US Open golf: J.J. Spaun claims maiden major title; Ryan Fox earns top-20 finish

J.J. Spaun of the United States celebrates winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 125th US Open. Photo / Getty Images

For a US Open that had already delivered so much entertainment, the final round was its big crescendo.

A tight field, a rain delay, and a near 20m-putt that gave American J.J. Spaun his first major championship.

It was as unlikely a finish as you might have expected after the leaders had begun their final run to the title at the brutal Oakmont Country Club course near Pittsburgh.

Spaun, who came into the day one shot off the lead at three-under, dropped shots on five of his first six holes. But a 90-minute rain delay appeared to give Spaun the reset he needed as he went three-under through the back nine – putting the stamp on the win with back-to-back birdies in the final two holes.

The last was a putt he won’t forget; a long attempt that never looked like missing.

Robert MacIntyre, who came into the day seven shots back, made a late charge to hold the clubhouse lead at one-over with a few groups left to play and watch on a Spaun came home strong. Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, and Adam Scott posted a combined 17-over in their final round to finish in ties for seventh and 12th respectively.

In all of that, Ryan Fox saw his fine form continue with another top-20 finish.

The Kiwi finished in a tie for 19th at seven-over for the tournament, with a one-under 69 in his final round. It was a solid week for Fox, who continued his run of making the cut in major championships. That stretch is now at 10 appearances, and he’ll look to make it 11 at The Open later in the year.

Fox finished the tournament as the second-best putter in the field on average number of putts per hole, tied for fifth in strokes gained and tied for 15th in birdies made with 12.

He did, however, struggle with accuracy off the tee and found just 50% of fairways and only found 53% of greens in regulation.

Paired with Canadian Corey Conners, Fox found himself flying solo in his final round at Oakmont as Conners withdrew due to a wrist injury before the start of the round.

Conners sustained the injury in his opening round when he hit a hidden TV cable in the lip of a bunker, before aggravating the injury in his third round when hitting a ball out of a plugged lie.

Fox made a strong start but after finding the native area off the tee on the par-four ninth, he had to take a drop and it turned into his first bogey of the day.

He also lost his streak of not having a three-putt for the tournament on the par-four 10th, giving himself a long putt for birdie but needing three attempts to get the ball in the hole.

While the back-to-back dropped shots halted the momentum he had built earlier in the round, Fox got one of those shots back straight away with a birdie on the par-four 11th.

A bogey on the par-four 17th saw him fall back to one-under, which was where he stayed with a par on 18.

At one-under, Fox was one of just seven players to hand in an under-par scorecard in the final round, and one of just 36 under-par rounds for the entire tournament.

He’ll look to continue his impressive run of late at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut later this week, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events which features a limited field and no cut.

US Open final leaderboard

1. J.J. Spaun -1

2. Robert MacIntyre +1

3. Viktor Hovland +2

T4. Tyrrell Hatton +3

T4. Carlos Ortiz +3

T4. Cameron Young +3

T19. Ryan Fox +7

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Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.