Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy has won his maiden major title, taking out the US Open by eight strokes at Congressional Country Club, with Australian Jason Day finishing second.
The 22-year-old finished the tournament with a two-under-par 69 for an overall score of 16 under, surpassing Tiger Woods' 12-under-par at Pebble Beach in 2000 as the lowest winning score in US Open history.
Australian Day finished eight strokes back in outright second, two shots ahead of Kevin Chappell, Robert Garrigus, YE Yang and Lee Westwood who were involved in a four-way tie for third at six under.
But the day belonged to McIlroy as he was finally able to move on from his horror show on the final day of the US Masters, where he shot 80 and gave up a four-shot lead.
He began with a birdie to calm his nerves and another on the par-three fourth hole made his victory a mere formality.
But the crowds were still fascinated by McIlroy and his aggressive style of play, and although he hit two bogeys on the back nine, he also shot two birdies to round out his victory.
After motioning to his father as he was walking to the green on the final hole, he tapped in a par putt from under a foot before celebrating with a fist pump and a hug from his caddie in front of an adoring crowd.
What followed were more embraces from his father and compatriot Graeme McDowell, who won the same tournament last year.
Day finished second - just like he did at the US Masters in April - after a three-under-par 68 which saw him complete a run of 45 holes without a bogey to end the tournament.
He usurped Yang on the final day after the Korean made three back-nine bogeys to finish with a 71 which saw him finish tin a tie for third.
Garrigus and Chappell both finished well to ensure there was some American representation in the top 10, with the latter's five-under 66 the equal-best score of the day.
World no.2 Westwood bounced back well from a first-day 75 and shot a 70 on the final day, just like Garrigus, while Swede Peter Hanson and Spaniard Sergio Garcia tied for seventh at five under.
South African duo Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen both tied for ninth with the former carding a five-under-66, while McDowell and world no.6 Matt Kuchar tied for 14th at two under the card for the tournament.
Steve Stricker placed 19th at one under for the tournament, while Martin Kaymer shot a final-round 71 to come in at three over, with world no.1 Luke Donald (five over) and perennial US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson (seven over) finishing well back in the field.
John Senden (72) finished in a tie for 30th at two over the card while fellow Aussie Marc Leishman had a difficult final round, shooting a five over 76 to end the tournament at plus six.
from pgatour.com.au