US Open: Jon Rahm birdies final two holes to defeat Louis Oosthuizen

US Open leaderboard

-6 Rahm

-5 Oosthuizen

-3 English

-2 Migliozzi, Koepka, Morikawa

-1 Grace, Berger, Casey, Schauffele, Scheffler, McIlroy

Final-round report: Jon Rahm wins US Open

Jon Rahm won his first major after a sensational finish to the US Open saw him birdie the final two holes to edge to victory over Louis Oosthuizen.

Trailing the South African by a shot, Rahm rolled in a 25-foot putt at the 17th hole to draw level, then holed from 18 feet for a grandstand finish at Torrey Pines, where he first became a PGA Tour winner in 2017.

Oosthuizen fought all the way to the end but could not find the eagle he needed to tie and force a play-off, instead collecting his sixth runner-up finish in major championships, just weeks after he filled the same spot in the US PGA.

It was hard on the former Open winner, but nobody could begrudge Rahm this breakthrough win, two weeks after he led by six shots after three rounds of the Memorial Tournament only for a failed Covid-19 test to see that title ripped from his grasp.

Rahm's response was to force his way into contention from day one of this tournament, one he began as a 10/1 favourite, and then produce fireworks just as it had boiled down to a head-to-head between him and Oosthuizen.

"I'm a big believer in karma, and after what happened a couple of weeks ago, I stayed really positive, knowing big things are coming," said Rahm after his victory was confirmed.

"I knew we were coming to a special place, I know I got my breakthrough win here, and it's a very special place for my family. I just felt that the stars were aligning and I knew my best golf was to come."

The first Spaniard ever to win a US Open, Rahm added: "This was definitely for Seve."

Earlier in the day, his chance momentarily appeared to have gone with a pulled drive to the ninth hole which officials signalled had gone out of bounds. However, Rahm's ball was in fact in play, and he birdied the par-five to get within one.

Bryson DeChambeau had seemingly taken command with a tap-in birdie at the eighth, but he came home in a disastrous 44 strokes to fall outside the top 20, while Rory McIlroy also shared the lead around the turn only to drop three shots across the 11th and 12th holes.

With Brooks Koepka's challenge petering out with bogeys at two of the final three holes and Collin Morikawa another who suffered a nightmare double-bogey at the 13th, Harris English was left to post the clubhouse target from off the pace, but never did it seem like enough.

Oosthuizen remained the man to beat and was the first player to go odds-on for the championship, before Rahm's electric finish changed the complexion of the tournament in a dizzying half-hour of brilliance from a player who many will feel is just beginning.