How Thompson lost the chance to win the major

The event was organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA), on the par71 Lake course in the Olympic Club in San Francisco, closing the curtain on the morning of June 7 (Hanoi time).

Thompson entered the final round at the top of the table with a score of -7, one and six strokes behind Yuka Saso (Philippines) and Nasa Hataoka (Japan). Hole 1, the American star went to the green after two strokes and two putts to birdie. From hole 2 to hole 8, she considered it a draw – birdie on hole 5 and bogey on hole 2. But the front contenders, including Saso and Hataoka, lost their fire, so Thompson at the top of hole 9 had a five-stroke lead.

This advantage was reduced to four strokes when she entered the 11th hole. However, Thompson hit left and right out of the rough fairway. She then chipped on the green and missed a close-range putt, so she closed the hole with a double bogey. After this tunnel collapse, the distance from the second person to her was two sticks. Hole 14, Thompson bogey again. At that time, the difference was only one stroke, and remained unchanged until the end of the 16th hole.

At the beginning of the 17th hole, Thompson miscalculated and the wind should hit the high and thick rough grass, so difficult that when exiting the fairway, the ball went only about 40 yards. The third shot, the player born in 1995 did not reach the green, then added one chip, two new putts to complete the hole with a bogey.

Thompson failed putt, bogey on hole 17

Here, Thompson shares the top of the table with Saso and Hataoka. “The technique is good, but the ball is bad because of the wind. I have never seen a rough exit phase that is so difficult,” Thompson explained the result of the 17th hole.

When Thompson and Saso entered the 18th hole, Hataoka finished with a score of -4. This stage, Saso kept par and reached -4 after 72 holes. And Thompson, if the birdie will be on the podium. However, the native hope after two shots did not hit the green but fell into a sand trap.

Thompson escaped, the ball was 1.8 meters from the hole with a sloped putter. She putt lack of force. After that bogey, Thompson waited for another opportunity at the tournament she first attended when she was 12 years old, through 15 matches with five top 10 finishes, including T2 in 2019.

Saso eventually won the US Women’s Open after beating Hataoka on the third extra hole by birdie 3.3 meters from the hole. “Of course I can’t laugh. But that’s golf. And thanks to that, I have learned valuable lessons that I can apply at this week’s LPGA Tour event,” Thompson said. She currently owns 11 LPGA Tour championships, including the 2014 major ANA Inspiration.

With Thompson’s end yesterday, the Olympic Club’s Lake Stadium reinforces its notorious moniker – “Graveyard of Champions”. Through the previous five times hosting the men’s US Open, the field recorded five major champions attending the tournament and kept the top of the table after 54 holes, but no one won overall. This issue features legends Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Payne Stewart and players Tom Watson and Jim Furyk.

Quoc Huy synthetic