OAKMONT, Pa. — The driving range at a major championship is the heart of the operation. Players come and go throughout the week as pre-tournament preparations are substituted for post-round therapy sessions with caddies and swing coaches. Everyone is on their own journey no matter the day or context, the destination shared.
Saturday exemplifies this the most as those who miss the cut — like Justin Thomas and Min Woo Lee — dare not turn down a world-class facility with free golf balls available. They are not the only ones who continue their search as those still in the competition like Hideki Matsuyama go straight to the grass following their third-round woes. All this while those in contention stroll on and begin their quest toward something more.
Sunday of the 2025 U.S. Open, the driving range had an elevated heartbeat; it was racing uncontrollably. Following a near two-hour weather delay, players, caddies, agents, volunteers, fans and media members flooded the practice area. The USGA had given players ample time to get their bearings ahead of a restart that would ultimately define the 125th playing of this national championship. Officials were directing traffic, telling players which shuttle would serve as their carriage ride to their destination, but in their heart of hearts, they already knew where they wished to go.
Laughs were exchanged by competitors, jokes aired loudly for all to hear, a sense of casualness engulfed those who were ready to be done with Oakmont, ready to be done with this U.S. Open. But still, 11 holes remained and a major champion had yet to be crowned. There was still work to do.
Sam Burns sauntered behind his peers with a controlled breath and a calculated cadence. He was out in front of this championship and in his own little world. The 54-hole leader had caught a break just before play was called as he did not need to hit his tee shot on the long par-3 8th with driver in hand. It may have been the last good break of his tournament; he didn’t know that yet.
Adam Scott squared his club face up continuously, while J.J. Spaun was lectured by his team to calm down. He still had 10 holes to play. Relax, a four-stroke deficit is nothing in this championship, anything can happen on the back nine Sunday at the U.S. Open.
And then there was … wait, where was Viktor Hovland? Spaun’s playing partner in the penultimate group was nowhere to be seen. He rushed from the far side directly to the middle where the last hitting station was available. He went through his warm up with caddie Shay Knight serving as his sherpa.
But his guide was without his uniform. Knight had forgotten his caddie bib and wasn’t sure where it was located. It was retrieved moments later, discovered in player dining where it hung on a chair. Hovland remained on the range far past the time of his counterparts. Like Saturday night, he stood there alone pounding driver after driver searching for an answer — anything that could give him direction.
Emerging from no man’s land
Mid-30s is young, but it’s a desert in professional golf for those not already considered top players in the game. Those in their 20s still have plenty of hope and runway out in front of them. Those in their 40s see every chance as more meaningful and intense given a limited number remain.
Sunday at the U.S. Open was supposed to be a four-man race. It turned into a complete cluster. Just about everyone among the last 10 tee times had an avenue to the winner’s circle, but ultimately, it was Spaun, 34, who stepped into it.
As one gets older, one’s perspective changes. Just a few years ago, seeing Burns or Hovland come through would have been the preference as they are young players destined for stardom who would have achieved potentially their first of multiple major championships. Imagine having just graduated and dreaming one day of snagging that corner office.
Yet it made perfect sense that Scott was most fans’ preference Saturday night. A legend in every aspect who exudes class and seems to never misstep, Scott achieving perhaps his final shot at major glory was a potential triumph all could embrace. A hit of nostalgia mixed with achievement from an already made man.
Waking up Sunday and wishing my old man the best on Father’s Day, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Spaun somehow getting the job done. As conversations of “worst-case scenario” reverberated through the media center, Spaun’s name got brought up by certain peers. Why underrate the admirable achievement of a guy who simply figures it out “late.”
Someone in his mid-30s taking more time to achieve what superstars have and young studs might should be commended. It shows grit and toughness, a refusal to take “no” for an answer, utter self-belief perhaps mixed with a slice of delusion.
It’s incredibly relatable. You’re supposed to have your life figured out by the time you reach 30. But not everyone does. Everyone has different journeys, takes different paths to their destination.
Just ask J.J. Spaun.
Wouldn’t be a USGA event without a rules controversy
It got dicey in the beginning portion of the back nine Sunday just as players returned to the golf course. With a wall of rain traveling across the Pennsylvania Turnpike and directly into the final groups’ kitchens, conditions worsened as thoughts of another suspension ruffled through the grounds. A second horn never blew, though, as skies opened up alongside the championship.
“I was thinking of asking as well. It was borderline unplayable,” Scott said. “The water was like so close to the surface. The shot I hit on 11, it’s bizarre. I just don’t know. It was like an aquaplane on the ground. [Burns] tried to hit a 5-iron on the 15th, and it’s tough. It’s a tough call, but we played. Everyone had to deal with it.”
While good and bad breaks occur for every player across 72 holes of major championship golf, it felt as if all of Burns’ struggles came in a wave across the final two hours. He found a divot on No. 11 and another on No. 14; two holes fairly described as birdie chances (relatively to the rest of Oakmont) were played in 2 over.
But his worst break — or perhaps the most fateful decision — came on the par-4 15th. With his ball on the bottom of a severely sloped fairway, Burns asked not one but two rules officials for relief from casual water. It was not granted, and the result was another double bogey on his scorecard that effectively buried his championship hopes.
Relief probably should have been granted, but even so, the response from Burns was not one of a major champion. He still left his third in the rough and didn’t get up-and-down from there. Burns let the decision and subsequent shot affect his mettle. Adversity finds everyone at a U.S. Open, and it’s how one battles through it that ultimately defines one’s championship pedigree.
“When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up,” Burns said. “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.”
Traditional test
Coming into the week, the prior six U.S. Opens were won at a score of 6 under or lower — the longest streak in championship history. The USGA had contested tournaments at unorthodox sites such as Los Angeles Country Club and a restored Pinehurst No. 2, where it will return with regularity.
But going back to Oakmont for a record 10th time meant a return to a U.S. Open that many grew up watching. Thick, luscious rough resulting in hack outs and temper tantrums thrown by the world’s best. Par being a truly great score. It was not only a test of shot making and skill but one of attrition that asked the 67 men that made the cut, “How bad do you want it?”
Some may suggest that elevated rough takes away from the skill required to win a major, but let’s push back: Reading bad lies is an art. Deciphering the rough is a skill. Taking medicine is a look into one’s inner belief and discipline to not take on a shot. Try to take on more than you can chew, and you will be met with a shot of something that goes down the wrong pipe.
Adequate decision making and humbleness were required to win this U.S. Open. Hitting fairways — not just bombing long drives — was required to win this U.S. Open, too. A full examination occurred, it may have just looked a little different than recent years.
Spaun explained what he worked on with his new coach ahead of the championship given the expected conditions.
“The ability to read lies in the rough and how to chip them with consistent contact where you can predict like how far the ball’s going to come out or how dead it’s going to come out or how much effort you need to put in the swing to get the ball to where it needs to be,” he said. “So definitely some mechanics but more of like understanding what lies kind of dictate how the ball comes out.
“It’s been good, obviously. What was funny, the first hole of the tournament, I’m dead, short-sided on 10 in the rough, probably not far from the pin but it was dead because it was on the wrong side of the green. It’s one of those lies where we try to — I’m not going to tell the secret — but we try to do the secret, and I chipped it in. My caddie goes, ‘Nice shot, Josh.’ It was nice to see that come to fruition so quickly.”
2025 U.S. Open: Hardened by time, J.J. Spaun’s unrelenting toughness is what Oakmont required in a champion
Patrick McDonald
Hopefully not the last
A former world No. 1, a Player Championship winner, a Masters champion and a stalwart on the International Presidents Cup team, Scott should have more than one major triumph to his name. He does not. The U.S. Open represented his best chance since the 2018 PGA Championship, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Scott never settled into his final round, but he kept himself afloat with some clutch putts like a bogey on No. 11 just as rain regained its strength. Only then did the wheels begin to fall off as missed fairways were compounded with additional mistakes and ultimately led to a 9-over 79. It will read as a T12 finish in the history books, but it was so much closer than that.
“It was good. I slept fine. I was looking forward to it,” Scott said. “Although the conditions were tough at the start, I felt good. I felt like I was under control. I was kind of annoyed at myself. I hit a really weak putt on like the 6th, and then I felt like, ‘Oh, I’ve let one go there, better toughen up a little bit and not do that.’ It was just so sloppy the rest of the way. Sam, we must have looked horrible, both of us playing like that. But that’s what can happen in these things. If you get a little off, you’re just severely punished.”
Burns and Scott combined to go +17 in the final pairing.
European class
As Spaun stepped up the crosswalk exiting the 18th green at Oakmont, a bevy of Europeans stood on the other side. Robert MacIntyre was there to congratulate him as the clubhouse leader came up two strokes shy of forcing a playoff. Jon Rahm was there to console his fellow Europeans, and Tyrrell Hatton had his post-round interview interrupted with the theatrics of Spaun, giving Hatton an opportunity to sing his praises live to the press.
It what makes golf so different and so amazing: graciousness in defeat. There is nothing like it — supremely confident professionals being able to say, You know, someone else was better than me this week.
Even with a par putt remaining, Spaun’s playing partner, Hovland, couldn’t help but give the champion his flowers. Hovland’s caddie grabbed Spaun’s ball out of the hole and extended a high five. Hovland did the same as he poured over his final stroke.
They shook hands, and Hovland expressed how impressive Spaun’s performance had been. As friends, family and media swarmed Spaun on the side of the green, Hovland stood there on the outside looking in in more ways than one.
“That was unbelievable,” Hovland said. “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. I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under-par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.
“To watch him 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.”
Scottie, Scottie, Scottie
It is lunchtime on Monday, and it still feels like Scottie Scheffler has a chance to win the 2025 U.S. Open. The world No. 1 was far from his best this week at Oakmont, but he just sort of hung around as the masses waited for that vintage Scheffler surge. Unfortunately for the three-time major champion, it never occurred.
After opening with rounds of 73-71, Scheffler went looking for answers with grueling range session Friday evening. It produced better results as he fired dueling 70s over the weekend, but it felt like it could have been so much better. He fell short of Spaun by five strokes, and if you go through his rounds, there are just about five from each which could have been recovered.
“My main takeaway is I battled as hard as I did this week,” Scheffler said. “I was really proud, mentally, of how I was over the course of four days. I did a lot of things out there that could really kind of break a week, and I never really got that one good break that kind of propels you.
“I’d hit it this far off, and seemingly every time I did, I was punished pretty severely for it. Even today, I make that double early, and then I come back, I birdie 4. I hit what I feel like is a good tee shot on 5, and it’s just off the first cut and I don’t have a stance again. Just little things like that add up over the course of a week.”
Even despite a three-putt double bogey early in his final round — five total on the week — Scheffler still had an opportunity to post with the field coming back to the pack. He lipped birdie chances on Nos. 9-10 and gave himself a look from inside 10 feet on No. 11 that required three more putts, turnoing a circle into a square. Still, he was only two strokes behind with one hole to play, and even then, it seemed like a birdie could be enough to pull off the impossible.
“Just little stuff like that, where the weeks that you win, you need to have good luck sometimes in order to win tournaments,” Scheffler added. “This week, the way I was battling, I wasn’t able to give myself enough chances. … If I had four days like I did [Sunday], I think it would have been a different story. I was playing kind of behind the 8-ball most of the week hitting the ball in the rough. Overall, proud of how I battled, gave myself a chance, but ultimately didn’t have enough.”