It was the rain that saved a man from drowning

As my wife and I drive across the country, I sneak peeks when I can.

“Honey, who tops the leaderboard?” I ask, six hours into our twenty-seven hour endeavor. I ask again at hour ten, twelve, and just about every hour thereafter.

We’re moving from Los Angeles to Nashville, and while this was the weekend that seemed to work “best” for the move, I knew it meant I’d be granted only a few short hours to indulge in perhaps the major of the year.

Pre-tournament chatter began with promises of impossibility and frustration. The weekend finished with a story of triumph (though not without the impossibility and frustration).

Los Angeles native John Michael (J.J.) Spaun Jr. played beautifully through 3 rounds, only to crumble in round 4, only to somehow rise again.

A story of redemption and persistence, here are my thoughts on the US Open:

Oakmont Country Club — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Aesthetically unique, but not gorgeous. A lone elm tree towers near hole no. 3 as the only tree on the interior of the course.

It’s been suggested that well over 15,000 trees have been removed from the course over the past several decades, and while that makes for a stark visual, I’d argue that it forces the other course characteristics (greens, bunkers, length) to make up for it’s otherwise feature-lacking display.

It’s not traditionally beautiful. With an interstate running right through it, you’ll find no flowers, no glistening lake, no towering oaks (as you might suggest at a place called Oakmont).

But this only makes sense — while nice in quality, this is not a nice (you know… kind, gentle, welcoming) course. This is not a forgiving course. This is a punishing course. Its look is reflective of the way it plays, certainly indifferent to the feelings of those playing it.

For a professional golfer to make the weekend cut and still finish +24, for Adam Scott to go from -3 on the weekend to finishing at +6, for just one man in a field of 156 to shoot under par (or even par for that matter) — it’s all a testament to the pain this course induced all weekend long.

I didn’t even mention (and won’t mention by name) the gentleman who went +35 over two rounds of golf. Sure, it may have taken my best to achieve a +35 in one round, but that is why I’m not a professional golfer.

Okay, his name is George Duangmanee. My apologies, George.

In whole, this course made for a thrilling race to par on every single hole — not matter how pleasing she was to the eye.

Sunday’s weather seemed to change everything for players near the top.

A tale of two finishes transpired for those leading and for those just hanging around.

Those leading (Sam Burns and Adam Scott) have evidence that the rain disrupted everything, as both gentlemen card +6 the final 8 holes.

Those needing a bit of a surge (J.J. Spaun and Robert MacIntyre) used the rain delay to reset.

Bobby Mac was playing well enough, sitting at even par on the round at the time of the delay. Instead of letting the rain make way for excuses to underperform, MacIntyre sings through the back nine with a bogey-free -2 performance, giving him the lead going into the clubhouse, awaiting Spaun’s and Hovland’s finish — the only ones that would matter at that point.

Spaun, as I’ll mention momentarily, got off to a start that should have put to rest any conversation of his chances. After the delay, Spaun gets back on the horse with three pars, only to rattle off four birdies (one bogey) over the final seven holes, eclipsing MacIntyre en route to winning it all.

As odd as it may be, it was the rain that saved a man from drowning. There’s no other way to describe what was happening to Spaun at the beginning of R4 — drowning. Lucky for him, it’s not a one-round tournament, and it’s certainly not a nine-hole tournament.

To begin, Spaun shot -4 in the first round, raising some eyebrows. Maybe this course is playing easier than expected, we thought.

I myself had a few thoughts regarding Spaun’s possible slide… given what’s happened to some of these other guys, Spaun could easily rattle off a +6 next round, I kept repeating.

He never did. Rounds two and three were steady, solid.

He played his way to -3 heading into the final day, good enough to make the final pairing, but Scott’s early finish on day three pushed Spaun to the penultimate group with Viktor Hovland.

Spaun started the final round +5 through the first six holes, giving the world their chance to say, we knew he didn’t have it in him. Oh, but but how you must be feeling if you were one of those who had this thought dance across your mind.

Rain coming down in sheets forced the officials to pause play for some time. It was those 96 minutes of rest that gave Spaun a chance to reset, to visualize what could be over the next two hours. A perfect drive on the reachable par four 17th gave him an eagle change, then a tap-in birdie gave him the lead at even par. A 64-foot birdie putt on 18 capped off a near-miraculous turnaround for Spaun, and his emotions extended well past his sleeves — they were all over that 18th green, as they should have been.

He’d done it, and he was able to celebrate his US Open victory on Father’s Day with his wife and kids — a special and beautiful moment for him and for golf.

Back later with more field notes from the course and more updates from the wide world of golf.

I hope you all enjoyed — leave me a note, send to a friend, whatever you please.

Cheers,

Luke Mangan

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