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How JJ Spaun fights Oakmont, rain and bad breaks for the US Open champion

Oakmont, Pennsylvania – Oakmont doesn’t need this. It doesn’t require a storm of biblical proportions to humble the world’s best golfers and take the toughest tests on the golf course. So when Sunday comes, turning grass fields into water rainwater, it’s like a knife change for those trying to win big titles.

At 4:01 pm, Play stopped. The 18th green is not recognizable when the river of water passes through it. The player was taken away from the golf course. During the delay, some people ate and some people call their families. Robert MacIntyre took off his shirt and tried his best to dry it with the air conditioning unit. Fans huddled under umbrellas or tried to shelter 191 acres with only one tree.

Soon after, the army of ground screws from Oakmont reached out and held the squeeze, trying their best to transfer the water from the competition surface. The rain finally subsided, at 5:40 pm, and as the game resumed, the leaders quickly realized that the route they left behind was no longer the route they returned.

“Once the fairway is soaked, it’s hard to control the golf ball,” said Adam Scott. “It’s not playable. But everyone has to deal with it.”

Despite the squeeze, the fairway is far from dry. The balls descended from the tee and never rolled over – or if they did, they went backwards. After contacting the club, splashes will occur whether it is iron, wedge or fairway wood. Even Scottie Scheffler had barely thought of where the ball would go once he hit. The already difficult golf course in the setting has become a more severe test of patience and psychological endurance.

“It’s not much fun to wait for the squeeze, and there really isn’t much rhythm there,” said Cam Young, fourth-placed. “There are wet places. You just have to guess. You can’t do a lot.

“It’s Sunday of the U.S. Open and is one of the hardest set-ups on the condition of the hardest of the week,” Scott said. “Thank God, I didn’t like this all week.”

After several holes after delay, the sun appears, teasing the competitors through the clouds. But by the time the last group drove down on the 10th hole, the rain came back. The game is no longer about who will emerge, but who can survive. Even Justin Thomas, who missed the layoffs this week, posted a class on social media “a little doubtful game” at home.

“A little close [to unplayable]but that’s possible,” said Viktor Hovland. “It’s really hard, and this golf course is just a beast. This is a kind of grinding. ”

While other players struggle to restore the pace before the delay, grinding is exactly what JJ Spaun needs to be one of the most unlikely major winners in recent memory.

“I’m trying to keep delving into it,” Spaun said. “I’ve been doing it all my life.”

He had already started the day behind Burns, but the potential soon disappointed him. He is not only five of the first six holes. The second second, his ball hit the flag and kept spinning backwards. The third time, his T-shirt shot a rough lie. When he turned, his scorecard read 40. The deficit is three shots, and it feels like the golf god above decides it’s not his day. Then, the rain came.

“The best thing that happens is resetting,” Spaun’s coach Josh Gregory said.

“I felt like I had a chance, and it was a really good opportunity to start winning the U.S. Open in one day. It was very fast,” Spaun said. “But this break was actually the key to me winning this game.”

Spaun’s career is defined by his ability to exceed expectations. He has never been a highly touted prospect or star. As he said on Sunday, he has never been “touched” to become a professional golfer, nor is he expected to win the pro. He won his first PGA Tour event at the age of 31 and until this year, he was one of many travelers with the main goal of retaining the PGA Tour.

But this year, Spaun has made a leap forward. Entering this week, he ranked 15th in the world golf rankings, and his name became the focus of people when he lost to Rory McIlroy in the playoffs.

“He’s right there,” Gregory said. “I think it proved to him, ‘Hey, I can do it. I can be one of the best people in the world. I can be a competitor. I can win a major championship.”

Not long ago, Spaun seemed not disappointed with the bad and bad weather on Sunday. During a day when things need to go beyond talent, Spaun knows where to find it.

“I think it’s just perseverance,” Spaun said. “I’ve been fighting for everything that I can get to where I need and get to what I want.”

As the last group entered the home court, the rain began to play again. The breeze whipped the precipitation from west to east, giving Spaun a final challenge: Oakmont ranked 18th in another downpour.

Nine years ago, Dustin Johnson stood on the same t-shirt, trying to end his first major win and punched the hole in what can only be described as perfect. After a fairway, green and short birdie putt, he conquered Oakmont.

On Sunday, Spaun split the fairway. He found the green and then under the umbrella his caddie held, giving him only so much cover, he spent some time reading the 64-foot putt. All he needed to win his first major was par.

Throughout the week, players speculated that if someone fired a shot for the game, they might appear as a trophy. Spaun is on the verge of doing so. But when Oakmont showered his competitors with another exhausting challenge, it was Spaun who beat back.

“I don’t want to play defense,” Spaun said.

Putters start to span the undulating green, which brings countless players to fit their 124-year history and goes right towards the iconic Sunday pin. Dead center. Little bird.

“Are you serious?” said his caddie Mark Carens as he walked to the clubhouse. “F – What just happened?”

Spaun is not only the last person standing. He is the only one who finishes under par. The lonely red numbers will always be remembered. For Spaun, it would be a testament to many things: his ability, his resilience and how he fought against the golf course, the weather and his own mind, throwing 72 holes at him.

“He’s an extraordinary achievement, grinder,” Gregory said. “It should prove that he’s one of the best players in the world.”

For Oakmont, 1-shot 1 is probably a bittersweet number. As its members desire, the course may not produce a win-win score, but over 72 holes and 18 tough holes on Sunday, it once again made the golf world a legitimate winner.

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