A decade on from his last European Tour victory, five years since his previous appearance in a regular tour event, and nine years removed from even his last top-10 in an Old World tournament, Andres Romero was an unlikely winner of the BMW International Open.
The narrative of “Is Rory McIlroy’s workout regimen hurting his game?” has become a tired trope to describe any struggles the four-time Major winner runs into.
Jordan Spieth ended his four days at the US Open before the last group even teed off on Sunday, finishing at one-over 289 after a final-round 69 on a breezy morning at Erin Hills.
The rough at Erin Hills seems to look nastier than it seems to be playing, and that would seem to violate one of the USGA’s long-held US Open tenets for the infamous “cost of rough” penalty.
Not that those competing at Erin Hills today need extra incentive to grab the trophy. But for whoever finishes as the US Open winner, life will get a little richer.
Discussion was prevalent among television analysts about how the game’s best players — those, at least, known for their driving prowess — failed so miserably to solve an Erin Hills test seemingly biased towards their strengths.