How J.J. Spaun battled Oakmont, rain and bad breaks for a U.S. Open title

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Oakmont did not need this. It did not need a heavy storm to humble the best golfers in the world and make the toughest test in golf even tougher. So when it came Sunday, the sheets of rain that turned fields of grass into shallow bodies of water, it felt like a twist of the knife to those trying to win a major championship.

At 4:01 p.m., play stopped. The 18th green was unrecognizable as water ran through it. Players were taken off the golf course. During the delay, some ate, some called their families. Robert MacIntyre took off his shirt and tried to dry it with an air conditioning unit. Fans huddled under umbrellas or tried to take shelter on 191 acres that feature one tree.

Soon after, Oakmont's grounds crew emerged, squeegees in hand, trying to divert the water off the playing surfaces. The rain eventually subsided, and at 5:40 p.m., as play resumed, the leaders quickly realized that the course they had left behind wasn't the same.

"Once the fairways were soaked, it was very hard controlling the golf ball," Adam Scott said. "It was borderline unplayable. But everyone had to deal with it."

Despite the squeegees, the fairways were far from dry. Balls landed off the tee and never rolled -- or if they did, they went backward. Contact with a club, be it an iron, wedge or fairway wood, caused a splash. Even Scottie Scheffler barely knew where the ball would go once he hit it. The golf course, already difficult in its setup, became an even harsher test of patience and mental endurance.

"It's not fun waiting for squeegeeing, and there's really not much rhythm to be had out there," said Cameron Young, who finished fourth. "There's wet spots. You just have to guess. There's not a ton you can do. You're waiting for them to squeegee them, but while it's still raining out there, the water is collecting so fast, you're kind of trying to smack it through puddles and see what you get."

"It's Sunday of the U.S. Open, one of the hardest setups, and the conditions were the hardest of the week," Scott said. "Thank God it wasn't like this all week."

For a few holes after the delay, the sun emerged, teasing the competitors through clouds. But by the time the final group teed off on the 10th hole, the rain returned. The tournament was no longer about who would surge but rather who could survive. Even Justin Thomas, who missed the cut this week, posted on social media from home that the course was "a little questionable to play."

"It was a little close [to unplayable], but it was doable," Viktor Hovland said. "The conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast. It was a grind."

While other players struggled to return to the rhythm they had before the delay, the grind was what J.J. Spaun needed to become one of the most unlikely major winners in recent memory.

"I tried to just continue to dig deep," Spaun said. "I've been doing it my whole life."

He started the day just a shot behind Burns, but potential quickly gave way to disappointment. He bogeyed five of the first six holes. On the second, his ball hit the flag and spun off the green. On the third, his tee shot bounced into a bad lie in the rough. When he made the turn, his scorecard read 40. He had a three-shot deficit and it felt as if it would not be his day. Then, the rain came.

"The best thing that happened was the reset," Spaun's coach Josh Gregory said.

"I felt like I had a chance, a really good chance to win the U.S. Open at the start of the day. It just unravelled very fast," Spaun said. "But that break was actually the key for me to winning this tournament."

Spaun's career has been defined by exceeding expectations. He was never a highly touted prospect or a star in the making. As he said Sunday, he was never "groomed" to be a professional golfer, nor was he expected to win a major. He won his first PGA Tour event at 31 and, until this year, he was one of many journeymen whose primary goal is to keep their PGA Tour card.

This year, however, Spaun has made a leap. Heading into this week, he was 15th in the world golf rankings and he had entered the spotlight when he lost to Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship in a playoff.

"He was right there," Gregory said. "I think that proved to him that, 'Hey, I can do this. I can be one of the best in the world. I can be a rival. I can win a major championship."

Having come face to face with disappointment not so long ago, Spaun appeared unfazed by bad breaks and bad weather Sunday. On a day that required something beyond sheer talent, Spaun knew where to find it.

"I think it's just perseverance," Spaun said. "I've always kind of battled through whatever it may be to kind of get to where I needed to be and get to what I wanted."

As the final groups hit the home stretch, the rain picked up again. The breeze whipped the precipitation from west to east, giving Spaun one final challenge: Oakmont's 18th in another downpour.

Nine years ago, Dustin Johnson stood on that same tee attempting to close out his first major win and played the hole immaculately. A fairway, a green and short birdie putt later, he had conquered Oakmont.

On Sunday, Spaun split the fairway. He found the green and then, under an umbrella held by his caddie, he took his time reading the 64-foot putt. All he needed to win his first major was a par.

All week, players surmised that if anyone shot even par for the tournament, they might emerge with the trophy. Spaun was on the brink of doing that. But as Oakmont showered its competitors with one more exhausting challenge, Spaun struck back.

"I didn't want to play defensive," Spaun said.

The putt began to roll across the undulating green that has given countless players fits in its 124-year history and left to right toward the iconic Sunday pin. Dead center. Birdie.

"Are you serious?" his caddie Mark Carens said as he walked up the stairs to the clubhouse. "What the f--- just happened?"

Spaun was not just the last man standing. He was the only one who finished under par. The lone red number by his name will be remembered. For Spaun, it is proof of many things: his ability, resiliency and of how he battled everything the golf course, the weather and his psyche threw at him over 72 holes.

"He's an overachiever, a grinder," Gregory said. "That should validate to him that he's one of the best players in the world."

For Oakmont, the 1-under might be bittersweet. The course might not have produced a winning score over-par as its membership craved, but over 72 holes and 18 arduous ones Sunday, it once again delivered the golf world a rightful winner.