For 90 minutes late Sunday the U.S. Open turned into complete chaos. There is no other way to describe the pure carnage that ensued over the last nine holes during the final round at wet and wild Oakmont.
Ultimately, however, it was J.J. Spaun who captured the biggest title of his life, making a dramatic birdie on the par-4 17th hole, then hoping to hold on for dear life down the treacherous 18th home hole only to drain a historic 64-foot putt for birdie when all he was trying to do was two-putt for par.
It was the longest putt made by anyone on the 18th hole all week. What a moment for the 25th ranked player in the world who shot 72 and ended the most grueling of championships at one-under-par 279 total, two shots clear of runner-up Robert MacIntyre.
All Spaun did on this wild and woolly day in Western Pennsylvania was start his round with five straight 5s on the scorecard, playing the first six holes in five over par. He was seemingly out of it at the time.
But there was a perfectly timed weather delay. At least for Spaun. There was a stoppage of play at 4:01 p.m. local time. They resumed at 5:37. By that time, even though weather was still horrendous and conditions were the worst of the week, Spaun was a new man.
"The weather delay we had just changed the whole vibe for the day," Spaun said.
An hour after play started back, no one was under par for the week. Fifteen minutes later there were five tied for the lead at one over par and Spaun was one of them, along with Sam Burns, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz.
But one-by-one, everyone sputtered, and Spaun made birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and the aforementioned 17 and 18 to thrill the masses. The 34-year-old Los Angeles-area native shot 66-72-69-72.
"Fortunately, it was my time," said Spaun, who claims the 2022 Valero Texas Open as his sole PGA Tour title.
MacIntyre shot 68 and held the clubhouse lead for 45 minutes. He was standing nearby hoping for a Spaun three-putt to head to a Monday morning two-hole playoff, but Spaun ended things quickly and unleashed emotions we haven't seen from the man who mostly remains stoic. Remember, he stood tall all week at TPC Sawgrass back in March and went into a playoff with Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship, only to lose Monday morning to the World No. 2.
"I never thought it would be here holding this trophy," Spaun said at the U.S. Open trophy presentation. "I've always has aspirations and dreams."
Viktor Hovland (73) finished third. Burns (78), Cameron Young (70), Tyrrell Hatton (72) and Carlos Ortiz (67) tied for fourth place. Burns and Scott, playing in the final pairing of the day, shot 78 and 79, respectively. Burns, Scottie Scheffer and Jon Rahm tied for seventh place at four-over total. Scott tied for 12th place at six over par.
Burns had a disastrous back-nine with a shot to win, but double bogeys at Nos. 11 and 15 essentially ended his chances for a first major championship. It's now consecutive weeks when he's had a chance to win but not convert. He lost in a playoff to Ryan Fox last week at the RBC Canadian Open.
Scott, 44, was the fan favorite heading into the final round, the gallery at Oakmont hoping the Aussie would find a way to collect a second major championship to go with his 2013 Masters title. He held on for a bit too but played the last five holes in five over, including a double bogey on the par-3 16th hole.
"Look, it just wasn't easy out there," Scott said. "All things being equal, it's Sunday of the U.S. Open, one of the hardest setups, and the conditions were the hardest of the week. Thank God it wasn't like this all week."
Said Burns: "I went out there and gave it the best I had. Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my head high."
Andrew Redington
At the end of the week, it was Spaun who joined a list of Oakmont U.S. Open winners like Dustin Johnson, Ernie Els, Johnny Miller and Ben Hogan, among others. Heady stuff for a man who was only playing in his second U.S. Open—he previously missed the cut in 2021 at Torrey Pines. This was only his ninth major championship start, a 35th-place tie in the 2018 PGA Championship his previous best performance. But now he'll move up to No. 8 in the world, rarefied air for a man who was worried about his PGA Tour status 52 weeks ago.
"I never knew how good I could be, but I'm glad I've been resiliant in my career and pushed through some things," Spaun said. "I'm happy to display that today at Oakmont."
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The ball moved, rules chaos followed and game changed forever