Erin Hills was a record breaking US Open venue

The 117th US Open at Erin Hills played host to an enthralling back-nine from Brooks Koepka that saw him win his first major victory by four shots. 

Koepka tamed the longest US Open and major championship course in history on his way to equalling the lowest ever tournament score of 16-under-par, set by Rory McIlroy during his victory in 2011.

His four-stroke victory is the largest in the last nine majors, dating back to Jordan Spieth’s four-shot win at the Masters in 2015.

And that was just the start of the record breaking at the second major of the year. 

Scoring records

In all started on day one. For the first time in the tournament’s history a record number of 44 players finished under par – obliterating the previous record (39) of players under par after round 1 of the US Open, set in Medinah in 1990. 

Many thought it might just be time for Rickie Fowler’s major break through when he opened with the best round to par (a seven-under 65) since Jack Nicklaus and Tom Wieskopf in 1980. 

Following on from Fowler’s success, Hideki Matsuyama and Chez Reavie finished their second rounds with a pair of 65s, and Patrick Reed chased down his own 65 on Saturday – making it the first US Open in history with four players to post seven-under-par rounds in the same tournament.

Paul Casey, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood shared the spot at the top after 54 holes, and as a result they also etched their names in the history books. This was the first time four-players have shared the lead after the second-round of the US Open since 1974.

Day three brought with it Justin Thomas’ nine-under-par 63, breaking Johnny Miller’s 43-year-old record to shoot the lowest round in relation to par in the tournament’s history, and Miller wasn’t particularly gracious in defeat. 

Miller said to Golf Channel: “Taking nothing away from nine under par. Nine under is incredible with US Open pressure. But it isn’t a US Open course that I’m familiar with, the way it was set up.” 

“It looks like a PGA Tour event course set-up. I’m not sure where the days of the 24 to 29-yard-wide fairways that we played every time went. It’s interesting to see where the USGA has gone with the US Open, being a little more friendly than in years past.”

“The greatness of my round is the 63 in the last round of the US Open to win by one. But a 63 for a par 72 is a heck of a score, even if it was the Milwaukee Open.”

While it’s true that Erin Hills provided the lowest scoring in a US Open to date, players were largely fortunate with the easy weather conditions that allowed them to do so. If the wind and storms had blown through as expected, the scores would have undoubtedbly been reflected. 

We’d still argue that Justin Thomas’ 63 was one of the most entertaining we’ve ever watched. His eagle on the 667 yard par-five 18th was phenomenal by anyone’s standards, and we didn’t see any mediocrity when Thomas turned 90 degrees away from the hole with ingenuity to make the most unlikely birdie putt on the 5th.

World Ranking records

For the first time since the OWGR began in 1986, a Japanese player is now ranked the second best golfer in the world. Hideki Matsuyama had previously broken the record (of 4th) by leapfrogging Jason Day in to the World No.3 spot earlier in 2017, before Day claimed it back just a week later. 

But a final-day charge from Matsuyama left him with the best final-round of the day (66) in difficult conditions, putting himself in to contention before having to settle with T2. 

In doing so, he mustered up enough points not only to overtake Jason Day for a second time but also Rory McIlroy, establishing himself as the World No.2 behind Dustin Johnson. 

Making/ Not Making The Cut

But records haven’t just been broken in the top half of the draw. Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroyand Jason Day all missed the cut at the second major of the year, making it the first time the top three players in Order of Golf World Rankings have missed the cut since those rankings were introduced in 1986.

This was the 10th straight year that at least one amateur has made the cut. Amateur’s Cameron Champ and Scottie Scheffler lay locked together for much of the final day, but Champ was unable to secure the birdie he needed on the 18th, meaning Scheffler would become the 2017 US Open leading amateur.

The Best Stats From The Course

Newly crowned US Open champion Brooks Koepka dominated the greens in regulation stats en route to his victory. 

Hitting 62/72 greens throughout the tournament, including 17/18 on the final day, Koepka easily ranked the highest among his fellow professionals. 

Chez Reavie, David Lingmerth and Bernd Wiesberger shared the title hit the most fairways at this year’s US Open, finding 51 of 56 from Thursday – Sunday. Lingmerth finished in a tie for 21st at four-under-par, while Reavie and Wiesberger were one better at -5.

Considering the calibre of big-hitters including Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas, it was quite a surprise to see that amateur Cameron Champ topped the player stats for driving distance. He averaged 337 yards over the four days, which was 6 yards further than nearest competitor Kevin Dougherty.

Brandon Stone dominated the putting stats, averaging 1.49 putts for all rounds, while Brendan Steele topped the birdie stats with 22 and eagles with 1.