Tyrrell Hatton called the brutal Oakmont course “unfair” after his US Open hopes went up in smoke at the 17th hole.
The Englishman was in a five-way tie for the lead at the penultimate hole, which, as a short par four, represented a good chance to make birdie.
But he put his tee shot into the thick rough to the right, and then hit his second shot 25 feet into some more rough on a steep incline, eventually making a bogey five.
He then bogeyed the 18th after losing his composure in trademark style to finish tied for fourth on three over, three shots behind winner JJ Spaun.
The difficulty of the punishing Pennsylvanian course has been a talking point all week, with Hatton saying thick rough around steep bunkers has been unnecessary.
And he took his frustration out on a reporter, who asked why he thought his tee shot at 17 was unlucky.
“Why do you think it was bad luck? What kind of question is that?” he snapped back.
“Like, that’s ridiculous. If you’re going to miss that green, you have to miss it right in the bunker. I did my bit. I feel like I was extremely unlucky to finish where it did.
“I feel I’ve missed it in the right spot and got punished, which ultimately I don’t think ends up being fair.
“The finish at the end hurts a lot. What happened on 17 is going to hurt a lot for a long time.
“It was the first time I’ve been in contention in a major, and that was exciting, and unfortunately, I feel like through a bit of bad luck, I had momentum taken away from me and ultimately ended up not being my day.
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“It’s hard when you feel like the tournament then just escapes from you right at the end.
“Certainly for me, being the first time in contention at a major, to have that happen right at the end as opposed to like early in the week when you don’t end up knowing if that’s going to cost anything down the line, I’d say at the end of the tournament, that it makes it hurt a lot more.”
