In the end, even “old-man-par” would have fallen just short as too many tussles with Oakmont Country Club’s gnarly rough denied Adam Scott a career-defining second major at the U.S Open.
Shortly before heavy rain forced a 99-minute suspension of play in the final round, Scott had drawn level with 54-hole leader Sam Burns (78) on the top of the leaderboard at 2-under par.
As Mother Nature and Oakmont applied a squeeze that at one point pushed every player in the field over par, five players – including Scott – were tied for the lead as the final group walked from the 12th green.
It was a moment for Scott to lean on experience gleaned from 96 consecutive major starts but missed fairways at 14 and 15 and two hacks from deep stuff right of the 16th green saw the 44-year-old drop four shots in three holes and suddenly out of contention.
In a chaotic finish in fading light, 34-year-old American JJ Spaun (72) shrugged off bogeys on five of his first six holes to finish birdie-birdie and win at 1-under-par, holing the longest putt made by anyone all week on the 72nd hole, a 64-foot-five-inch roll into golf immortality.
Admitting that he didn’t adjust to the condition of the golf course after the rain delay, Scott said that missed fairways were fatal as he finished with 9-over 79 and tied for 12th.
“I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.
“Couldn’t recover. Conditions were just tough. They were tough at the start. Then once the fairways were soaked, it was very hard controlling the golf ball.
“It was borderline unplayable. The water was like so close to the surface. Like the shot I hit on 11, it’s bizarre. I just don’t know. It was like an aquaplane on the ground.
“It’s a tough call, but we played. Everyone had to deal with it.”
It was a win Scott craved to deem himself worthy of Hall of Fame status.
The 2013 Masters champion hit his opening tee shot 302 yards into the left-centre of the fairway to set a positive tone, but he would hit just six more in the ensuing 17 holes.
After a bogey on one, Scott squandered a rare birdie chance from 12 feet on two and then dropped a shot on three to fall two back of Burns.
A thunderous drive of 341 yards and a fortunate drop from a sprinkler head beside the green gave Scott an eagle look at the par-5 fourth, the Queenslander unleashing a rare premature fist pump when his putt from 46 feet hooked below the front of the hole late.
A par putt from five feet at five was enough to join Burns at 2-under but a three-putt on six would be Scott’s third bogey in his opening six holes.
He came up two inches short of a birdie at the par-4 seventh and was waiting on the eighth tee when USGA officials suspended play at 4:01pm local time.
Upon resumption, Scott was confronted with one of the toughest shots on arguably golf’s toughest golf course, his tee shot at the 301-yard par-3 eighth nestling down deep in the rough to the right of the green.
An up-and-down from right of the ninth green saw Scott go out in 3-over, coming up six inches short of a much-needed birdie from 44 feet at the par-4 10th.
Despite an impressive putt from 14 feet for bogey, a dropped shot after traipsing through knee-high fescue rough behind the 11th green the first of four bogeys along with the double-bogey on 16 marking the beginning of the end.
Birdie chances from 21 feet and 38 feet would stay above ground at 12 and 13, Scott suffering at the hands of Oakmont once again when his tee shot on 14 became semi-buried near the front lip of the right fairway trap, leaving nothing but a sideways blast that travelled just 30 feet into the rough again.
Playing as a single after Canadian Corey Conners withdrew pre-round through injury, Kiwi Ryan Fox continued his hot run with a closing 1-under 69 to finish in a tie for 19th at 7-over par.
Jason Day shot 73 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 23rd, Marc Leishman (77) was tied 38th and Cam Davis – also playing as a single – making four birdies on the back nine in a round of 73 to be tied 64th.
Final Australasian scores
T12 Adam Scott 70-70-67-79—286
T19 Ryan Fox (NZ) 72-73-73-69—287
T23 Jason Day 76-67-72-73—288
T38 Marc Leishman 71-75-68-77—291
T64 Cam Davis 74-73-82-73—302
MC Cameron Smith 75-73—148
MC Min Woo Lee 77-72—149
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