Carlos Alcaraz defeats Casper Ruud to win the US Open final
Former U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has won a career Grand Slam, and his victory at the US Open this week was his first major championship since 2008. He became only the seventh man in the Open’s history to win a major with a PGA Tour-caliber drive over the weekend.
Here’s what you need to know about Alcaraz’s win:
What happened?
He shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round to win the US Open by one stroke over South African Rory McIlroy.
Alcaraz had the same score Sunday he played in the final round of the 2013 U.S. Open, when he finished at two-under-par 69.
The last-round scores were all over the board this week. Phil Mickelson, who’s had his share of ups and downs this year, shot a 68 to finish second at 10-under-par. He also earned $12.3 million. Phil, as you all know, has won the tournament 11 times, but he’s only been in the final round a total of six times before. That includes last year’s. The 2013 U.S. Open was only his 6th time in a major championship. He became only the sixth man in the U.S. Open’s history to win a major with a PGA Tour-caliber drive.
The other two men to win a major on PGA Tour-caliber drives this year are Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth — although Spieth’s was with the tour’s lowest percentage for winning.
The only other man with a PGA Tour-caliber drive to win a major before was Ben Hogan in 1969. He won the Masters to go with his only other major, the British Open.
The only other man to win a major on a drive
