OAKMONT, Pa. — There are fans watching this 2025 U.S. Open who only know Adam Scott as a good-looking golfer with a better-looking swing who happens to share his name with a famous actor. They weren’t around the game — or some, around on this planet — when the Australian rocked Burberry clothing and locks out the back of his cap on his way.
They didn’t see Scott sizzle at TPC Sawgrass and become the youngest golfer to win The Players Championship at age 23. They didn’t see him wilt down the stretch at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, bogeying his final four holes of The Open Championship to squander a four-stroke lead with as many holes to play. They know him as the 2013 Masters winner, sure, but the heartbreak he experienced before that triumph has waned with time.
It indeed seems like a lifetime has passed since that 72-hole trek around Augusta National, but as the last 12-years have progressed and more fans pick up this beautiful game, Scott has remained steadfast.
This week’s U.S. Open marks his 96th consecutive major championship played dating back to the 2001 Open. Next year’s national championship at Shinnecock Hills was going to be celebrated no matter his chances and what had transpired prior. It will likely mark his 100th straight — 25 straight years of play on golf’s grandest stage.
Scott may well enter that U.S. Open as the tournament’s reigning champion if Sunday unfolds like many are hoping.
“It would be super fulfilling,” Scott said Saturday. “Everyone out here has got their journey, you know. Putting ourselves in these positions doesn’t just happen by fluke. It’s not easy to do it. I really haven’t been in this kind of position for five or six years, or feeling like I’m that player. But that’s what I’m always working towards. It’s not that easy to figure it all out. But if I were to come away with it tomorrow, it would be a hell of a round of golf and an exclamation point on my career.”
Longevity is so rarely celebrated in golf for reasons that will never be understood. One month shy of turning 45 years old without a PGA Tour win since 2020, Scott has summoned skills of his past and shots of his present to give himself an opportunity in the near future to raise his second major trophy — more than 12 years removed from his first.
The gap between the two victories would set for a new record. Ben Crenshaw and Julius Boros spent 11 years in the desert between their first two major championships. It would also make Scott the seventh-oldest man to win a major and the first north of age 40 since Phil Mickelson’s memorable 2021 PGA Championship triumph.
It’s a different type of pressure on the back end of one’s career. There’s a finality to it all, an unknown whether there are any more chances on the horizon or the sun will set for good with this the last, best chance to achieve glory. Experience of knowing what can happen sometimes outweighs the ignorance of knowing what cannot.
This was on full display only two majors ago when Justin Rose lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy at the Masters. Rose and Scott’s careers have their parallels — former world No. 1s and one-time major winners born two weeks apart who many believe should have seen greater success at this most-significant events.
If there was ever time for divergence in their paths, it’s Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Western Pennsylvania.
Scott’s counterparts in Oakmont’s final stanza have more runway in front of them. His playing partner in the final group, Sam Burns, checks in south of age 30. The same goes for the affable Viktor Hovland, while J.J. Spaun seems to be surging in the middle of his 30s. They should have more at bats.
For Scott, this may well be his final plate appearance. An “old” man stuck in a young man’s sport that’s only getting younger, the Australian has kept hard at work. He has matched his neophyte competitors in terms of speed, and through three rounds in the most grueling test of the season, he has kept up with them in terms of score, too.
Sunday may prove to be the longest round of Scott’s entire career, the longest day as well. A late tee time Sunday on a major championship Sunday means there is a lot of time to think. A lot of time to consider about how one got there and how one can get there.
The good news for Scott? He’s already been here a long time. If his play the first three days at Oakmont — where he is one of only three men in history to score 70 or lower in all of those rounds — is indicative of what Sunday will bring, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
“A lot can happen in 18 holes out here,” Scott said. “But I like what I’ve done so far.”
Ranking the 2025 U.S. Open contenders
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
1. Sam Burns (1st, -4)
Burns has been known as Scottie Scheffler’s right-hand man these last few years, but he can make a name for himself Sunday. Holding his first 54-hole lead in a major, the five-time PGA Tour winner has blended his world-best putting with some sensational iron play through three rounds. Burns was without his best stuff off the tee in Round 3, but he scrambled his rear end off with high-level up-and-downs scattered across his entire back nine. The putter is a legitimate super power, and if he finds the short grass with more consistency Sunday, he may well call himself a U.S. Open champion by day’s end.
“Scottie’s obviously an incredible player,” Burns said. “I don’t think I need to say that. [Laughing] But I think we obviously spend a lot of time together and being able to talk to him and just kind of learn from him and ask him questions, it’s been really cool. As good of a player as he is, he’s a better guy, and I think that’s what makes it really special to watch because you want to root for somebody like that. So he’s an easy guy to root for. He happens to be also the best player in the world. But, yeah, it’s been nice to kind of pick his brain and ask him certain things.” Odds: 2-1
2. Adam Scott (T2, -3)
Odds: 3-1
3. J.J. Spaun (T2, -3)
There is a nervous confidence about Spaun as he understands the magnitude of the situation, which allows for his anxiety to heighten his focus. He came away from his playoff loss to McIlroy at The Players without a trophy but with plenty to lean back on in Sunday’s final round. Spaun leads the field in putting, but perhaps more importantly, he ranks inside the top 10 in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation. His distance control with his irons was slightly off on Saturday, and if he hits more approach shots pin high Sunday, he has as good a chance as anyone.
“It’s fun,” Spaun said. “I mean, this is the first time for me to be in contention in a major. I mean, The Players is an unofficial major, I guess, but yeah, it’s fun. I mean it’s kind of everything that you prepare and hope to have the opportunity to have at these big events, let alone just getting into them are so hard.
“That was me a year ago — I mean a year and prior, like I couldn’t even get into these tournaments. So to see myself here qualifying off world ranking [points] just based off how I’ve been playing all year was a nice treat. But then to kind of back up how I’ve been doing all year and be in contention is fun.” Odds: 7/2
3. Viktor Hovland (4th, -1)
For my money, Hovland is the best player in the world without a major championship. It’s a label no competitor wants to hold, but it’s one Hovland has a chance to shed Sunday. A final-hole bogey on Moving Day may sour his dinner, but the Norwegian put together a patient third round to keep him within reach of the lead only three behind.
His short game has been sufficient as he looks comfortable over touchy pitches and chips, and his approach play has been next level. He is fighting a right miss with the driver, of which he is well aware. Hovland spent nearly an hour on the range Saturday evening with the driver in hand. If he solves that puzzle, he can make his move on the three players in front of him.
“Just feel like I’ve matured a lot more, just seen a lot more stuff happening,” Hovland said. “I know kind of what it takes to win a major championship, so I know the shots to try to hit and what shots not to try to hit. Feel like I’m way better equipped, just need to get that driver sorted, and I’ve got the game to do it. So it’s like I’m super proud that I’m that close, but it’s kind of frustrating that the driver is still just kind of holding me back a little bit.” Odds: 14/2