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Oakmont, Pa. • Daniel Summerhays began the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday with the belief he could win his first major title.

He finished the third round well, positioning himself in the third to last group for the final round five shots behind leader Shane Lowry.

Summerhays ultimately shot a 4-over 74 on Sunday and finished 2-over for the championship, six behind winner Dustin Johnson.

The BYU graduate ended the championship in a tie for eighth — his best finish in a major.

"I actually felt pretty good out there, I honestly felt like I had a good piece of mind and felt pretty together," Summerhays said. "I drove the ball great again but my iron play wasn't good."

Summerhays hit only 10 of 18 greens, which was below the average of Sunday's field at 59 percent.

There were other factors that contributed to Summerhays' struggles, namely his putting.

"My speed on my putts was barely off, a couple just barely ran too high and a couple barely ran too low of the cup," he said. "But overall I'm proud of how I hung in there and tied for eighth at the U.S. Open."

Summerhays battled throughout the round. He chipped in for par on No. 12, which drew an applause front he crowd.

"There's no atmosphere like that, it doesn't get any bigger than that," he said. "I'm going to stand tall and be proud. Obviously I still feel like I could have won but it's still learning and I'll be here again and I'm looking forward to the future."

Summerhays' older brother and coach, Boyd, was upbeat about what this performance could mean for the future.

"He's going to draw a lot of positives out of this, he was right in the thick of it and shot the championship low of 65 so he's got to be really proud of himself," Boyd Summerhays said. "I think this will spring him on to great things."

Summerhays took pride in not making any double bogeys on Oakmont's tricky Sunday conditions and said he felt an "overall good sense of accomplishment" from the week.