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Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
US Open: Spaun the last man standing at at a sodden Oakmont
JJ Spaun never stopped believing. Not when he started the final round of this 125th US Open here at Oakmont Country Club as if going out of his way to trip himself up, dropping five shots in his opening six holes; nor when others seemed out of reach. No, when it mattered, Spaun – securing a breakthrough Major win – did so in sensational fashion with his unorthodox putter working as if like a magic wand, finishing with a 65-feet birdie putt on the 18th green for a closing 72 for one-under-par 279 that gave him a two strokes winning margin over Scotland's Bob MacIntrye. This was a miserable old day, with a weather front arriving to make the gnarly rough wetter and even tougher from which to extricate recovery shots, but Spaun – who'd appeared to have lost his way with a disastrous start that went bogey-bogey-bogey-par-bogey-bogey for his opening six holes – somehow recovered from a front nine of 40 strokes to come home in 32 to claim the $4.3 million winner's cheque and the biggest win of his career. In a war of attrition, on a golf course sodden, Spaun, the world number 25, was the last man standing and deservedly so. He was the only player in the field to finish under par. READ MORE Others will rue what might have been. In fairness to MacIntyre, he could hardly have done much more. A third round 69 on Saturday as followed by a closing 68 for 281 to claim the clubhouse lead and he sat in the score recorder's watching and waiting, sportingly applauding Spaun's final putt which brought a mighty roar from all assembled around the 18th green and tears to the winner's eyes. But Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Scott and Sam Burns will reflect and rue. Burns, especially. He carried the 54 holes lead into the final round but suffered a nightmarish homeward run which included two double-bogeys – at the 11th and again at the 15th, where he was denied casual water relief on the fairway – as he closed with a 78 for 284, in tied-seventh alongside Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. 'When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. 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,' said Burns. Scott, the main challenger to Burns at the start of the final round, came home in 41 for a 79 for 286 to fall down to tied-12th and cut a figure as miserable as the weather on finishing his round. The winning and the losing of the title came on a homeward run, with those main contenders affected by the more than an hour and a half weather delay – which required the course, fairways and greens, to be squeegeed – and, while many struggled on their return, Spaun and MacIntyre proved the exceptions. Spaun's putter, though, proved his mighty weapon. On the 12th, he rolled in a 40 footer for birdie. On the 14th, he rattled in a 22 footer. And, on the 18th, most audaciously of all, Spaun – whose only previous win on the PGA Tour came in the 2022 Valero Texas Open – emerged from under the umbrella held by his caddie to roll in a 65 footer to seal the deal. His unorthodox looking L.A.B. DF3 putter proved priceless. The win for Spaun, a 34-year-old Californian of Mexican and Filipino heritage, was emotional, the tears freely flowing before Viktor Hovland – who'd given him a great read on his final putt – rolled in his par putt for a 73 for 282 that gave the Norwegian solo third. 'That was unbelievable. After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately. Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn't expecting that really. But obviously the conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast,' said Hovland, adding: 'Yeah, to watch (Spaun) hole the putt on 12 down the hill there was unreal; and then he makes another one on 14 that was straight down the hill, and then the one on 18, it's just absolutely filthy there.'
The Australian
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Australian
J.J. Spaun wins US Open in final round thriller at Oakmont
World number 25 J.J. Spaun drained the longest putt of the week to birdie the 18th and win a wild US Open by two shots over Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, while Aussie hero Adam Scott faded in the final round to finish in a tie for 12th. Spaun held the lead at times during the third round, but seemed out of contention after shooting five bogeys in the first six holes of the final round. As the brutally tough Oakmont course was made even harder by near constant rain and a 90 minute delay due to dangerous weather, Spaun made four birdies on the back nine to claim an unlikely major win. Needing just a two-putt on 18 to secure victory, Spaun holed a 64-foot monster in torrential rain to take an emotional win. Meanwhile Scott, playing with overnight leader Sam Burns in the final round, couldn't handle the wet conditions and finished nine over par for the day and +6 for the tournament. Scott was attempting to break the record for the longest gap between first and second majors, 12 years after his Masters win, but the wait continues. Scott didn't do much wrong on the front nine in horrendous conditions, but will rue a misfiring driver, while his iron play was slightly off on approach. The 44-year-old putted remarkably well, but was too often left with tough 30 or 40 footers to score. Scott hit four bogeys and a birdie on a rollercoaster front nine as dark rain clouds hovered over the course all day. JJ Spaun wins US Open In his scintillating third round, he made back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14, but came unstuck on the par four 14th in the final round. The former world number one hit his tee shot into a bunker, miscued his chip out and did well just to card a bogey five. The horror hole was the beginning of the end. Scott bogeyed four of the final five holes, including a double on 16 for a disappointing end. At the top of the leaderboard though, Spaun had never previously recorded a top 20 at a major and had even considered quitting the sport last year. Even midway through the manic fourth round, he seemed out of the running after shooting 40 on the front nine. Adam Scott faded away across the back nine. Picture:But as the lead chopped and changed in the final two hours, Spaun found some form, and finished well, becoming the only player to finish the championship under par. At one point, Spaun was in a five-way tie for first before emerging from the field down the stretch. Only seven players in the entire field shot below par in the fourth round, with MacIntyre's -2 propelling him into second spot. Viktor Hovland (+2) finished third, with Cameron Young, Hatton and Carlos Ortiz tied for fourth at +3. Jason Day shot a final round three over par to finish in a tie for 23rd, with fellow Aussies Marc Leishman (+11) tied for 38th and Cam Davis (+22) in 64th. Re-live the final round of the 125th US Open in our blog below.
