Someone forgot to give Martin Kaymer the memo that you aren't supposed to absolutely tear apart the course at Pinehurst No. 2.
Kaymer made the daunting and infamous course look like a putt-putt course and blew away the rest of the field. He finished at nine under par for the tournament after shooting a one-under 69 Sunday and cleared his fellow competitors by eight entire strokes. There was absolutely no drama Sunday, but Kaymer probably wasn't complaining about that.
Here is a look at Kaymer and the rest of the top finishers, while a full leaderboard with payouts can be found on ESPN.com. Martin Kaymer's Absolute Brilliance
David Goldman/Associated Press
Kaymer's title was his second career major championship, and he was ultimately carried by his back-to-back 65s during the first two rounds. In fact, that 130 total was the all-time record for the first two rounds at the U.S. Open, and it basically let everyone know who was going to win.
Kaymer became the seventh golfer to win the U.S. Open in wire-to-wire fashion, and he never let another competitor crawl within four strokes for the final 48 holes.
The fact that he won the tournament on Father's Day made the title all the more meaningful, as he won The Players Championship on Mother's Day earlier in the year. If the PGA Tour organizers could get the next premier tournament on Grandfather's Day, Kaymer probably wouldn't object.
Mike O'Malley of Golf Digest passed along a notable quote from golfer Jason Day, which highlighted just how the weekend went for the champion:
Jason Day, T4 after 68, on Martin Kaymer: 'Attitude is everything out here, especially in U.S. Opens...He looks like he's enjoying himself.'- Mike O'Malley (@GD_MikeO) June 16, 2014
Given his dominating performance, how could Kaymer not enjoy himself? Lack of Elite Challengers
Matt York/Associated Press
Of course, whenever someone puts it on cruise control and wins a major title on the PGA Tour, there is always the flip side. There was no drama in the outcome or memorable moment that will stick in the minds of golf fans forever like a Tiger Woods fist pump or Phil Mickelson leaping with joy after the Masters. It was just surgical golf from Kaymer.
No elite names challenged Kaymer, and Pinehurst No. 2 took out its frustrations on the rest of the field.
Outside of Kaymer, only Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler finished below par, and they were at one under. Nobody finished at even par, and superstars such as Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar and Rory McIlroy never threatened. Johnson finished with a one-over, Scott with a two-over, Kuchar with a three-over and McIlroy with a six-over.
Chuck Burton/Associated Press
Phil Mickelson also struggled and posted a seven-over on the tournament. He never got the putter clicking and labored through his final round Sunday.
Looking ahead, Kaymer seems to be hitting his stride after his Players victory and this performance at Pinehurst. That's not to suggest he's all of a sudden going to go on a Woods-like stretch from the early 2000s, but he will be a formidable force on tour the rest of the year.
John Bazemore/Associated Press
Still, it's hard to envision a performance as dominating as this from anyone in a premier tournament the rest of this season or even next year. There is so much young talent on tour, and Woods will eventually come back from injury, so the field will soon be wide open yet again.
This was just one of those special performances from Kaymer that he will never forget. Follow me on Twitter: Follow @ScottPolacek
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