OAKMONT, Pa. — The U.S. Open came to Oakmont for a record 10th time and the venerable western Pennsylvania course delivered a tough week and a particularly wild Sunday.
Little-known J.J. Spaun won his first major after a 64-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole, giving him a total of 1-under-par 279. Had he two-putted from that distance for par, even par would have been the winning score for the week.
The round wasn’t without controversy, as Sam Burns’s hopes were dashed after a double bogey from a soggy spot in the 15th fairway where he wasn’t granted relief.
Sunday's wild finish and another Open of tough scoring led Sports Illustrated’s writers and editors to ponder this statement in U.S. Open Round 4 Fact or Fiction:
This U.S. Open hurt Oakmont’s standing among great venues.
Bob Harig, SI Golf Senior Writer: FICTION. It only enhanced it. The course was soaked with rain for weeks before the tournament and again on the weekend, which usually leads to an onslaught of scoring. But it still held up and you heard no complaints. Tough. Very tough. But fair. Only the winner, J.J. Spaun, was under par. The same number —1 under—that Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer tied at before Nicklaus won a U.S. Open playoff in 1962.
John Pluym, SI.com Managing Editor: FICTION. Oakmont is the toughest test in major tournament golf. Put the ball in the fairway and you have a chance. Put the ball in the rough, and you pay the price. The players knew that before they teed it up on Thursday. J.J. Spaun avoided disaster, kept the ball in play and was rewarded for it. Can’t wait for the next Open at Oakmont.
Jeff Ritter, SI Golf Managing Director: FICTION. I don’t need this type of carnage every week, but once a year for the U.S. Open it’s awesome and Oakmont delivered. The leaderboard on Sunday could’ve broken for about eight different winners, the closing holes were set up for birdies and disasters and produced plenty of each. As for our winner, J.J. Spaun today doesn’t look like he belongs among other U.S. Open champs (Angel Cabrera, D.J., Ernie Els, etc.) but an Oakmont Open was the first major for each of those other players, who were all later deemed more than worthy. I suspect the same may one day prove to be true for Spaun.
Max Schreiber, SI Golf Contributor: FICTION. It depends what you’re into. If you want to see majestic shotmaking, you probably didn’t enjoy this U.S. Open. But if you want to see guys gut it out and get penalized for bad shots, which is what the U.S. Open is supposed to be, then Oakmont proved to be the ultimate test.
John Schwarb, SI Golf Senior Editor: FICTION. There is no place like Oakmont, you see things here you don’t see anywhere else. Shane Lowry picked up his ball without marking it and Scottie Scheffler incorrectly marked his playing competitor’s scorecard, both because they were so mentally fried from the Oakmont grind. And both players in Sunday’s final group shot 78. I think the club has its performative elements, from the army of push mowers grooming rough to the rolled-and-rolled-again-and-again greens, but the end product works beautifully in testing the best players in the world.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fact or Fiction: This U.S. Open Hurt Oakmont’s Standing Among Great Venues.