two and three feet on 16 and 18 to lose his grip on the title.

He also bogeyed 15 after hitting the wrong club and flying the green, and he admitted that he got distracted by watching and hearing what DeChambeau was doing just behind him.

With McIlroy still waiting to break his Major drought at that time and having done the hard work by erasing a three-shot deficit at the start of the final round, it was a massive sucker punch and many thought he'd never come back from that....

Dustin Johnson - 2015

Like McIlroy, Dustin Johnson can look to his putter for the reason he didn't win the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay, after his catastrophic display on the 18th green on Sunday.

Johnson stood on the par-5 18th tee one shot behind Jordan Spieth, but found the green in two and left himself with 12 feet left to make a putt and lift the US Open trophy.

He missed the eagle putt but left just three feet for birdie and a playoff, but then missed that one too! So in the blink of an eye he'd gone from a chance of winning to losing to Spieth by a stroke.

Montgomerie & Mickelson - 2006

Sunday's final round of the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot remains one of the most enthralling in the tournament's history - as both Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson came up short when both needed just a par on the last to win.

Monty canned an epic 75-foot putt on the 17th for birdie and then found the 18th fairway leaving a four for the win pretty likely and a bogey for a playoff a worst case scenario.

However, he pulled out the 7-iron, which proved a club short and found the greenside rough before he then three-putted for a double bogey - leaving Geoff Ogilvy in the lead.

Surely Mickelson, who had won the last two consecutive Majors (2005 PGA Championship and 2006 Masters) could do better? Actually he played the hole even worse but still matched Montgomerie's six.

He carved his tee shot off a hospitality tent, hit a tree with his second, got plugged in a bunker with his third then took three from there - pure carnage in the one Major to elude Mickelson and cost him the career Grand Slam.

Tommy Fleetwood - 2018

You can't really criticize Tommy Fleetwood's storming final round at the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, but he fell just one stroke short of a stunning comeback and record round.

As the Englishmam missed an eight-foot putt on the 18th that would've given him the first ever round of 62 in the US Open and forced a playoff with Brooks Koepka - who bogeyed the last but won his second successive US Open by a single stroke.

So although shooting 63 to come storming back from six shots adrift at the start of the round, Fleetwood's brave effort was still tinged with disappointment after coming within eight feet of history.

Rory McIlroy - 2023

Rory McIlroy tasted back-to-back disappointments at the US Open - although his one-shot loss to Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 was more frustrating than heartbreaking.

McIlroy started the day a shot back and ended the round in exactly the same spot as both he and Clark shot level-par 70s, although in contrasting style.

McIlroy's only birdie came on the opening hole, and while Clark pulled ahead then dropped back, he always managed to keep his nose in front - with the turning point being the 14th hole as Clark made birdie while McIlroy dropped a shot on the par-5.

Clark made consecutive bogeys on 15 and 16 to dangle the dream in front of McIlroy again, but he just wasn't able to force the issue to find a late birdie.

Shane Lowry - 2016

This one flies under the radar a bit as Oakmont in 2016 saw Dustin Johnson win his first Major title amid a rules controversy that saw him given a one-shot penalty after his round.

Shane Lowry started that final round with a four-shot lead after completing his third round on Sunday morning due to weather delays - so he didn't have to sleep on the lead overnight.

However, the form he showed to finish off his 65 a few hours earlier deserted him as he made four bogeys in 10 holes to lose his lead - before a first birdie of the day on 12 drew him back level with Johnson.

It was only a brief respite though, as some missed short putts saw him make three straight bogeys on 14, 15 and 16 to tumble out of contention and hand the trophy to Johnson - even with that penalty.