Telfer's Thoughts

This wasn’t supposed to happen. A journeyman pro winning America’s national Open - a Major Championship on America’s hardest course - but this is exactly what happened. Thirty-five-year-old JJ Spaun, a native from California, emerging out of the rain, the mud and the gloom to roll in a 65- foot putt on the 18 th hole to win the year’s 3 rd Major championship.

Perhaps it’s a little unkind to label Spaun as an absolute journeyman. He did record a solitary win on this Tour a few years back and this year took Rory McIlroy to a play-off in the Players Championship before losing out to the Irishman.

However he was sufficiently disillusioned with his game last year to seriously consider giving the game away. That thought is unlikely to return to him any time soon I imagine.

Another oddity here - after his win he attributed the win in large part to the weather.

Heavy rain midway through the day made much of the course unplayable and prompted a two-hour weather delay. That, said Spaun, gave him time to regather his thoughts.

When the rain came he had largely played himself out of the tournament after bogeying 5 of the first 6 holes. When he got back out on the course, however, he rediscovered his putting touch which saw him record the only bogey-free round on Day 1. His opening round of 66 gave him the first day lead and he put that down to his putting and his accurate driving.

Over the back nine the putts from 10, 20 and 30 feet started to drop. Meanwhile his opponents on the first page of the leaderboard were coming to grief one by one as Oakmont started to take its toll.

At one stage no less than 5 players were tied at the top at 1 under par.

In the end it came down to that final green. If Spaun could get down in 2 from 65 feet the title was his. A three putt here meant he would be tied with Scot Bob McIntyre. It was a long awkward downhill putt. Getting the speed right was the key to getting his ball close to the hole and when he needed his putter to come to the fore again, it did so. And in she rolled and with it the title - US Open champion. It was a US$4million putt.

Another who oddly enough benefitted from the weather carnage was Ryan Fox. He began the day in a tie for 39th place. He got the better of the weather on this final day and made the most of it shooting a 1 under par 69, his only sub par round of the tournament. Then he sat back and watched the awful weather roll in and the scores start to climb and his position get better and better. At the end of it all his 72-hole score of 7 over was enough to see him in a tie for 19th place, one of his best ever showings in a Major. Also it lifted his world ranking by 2 spots to 30 and his FedEx cup ranking

improved by 1 position to 24.

Financially another great week for Foxy, picking up $US267,000, the best part of half a million in NZ money. His 1 under par 69 was bettered by only 2 players in the field on that 4 th day, John Rahm and Rory McIlroy who both shot 67’s.