OAKMONT, Pa. – Final-round play at the 125th U.S. Open was suspended for more than an hour and a half Sunday after heavy rain caused pooling on the fairways and greens at Oakmont Country Club.
The final group of Sam Burns and Adam Scott was on the eighth tee – measuring 301 yards, the longest par 3 in U.S. Open history – when the horn sounded to suspend play for what the USGA termed “dangerous weather in the area.”
The official length of the delay was 1 hour, 36 minutes.
With a 5:37 p.m. ET restart, officials were hopeful to conclude play before dark, barring another delay or an aggregate two-hole playoff. Sunset is at 8:52 p.m.
Burns was leading the U.S. Open with 11 holes to play, at 2 under par, as he looked to capture his first major title. He had failed to make a birdie through seven holes and was 2 over for the day.
Adam Scott, at 44 trying to become the second-oldest winner in tournament history, was another shot back, while Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland were three shots behind. PGA champion Scottie Scheffler was 1 over par for the day through 11 holes and seven shots back.
With Oakmont already receptive because of one of the wettest months in recent memory, it was pushed over the limit by an inch of rain Friday night and another heavy downpour on Sunday that created streams down the cambered fairways and undulating greens. The possibility of afternoon storms were in the forecast, as well as wind gusts up to 20 mph in advance of the storm system.
Players were initially being held in place on the course, a sign that officials did not anticipate a lengthy delay, but eventually they were taken off the course and into the clubhouse. They were allowed to warm up on the range before play resumed just after 5:30 p.m.
Scoring had proved to be much more difficult in the final round, with no one in the last 17 groups under par for the day. Rory McIlroy (67), Jon Rahm (67) and Xander Schauffele (69) were among those who had already posted under-par scores for the day, but that was before the strongest of the winds moved in.
