Fox improves at wet US Open to finish in tie for 19th
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has finished in a tie for 19th at the US Open today after carding a one-under round of 69 at a wet Oakmont course.
Fox's fourth round was his best of the tournament and meant he finished in a tie with Rory McIlroy, Victor Perez and Emiliano Grillo.
Fox, who won the recent Canadian Open, was one of only six players to shoot under par for the final round as the heavy rain, which caused a lengthy delay, fell on an already wet course.
He hit three birdies an only one bogey on the front nine but had only one birdie plus two bogeys on the back nine.
American J.J. Spaun won the tournament with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.
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First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole on to the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished this storybook week by holing the longest putt all week for birdie and a 2-over 72.
That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.
And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second US Open.
JJ Spaun celebrates his putt on the 18th at Oakmont. (Source: Associated Press)
The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun. One shot behind at the start of the day, he opened with five bogeys in six holes. And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.
Spaun recovered as so many others fell apart.
'I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,' said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world and moved up to No. 8 with his US Open victory.
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"I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was. I'm just trying to be the best golfer I can be.
'I'm happy to display that here at Oakmont.'
Spaun was the only player to go under par for the tournament and won by two shots over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, who watched the finish from a scoring room and could only applaud the stunning conclusion.
Five players shared the lead with an hour to go. Four players were still tied as the US Open made its way to the final four holes that frustrated Sam Burns and Tyrrell Hatton, and crushed the hopes of Adam Scott and Carlos Ortiz.
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