Sam Burns' US Open hopes were crushed by controversial rules decision
Burns was forced to hit out of a soggy lie on the fairway of the 15th hole of Sunday's final round at Oakmont after asking two rules officials to take a drop.
Both decided that Burns was not entitled to one, and he proceeded to pull his second shot into the greenside rough and make a double bogey to all but finish his chances of winning his first major.
'When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up,' Burns said. 'Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time. Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that.'
It was the low point of a disastrous day for Burns, who shot an 8-over 78 after opening the final round with a one-shot lead.
The situation on 15 came up after a lengthy delay, in which the course was hit by another round of storms after taking on serious rain on Friday into Saturday.
3 Sam Burns shows the rules official the wet area where he has to hit out of on 15 during the US Open on June 15, 2025.
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The water had settled in a valley on the right side of the fairway, but was not enough to give Burns relief.
According to Yahoo Sports, Rule 16.1 states that temporary water is an 'accumulation of water on the surface of the ground (such as puddles from rain or irrigation or an overflow from a body of water) that is not in a penalty area, and can be seen before or after you take a stance (without pressing down excessively with your feet).
3 Sam Burns was the leader heading into the final round of the US Open.
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'It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as you step on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after your stance is taken.'
Burns angrily swatted at the ground after his strike, sending water spraying.
Normal Sports' Kyle Porter investigated the area afterwards to see how wet it was.
3 Sam Burns shot an 8-over par 78 in the final round of the US Open at Oakmont.
Getty Images
Burns then chunked his chip from the thick greenside rough and went on to make double bogey.
He added bogeys on 16 and 18 as well, as he plummeted out of contention.
Burns would ultimately finish the tournament at 4-over and five strokes behind champion J.J. Spaun.
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