Justin Thomas unravels at US Open with four-putt nightmare
An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Justin Thomas, Image 2 shows Justin Thomas last won a major in 2022
Oakmont claimed another victim Friday at the U.S. Open.
Looking to bounce back from a 6-over 76 in Thursday's opening round, Justin Thomas' quest for a comeback took a hit on the par-5 12th hole at the Pittsburgh-area course, where a birdie opportunity from 26 feet turned into a crushing double bogey on the slick greens.
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On Thomas' first attempt to tap it in for par, he played too much break and the ball lipped out on the right side of the hole. When he lined up again, he missed to the left.
Oakmont has not been kind to Justin Thomas at the 2025 U.S. Open. Getty Images
Thomas, 32, eventually sank his putt to put him at 9-over.
The front nine didn't get much better for the two-time PGA Championship winner, who had three bogeys and two double bogeys en route to a 41. He added a birdie on the par-4 14th.
Thomas, whose last major championship win was in 2022, shot even par over his final nine holes but it was not enough to salvage a frustrating two days as he finished 12-over and will miss the cut.
Justin Thomas shot a double bogey during the second round of the U.S. Open on the par-5 12th hole. X
It put him at 9-over as the second round began. X
Leading up to this year's tournament, Thomas preached patience when tackling Oakmont.
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'It requires just patience and discipline… if you just get lazy, like on any drive, any wedge shot, any chip, any putt, you can kind of look stupid pretty fast, especially at a place like this,' he said.
Thomas' best U.S. Open finish was a tie for eighth in 2020 at Winged Foot in New York.
Justin Thomas last won a major in 2022. Getty Images
He shot a 6-over 76 to open the first round. Getty Images
Oakmont hasn't been kind to the sport's brightest stars this week.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau started his opening round Thursday by nearly committing a rules blunder while rival Rory McIlroy shot 4-over 74 and ducked the media afterward.
A microphone was a casualty in Shane Lowry's dreadful opener of 9-over 79.
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J.J. Spaun, in the hunt for his first-ever major, shot a bogey-free 4-under 66 to claim the top spot on the leaderboard.
He tees off for his second round shortly before 1 p.m. Friday.
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Los Angeles Times
4 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Sam Burns clings to one-shot lead heading into final round of U.S. Open
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New York Times
4 minutes ago
- New York Times
Who can still win the 2025 U.S. Open? Analyzing the field at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. — Of the five men at or below par following the third round of the 2025 U.S. Open, only one has won a major championship. That's Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion who would be the second-oldest U.S. Open winner. Besides him, there's leader Sam Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner who has one career top 10 in a major; J.J. Spaun, who missed the cut in only other U.S. Open appearance; and Carlos Ortiz, who hasn't played in a major in two years and not made the cut in one in four. Advertisement So yeah, there's a good chance Oakmont will again crown a first-time major champion on Sunday evening. But these are the golfers who have managed to tame this beast of a golf course the best they possibly could, and fought through slick conditions on Saturday afternoon to earn a late tee time on Sunday. Who will win? Who will not win? We're here to discuss. Adam Scott. The 44-year-old simply outnumbers the rest of the leaderboard when it comes to major championship experience. Age is just a number, but in this game, the more years you have, the more opportunities you have to learn — to figure out what works for you when it comes time to hit the shots. Scott is not only a Masters champion, but he has 20 career top 10s in majors, he's playing in his 96th consecutive major start and this is his 24th U.S. Open. That's more U.S. Open appearances than J.J. Spaun, Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland and Carlos Ortiz combined. Scott is the only player who has not shot an over-par score at Oakmont yet this week, with scores of 70-70-67. Even when he gets out of position, Scott gives himself a chance. He scrambled like a madman on Saturday, getting up-and-down six times, including from the three greenside bunkers he found. On Friday, he called it 'old-man par golf,' and at a venue where birdies are hard to come by and par feels like a relief, that style of play might just win it. — Gabby Herzig Viktor Hovland. Because Hovland has an extra gear I trust more than the others when he has it. Does he have it often enough? Absolutely not! But this week, his irons are dialed, and suddenly the golfer most famous for his short game bugaboo is in the top five almost entirely because of his incredible saves around the green. Give me that guy. Adam Scott might be playing the best overall golf. He might not have a single round over par at the toughest course in the world. So, sure, he's my second pick, but we have too much evidence of Scott struggling to close on the biggest stages. Even if the biggest losses were a decade or more ago, we still saw it just a year ago at the Scottish Open. When Viktor Hovland is in it, though? He stole the 2023 BMW from Scottie Scheffler with a Sunday 61. He went absolutely nuclear to win the Tour Championship a week later. He won the Memorial that year too, and he may have been the best player at the last Ryder Cup. Even this spring, when his swing was still a mess, he won Valspar when he didn't think he could. Plus, seven of the nine Oakmont major winners were first-time major winners. I'll say that winner is Hovland. — Brody Miller Adam Scott's swing in 800 frames per second. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025 After witnessing Spaun's collapse during the Monday morning playoff at the Players Championship, it's going to be hard to have confidence in the 34-year-old with one career victory on the PGA Tour. The moment was too big for Spaun then, so is he ready for it now? His play this week has been nothing short of impressive — an opening-round 66 was simply not supposed to happen on this test, and he backed it up with a 72 and a 69. During the first and third rounds, Spaun picked up ground against the field with a hot putter, gaining 4 shots on the greens on Thursday and 2.84 on Saturday. 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If it weren't for that brutal double bogey on 15, Hatton would be just three back after a Saturday 66. And even that hypothetical should have been better. His iron play was unbelievable Saturday, and he was second best in the field tee to green. The strange part? Hatton is one of the better putters in the world, and it was his constant missed birdie opportunities that held him back. Especially considering he putted well Thursday and Friday. Also, go back to ever-aggravated Hatton's hilarious comments at last year's U.S. Open. He's made for this. Advertisement 'It sort of brings (other players) to my level because I just lose my head every week. They can kind of experience what it's like in my head for a week.' — Miller With the way that the weather forecast is looking for tomorrow, we're going to continue seeing soft and potentially very scoreable conditions at Oakmont. But the USGA still does have a few tricks up its sleeve. There are nasty pin locations out there — including a back-right location on the par-3 13th that hasn't been used yet — and those could significantly impact scoring. I'm going to say 5-under gets into a playoff, and 6-under wins it outright. — Herzig Three-under-par. All five contenders here have played steady, reliable golf all week with one low round in the mix. None of them have gone higher than 72 yet, and Scott and Hovland haven't shot worse than 71. So it's quite unlikely all three of Burns, Scott and Spaun go heavily over par. Hovland beats Scott in a playoff. Pandemonium. — Miller (Top photo of Sam Burns: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Hamilton Spectator
7 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Adam Scott turns back the clock and climbs within shot of the lead at U.S. Open
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — His hair is speckled with grey. Even if he remains a fan favourite in some circles, when picks to win the U.S. Open were being made, not many included 44-year-old Adam Scott. Once third-round action at Oakmont wrapped up Saturday, though, the list of the top 10 names on the U.S. Open leaderboard was made up of two kinds of players: Those who had never won a major. And Scott, the 2013 Masters champion. On a day that brought back memories of that Sunday, 12 years ago at Augusta, one of Australia's biggest sports stars matched the day's best score with a 3-under 67. He'll enter the final round tied for second at 3 under with J.J. Spaun, one shot behind American Sam Burns, with whom Scott will play alongside Sunday in final pairing. Not bad for the man who came out of Friday's round of 70 and called it 'even-par, old-man golf.' 'It's huge, obviously,' Scott said. 'For sure I'll be nervous but I'm in a great spot. I'm happy to be one behind, not sleeping on the lead and that kind of stuff.' If the only player among the top contenders who harbours memories of what it's like to close on one of golf's biggest stages can pull it off Sunday, he'll become the second-oldest winner of America's national championship, behind Hale Irwin, who was 45 when he won at Medinah in 1990. Setting aside the idea that the U.S. Open and Oakmont are supposed to be the sort of nerve-jangling test that the 40-something set isn't great at, Scott played the final six holes in calm, damp conditions in 3 under. That included a tee shot to inside five feet for birdie on 13, an approach on 14 to a foot for birdie, a 14-footer for another birdie on No. 17 and a two-putt from 55 feet on the 18th hole to close with a par. With a ball speed measured at 187 miles per hour on the 18th tee box, and a drive that travelled 331 yards, some of this looked more like Scott back in 2014, when, partly on the strength of that Masters victory, he passed Tiger Woods to vault to No. 1 in the world ranking. Scott finished second two times last year, including at the BMW Championship in the playoffs, but has not been lighting up the PGA Tour in 2025; he doesn't have a top-10 finish this year. But, he said, things have been trending in the right direction lately. 'I started hitting it better off the tee in the last month, and usually over my career, I've seen that bleed through the rest of the game,' Scott said. 'I've slowly done it. I'm not exactly firing on all cylinders, but it's a nice thing having some confidence coming into tomorrow.' If this were a game of resumes, not driving, chipping and putting, Scott would already have the trophy. This marks the Aussie's 96th straight major — the longest active streak and second-longest of all time only to Jack Nicklaus, who played in 146 straight. This also marks Scott's 97th overall major. The other four players at even or better heading into Sunday — Burns, Spaun, Viktor Hovland and Carlos Ortiz — have combined to play 63. ___ AP golf:
