OAKMONT, Pa. — Sam Burns’s hopes of winning the U.S. Open went “splat” on the 15th hole Sunday when he struck his approach from a watery area in the fairway and saw his wayward shot lead to a double bogey that basically knocked him out of contention.

The five-time PGA Tour winner who was the 54-hole leader by a shot over Adam Scott and was still tied for the lead through 14 holes at 1 over par had requested a ruling from USGA officials, believing his ball was in casual water.

But even after getting opinions from two different rules officials, Burns was denied relief, most likely due to Rule 16.1a which deals with abnormal course conditions.

While the area around Burns’s ball it appeared to be casual water—or temporary water in the rule book—his stance was not. And thus the ruling.

“That fairway slopes left to right,” Burns said afterward. “That's kind of the low part of the fairway there. When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. 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.”

Oakmont Country Club was hit with sheets of rain that caused a 96-minute delay and left the course a mess. The grounds crew did its best to get water off the course but the grounds were saturated.

“It was borderline unplayable,” said Adam Scott, who was playing with Burns. “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.

“He tried to hit a 5-iron, I guess, on the 15th, and it’s tough. It’s a tough call, but we played. Everyone had to deal with it.”

The USGA issued a statement: “Burns requested relief from temporary water on hole 15 but was denied after it was determined that there was no water visible where his ball had come to rest nor was water visible before or after he took his stance. This was confirmed by the referee on hole 15 and by a rules rover who was called in after Burns was offered a second opinion.”

The double-bogey 6 knocked Burns back to 3 over par and at that point he trailed eventual winner J.J. Spaun by two shots with three holes to go. He added another bogey at the 16th before birdeing the 17th and making another bogey at the 18th to shoot 78.

He ended up at 284, 4 over par and in a tie for seventh, five shots behind Spaun.

“From that point, [caddie] Travis [Perkins] and I said, ‘Look let’s focus on the shot, try to execute.’ I did the best I could,” Burns said. “I was 100% locked in on what I was trying to do. Ultimately, it felt like the water just kind of got in the way, and I went left. It is what it is.

“Look, it’s part of it. Everybody’s got to deal with it. I’m extremely proud of the way I fought out there today. Overall it was a great week.”


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sam Burns's U.S. Open Hopes Were Dashed With Controversial Ruling on Soggy Fairway.

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