OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA | Sam Burns was tied for the lead with four holes remaining Sunday when the U.S. Open squirted away from him.
Burns’ tee shot on the long, difficult par-4 15th hole at Oakmont Country Club came to rest in a low spot on the edge of the fairway, the ground squishy enough after the downpour that necessitated a 96-minute weather delay for Burns to ask a rules official if he could take relief from casual water.
The official considered Burns’ request and said no. Burns asked another official and got the same answer.
When he hit his 5-iron second shot, it went left immediately into thick rough. Burns ultimately made a double bogey, and the U.S. Open he had seemingly been in control of since his second-round 65 had escaped his grasp.
“That’s kind of the low part of the [15th] fairway there. When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up,” Burns explained.
“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.”
“Golf’s a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my head high.”
Sam Burns
Burns said he locked in on the shot but it got away from him and his chance at winning went with it.
It had already been a difficult day. Burns double-bogeyed the short 11th hole and never found the rhythm that had earned him a one-stroke lead entering the final round. He ultimately shot 78, one stroke better than his final group playing companion, Adam Scott.
“Look, 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,” said Burns, who finished T7 at 4-over par.
Scott, chasing his second major championship victory at age 44, was undone by going bogey-bogey-double bogey starting at the 14th hole. He finished T12 at 6-over.
“We must have looked horrible, both of us playing like that,” Scott said. “But that’s what can happen in these things. If you get a little off, you’re just severely punished.”
Scott wasn’t alone. Carlos Ortiz had a share of the lead until a double bogey at the 15th hole. Tyrrell Hatton had a share of the lead but bogeyed the last two holes.
“It was bad conditions. No one really had a good score. I missed the fairway. I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there. Couldn’t recover. Conditions were just tough,” 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.”
Ron Green Jr.