Bubba Watson charges ahead at Riviera

Rory McIlroy finished solo second at the Masters Tournament on Sunday, falling just short of a Green Jacket in his eighth attempt to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta National. During his post-round interview in Butler Cabin, though, the four-time major championship winner expressed that he departed the 18th green feeling “as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course right there.” The reason? McIlroy concluded his final round at the 86th Masters with a bunker hole-out for birdie on the 72nd hole, completing an 8-under 64 that marked the low round of the tournament by three strokes. McIlroy began the final round 10 strokes back of 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler, and he eventually finished three shy of Scheffler’s winning mark of 10-under. With an effort that matched the low final round in Masters history, though, McIlroy rekindled the magic displayed at major championships in the early 2010s, when he captured four major titles in a 15-major span. The 32-year-old last won a major at the 2014 PGA Championship; in his eight Masters appearances since, he has recorded six top-10 finishes, including his career-best runner-up on Sunday. The 20-time PGA TOUR winner has displayed a penchant for going low on Masters Sunday. This marked his seventh sub-70 score in his last nine Sunday rounds at Augusta National. “I just think all the memories that are building up … I think I’ve had some really good Sundays here from a little further back, and it is about trying to channel whatever attitude that is,” McIlroy said. “The 66 that I shot with Tiger (Woods) in the final round in 2015; I’ve had a few other rounds where I haven’t been in contention and have shot good scores. “I think the more and more I can do it, the more memories I build up, and if I do put myself in a position closer to the lead into Sunday, I can delve into that memory bank and try to use those memories and my experience to my advantage.” There was magic Sunday in McIlroy’s final-round pairing with Collin Morikawa. The duo carded a best-ball 61, and Morikawa followed McIlroy’s closing bunker hole-out by doing the exact same thing. McIlroy raised his hands after Morikawa’s bunker birdie as if he had made it himself. “That’s what makes golf so cool,” McIlroy said. “We’re competitors out there, but at the same time we’re friends, and we travel around with each other every week. It was a great pairing for me today, and happy that we both played well.”

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Brooks Koepka went back-to-back for just the seventh time in U.S. Open history. Just how significant is that? Ben Everill, Staff Writer: It’s pretty impressive if you ask me. Especially as it came on two completely different styles of course. Erin Hills was a birdie fest for the bombers. Shinnecock Hills was a grind for everyone. I’ve just heard Koepka is lobbying for Pebble Beach to be renamed Pebble “Hillsâ€� for next year. Sean Martin, Events Editor: It’s historic. Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and now Koepka are the only men to do it since World War II. And, in contemporary terms, only four of the top 50 players in the world have multiple majors. And he’s only 28. Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Very. A lot of guys would shrink from that sort of weighty history. I loved his swagger, and he totally backed it up. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: In terms of golf history, I think it’s very significant. Winning a major isn’t easy; going back-to-back at the U.S. Open by the age of 28 is even more impressive. Not only that, he managed to show his entire arsenal by going low to win at Erin Hills and grinding it out at Shinnecock. His game clearly travels. Brooks is now a multiple major winner… what are you expecting from him over the next 5-10 years? Everill: Given his outstanding finishes in major championships over the last couple of years – he has been top 25 in 13 of his last 15 majors and top 10 in seven of those – I certainly can’t rule out further victories. He’s only 28 and an absolute specimen of an athlete. If he doubles his total in the next five years I won’t be shocked. Martin: Predictions are a fool’s errand, so here we go. As long as he can stay healthy, I think he can pick up two more majors in the next decade. He has finished no worse than T21 in his past 11 majors. He gives himself lots of opportunities in the big events. I see a FedExCup in his future for that very reason. Morfit: Trophies. It’s odd to me that he hasn’t racked up more Ws, but he’s only 28 and spent a good chunk of his career in Europe. I think he’s got a game that can travel anywhere, and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, was telling me he’s long been one of the best putters on TOUR.   Wall: He’s now finished inside the top 25 in 13 of his last 15 major championships. If he continues to produce competitive finishes at a similar clip, he’ll likely get at least two more over the next 5-10 years. I don’t think it’s that far of a stretch to say he gets to five or six if a few breaks go his way. At this point, the only thing holding him back is his health.  Tommy Fleetwood’s round was just the sixth 63 in U.S. Open history. Where do his efforts rank in your mind? Everill: Of course people will say the USGA reacted to Saturday’s criticism by watering the greens too much and providing easy pins but regardless, shooting 63 on a Sunday at a major is epic stuff. Fleetwood is the real deal. Had he read his putt on the last hole just a little better we could have easily seen our first two-hole playoff. Fourth last year, second this year … watch this space. Martin: I think he’s kicking himself for missing that last birdie putt. I think the back-nine pressure on Koepka would have been exponentially higher if he’d posted a 62. It’s reminiscent of 1986, when Chip Beck missed a 5-footer on the 72nd hole. He finished two back but thought he would’ve exerted much more pressure on the last groups if he was one stroke closer while sitting in the clubhouse. Morfit: It could’ve been a 61 even, given his chances on the last three holes. I like everything about this guy but especially his demeanor.  Wall: Shooting 63 at Shinnecock Hills is incredibly impressive and has to go down as one of the best rounds in major championship history based on what was at stake Sunday. That being said, the USGA made the course more gettable after Saturday’s fiasco. It’s a minor footnote that likely won’t be mentioned when people remember Fleetwood’s impressive round.  Tony Finau has finished in the top-10 of both majors this year. Will he break through at some point? Everill: He certainly has the talent. Finau himself says he is built for championship golf. I’d like to see him get his second PGA TOUR win before I am ready to endorse him as a likely major winner of the near future though. He’s a champion guy so you can’t help but wish him success. Wall: Similar to Brooks Koepka, he’s a twenty-something bomber who could break out at any given moment. I don’t think it’s a matter of if but when Finau gets a major. I think it happens in the next three years.  Martin: Majors are tough to win. Besides the strong field and tough conditions, it’s a numbers game. There’s only four of them per year. I was impressed with how he handled himself in the final group, though. He battled on the back nine to stay in contention.  Morfit: Absolutely he will. Major talent. Insanely long. Really hard worker. That’s a good combination. Dustin Johnson let another 54-hole lead go. Is this of any concern going forward? Everill: The numbers don’t read well. 0-3 when leading/co leading through 54 holes in a major … Only four wins in his last 10 attempts on TOUR with 54 hole leads … BUT I don’t think it is a concern. DJ doesn’t seem to let much worry him and it was a simple case of his putter going cold on the weekend. He hit the greens Sunday but just couldn’t buy a putt. Martin: I do think there’s something there. He lost a six-shot lead earlier this season at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. It’s also interesting that his only major victory came at a tournament where he didn’t know his score because of the controversial ruling. Wall: No way. The course bordered on unfair during the third round, turning even the best players in the world into 10 handicaps. If DJ gets course conditions anywhere close to what we saw on Sunday, I think he wins by two or three. He just ran into a USGA buzzsaw that torpedoed his chances.  Morfit: Nah. He’s so good he just waits for the next one. And there’s always a next one.

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods will have his work cut out for him if he wants to get back into contention at the PGA Championship. He’s nine shots behind first-round leader Brooks Koepka after shooting 72 on Thursday. At least Woods will be able to keep one eye on Koepka as he tries to chase him down. They tee off together at 1:49 p.m., along with Francesco Molinari. Woods’ ball-striking was steady in the first round. He made three birdies and an eagle, but also had two three-putts and twice flew greens with short wedge shots. He missed all five putts he faced from 5-10 feet on Thursday. Woods excited the Bethpage fans by playing the first four holes of his back nine in 4 under par. That stretch got him into red figures after he doubled two of his first eight holes.  RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Tiger’s up-and-down Round 1 | Rethinking Tiger’s future | Tiger ‘welcomes’ playing in Olympics He undid all that hard work with three bogeys on his next four holes. That included two three-putts and a failed attempt to save par just off the green. He’ll need to clean up those mistakes if he wants to make a run this week. But there were enough positive signs to believe it may be possible. He missed just four fairways while hitting driver on a majority of the holes and hit 12 greens, many of them with long-irons in hand.  Stay here for live updates from his round. ROUND 2: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE No. 1 (par 4, 430 yards):

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