Gary Woodland punctuated his victory with three strokes with a 9-meter birdie putt at the 18th hole. (© USGA / John Mummert)

Gary Woodland birdied a 9-yard birdie putt on Pebble Beach's iconic par-5 fence hole to punctuate a three-stroke victory over two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka, who was trying to become the second player to win three US Open immediately.

Getting a 69-2 under par, Woodland became the fourth player to win the US Open title with four rounds under 70. He is also the second Open winner at Pebble Beach to post a score at double digits under par (13 under 271), joining Tiger Woods (12 under 272) who won the 2000 championship by a record 15 strokes.

"I kept telling myself that records are made to be broken," said Woodland. “I'm more nervous now than playing today. "

“I didn't let myself go at all today. At no time did I tell myself that the victory was achieved. "

Four players - 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose, Chez Reavie, Jon Rahm and Xander Sc Chaudele - shared third place with 277 (-7). Rose started the day one stroke behind Woodland, then vanished in the final 11 holes with a 74 card. Grand champions Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen tied for seventh (278).

"I played very well"said Koepka, who hoped to join Willie Anderson (1903-2005) as the only player to have won three consecutive US Open. " I could not do anything. Gary played well for four days. This is what you need to do if you want to win a US Open, win a major championship, and do it justice. It's cool to go out on 18th with such a bomb. He deserves it, he worked hard and I'm happy for him. "

In the pantheon of heroic shots at the US Open at Pebble Beach, Tom Kite's iconic 7th par-3 chip-in in 1992. There's Jack Nicklaus' 1 iron that hit the flag and stopped a few inches away in 1972, and Tom Watson's miraculous hole from the rough at the edge of the green on the same hole 10 years later.

You can add to that list Gary Woodland's second shot of 242 yards and wood 3 on the 14th par-5 hole. On a hole where most of the players were lying and only one eagle was recorded on the last lap, Woodland decided it was time to be aggressive. At this point he had a precarious one-shot lead over Koepka and Rose was still in pursuit.

The ball just passed the bunker in front of the green and stopped in the rough just to the left of the green. His deftly executed chip landed 1m from the flag, converted seconds later to birdie and extend his lead to two strokes. Koepka never got closer afterwards.

"We thought about it with my caddy for a while and said we were there to win", Woodland said of his decision to go to the green.“I played aggressive, and it paid off. "

There were other big hits on the straight as well. On the 17th par-3 hole, his tee shot ended up on the far right of the hourglass shaped playing surface. Forced to place the ball where the left back hole was, Woodland executed a perfect 28-yard shot at 76cm out of the checkmate to save par.

When Koepka missed a birdie putt 2,9 meters on the 18 that would have given him a head start, Woodland was able to play it safe on the last hole. With three putts to claim the title, Woodland pulled off the feat with a stunning birdie. It was the perfect end to a glorious week for the Kansan, who were 169th in the PGA standings this season, but first this week.

All of his work with instructor Pete Cowen and putting trainer Phil Kenyon has paid off.

Several of his professional PGA Tour colleagues congratulated Woodland on his way to the, including Koepka, as he returned from the 18th hole. His parents, Dan and Linda Woodland, were also in attendance, but his wife Gabby, who is due to have twins in August, and his son, Jaxson, were back home in Florida.

What a Father's Day it was.

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