Martin Kaymer is happy to declare he's no "one hit wonder" after winning the US Open by eight shots with the second lowest total in the championship's history.
The 29-year-old German claimed his second major title - he also won the 2010 US PGA Championship - when he fired a closing one-under 69 to finish at nine-under-par 271 on the difficult Pinehurst No.2 course in North Carolina.
Set up by stunning opening rounds of 65 65, former world No.1 Kaymer led wire-to-wire for just the eighth time in US Open history, joining Walter Hagan (1914), James Barnes (1921), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Jacklin (1970), Tiger Woods (2000, 2002) and Rory McIlroy (2011) as the only men to do so.
His eight-stroke victory is tied for the fourth-largest margin of victory in US Open history with only Woods (2000, 15 strokes), Willie Smith (1899, 11 strokes) and James Barnes (1921, nine strokes) doing better.
It came just a month after he won the lucrative Players Championship in similar fashion, making him the first player to win that double in the same year.
Kaymer will move to world No.11 with this win, heading closer to the top after dropping from No.1 in 2011 to a low of 63rd earlier this year.
"It shouldn't sound cocky or arrogant, but I knew it would come. I knew that I would play good golf again," Kaymer said.
"There was enough belief there. I think I play better golf now, I'm more of a complete player, and it was just a matter of time.
"Some people, especially when I went through that low, called me the one hit wonder and those things so it's quite nice proof, even though I don't feel like I need to prove to a lot of people."
Americans Rickie Fowler (72) and Erik Compton (72) shared a distant second placing.
Compton, a double heart transplant recipient playing in just his second major created the feel good story of the week, qualifying for the British Open, PGA Championship and next year's Masters with his result.
The rest of the field failed to break par for the championship.
Australian Jason Day shot a closing 68 to finish one-over and in a tie for fourth, his seventh top-10 finish in majors in just 14 starts.
His placing gets him a start at next year's Masters and US Opens and he was already exempt into the British Open and PGA Championship later this year.
Countryman and world No.1 Adam Scott (69) claimed his best US Open result when tied ninth at two-over.
Kaymer's score of 271 has only been bettered by McIlroy, who had 268 when he won by eight shots from Day in 2011.
The man from Dusseldorf became the first man from continental Europe to win the US Open and the fourth European winner in five seasons.
"Any major would have been nice, after the PGA. You want to win majors in your career, but if you can win one more, it means so much more," he said.
"And I'm only 29 years old, so I hope I have another few years ahead of me."
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