Sunday at Oakmont: Where Storylines, Not Stars, Steal the Show
A major still very much in the balance, the 125th U.S. Open final round is set for a fascinating finish as experience, redemption, and raw nerves collide on golf’s toughest stage.
Seoul, Korea - Veteran Aussie Adam Scott and rising American Sam Burns may be generations apart, but they share the same fairway in Sunday’s final pairing of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, where the pressure is suffocating and the possibilities endless.
Burns, 27, leads by one at 4-under after rounds of 72-65-69. He’s still chasing his first major, but Saturday showed his mettle: a field-best strokes gained approach, deft scrambling, and a putter running hot. “I didn’t have my best off the tee,” he said. “But I gave myself chances and hung tough.”
Scott, 44, a model of composure, quietly carded a bogey-free 67—his best round yet—to reach 3-under. He’s played conservatively, smartly, and seems to have found something special at just the right time. “I’ve not been forcing things,” he said. “That might change tomorrow.”
Chasing them? A diverse pack: J.J. Spaun (-3), reborn in 2025 with grit and consistency; Viktor Hovland (-1), Norway’s stoic maestro; Carlos Ortiz (E), a qualifier dreaming big; Tyrrell Hatton and Thriston Lawrence (+1), battle-hardened from DP World Tour skirmishes.
Spaun, who hasn't three-putted all week and owns the only bogey-free round, has quietly impressed. “You could control landing spots with how soft the greens were,” he noted. His 69 was surgical: 15 greens hit, and 12 straight pars in the middle.
Even the rain helped. Oakmont’s infamously punishing layout softened under Friday night’s showers, shaving strokes off the usual brutality. Saturday’s 72.67 scoring average proved as much.
And what of the World No. 1? Scottie Scheffler lurks at 4-over, seven shots adrift—but Oakmont remembers Johnny Miller in ’73 and Dustin Johnson in ’16. Comebacks happen here.
As Burns chases validation, Spaun craves belief, and Scott seeks history, Sunday promises one truth: greatness may yet come from the unexpected.
And that's what makes this U.S. Open so utterly compelling.