Scottie Scheffler was left to rue another slow start to a tournament after falling short in his first attempt to complete the career Grand Slam at the US Open.
Scheffler was the pre-tournament favourite to complete the missing major required to become the seventh male to complete the Grand Slam, only to immediately lose ground with an opening-round 72 at Shinnecock Hills.
The world No 1 was eight strokes behind first-round leader Wyndham Clark but rallied to post rounds of 68 and 69 over the next two days to secure a Sunday pairing with Clark, then kept pushing forward to get within three of the lead with five holes to play.
Scheffler was unable to press further as he bogeyed the 14th and finished with four pars to end the week on even-par, four behind Clark, meaning Scheffler will have to wait at least another year for the Grand Slam.
"It was good to be back in the arena," Scheffler said after a final-round 71. "I felt like at times this year I was on the outside looking in. I felt like I had given up too many shots early in the week.
"This year I haven't had many 36-hole leads. I haven't had any 54-hole leads. This week will be another example where you could chalk it up to the first round.
"Wyndham went out late in the day on Thursday and shot six under to my two over in the morning - that's eight shots right there. I don't know exactly what it is.
"I've been pretty good in first rounds over the last few years, and for some reason, the sharpness just hasn't been there early in tournaments. I haven't had those leads that I've needed in order to win tournaments."
Scheffler was serenaded with "happy birthday" cheers all afternoon as he celebrated his 30th birthday on Father's Day, while an encouraging performance produced a fifth top-four finish in his last seven worldwide starts.
"It was a battle all week," Scheffler admitted. "The golf course was challenging. I felt like I did some good things. I felt like there are some things that I could have improved on. I felt close again - it's just little things here and there.
"I felt like I did enough to have a really good round. I felt like I hit a lot of good putts that were really close to going in, but I just wasn't able to hole those. I made one [putt] on 10 and could feel some momentum building, then hit a lot of good putts down the stretch that just didn't drop."
Clark was jeered by a section of the crowd during the final round of his wire-to-wire win, with Scheffler believing that his playing partner received "a bit much".
"The crowd was tough today," Scheffler said. "New Yorkers, they are tough people. There was a good turnout from the fans. You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are going off greens and you start hearing cheers.
"But at the end of the day, I can't control fan behaviour. Being in the arena is not for everybody: there have been crowds that have been for me in my career; there have been crowds that have been significantly against me in my career.
"I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course but I think the crowd today as well and is a well-deserving champion."
The PGA Tour heads to TPC River Highlands in Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, the latest Signature Event and starting Thursday, where Scheffler won in 2024.
Both events are live from Thursday on Your Site Golf, along with the final men's major of the year - The Open at Royal Birkdale - from July 16-19. or .
