OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Robert MacIntyre nearly matched the biggest final-round comeback in U.S. Open history.
Instead, he had to settle for sole possession of second place, but on a day when so many contenders — including the winner — had their problems, MacIntyre handled both Oakmont and the weather with aplomb.
MacIntyre shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 1 over — two strokes behind J.J. Spaun. MacIntyre was seven strokes back of leader Sam Burns at the beginning of the day. He actually made up 10 shots on Burns but couldn't outlast Spaun.
“I think when I was walking up 14 or 12, and I seen a leaderboard that the leader was at even par. I kind of knew where I was at, I was at 3-over, I think, at the time,” MacIntyre said. “The whole week, I’ve said level par in my head. I’m just looking for four even pars. Almost got there, but not quite.”
As MacIntyre spoke, Spaun was still out on the course. A playoff — or even an outright victory for MacIntyre — was still possible. When Spaun rolled in his majestic birdie putt on 18 to finish at 1 under, camera footage showed MacIntyre clapping.
Arnold Palmer is still the only U.S. Open winner to come from seven strokes behind in the final round. He did it in 1960 at Cherry Hills.
Palmer birdied six of his first seven holes that day. MacIntyre's rally was more about staying afloat and waiting for the leaders to fall back. The left-hander from Scotland actually bogeyed two of his first three holes to drop to 5 over, but a 58-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth started him in the right direction.
“That kind of settled me down,” he said. “That got me into somewhat of a groove and back in the golf tournament. Then the back nine was just all about fighting.”
MacIntyre said he dried off his shirt and kept stretching during a 97-minute weather delay that interrupted the final round. Down the stretch he was sharp, hitting his tee shot just short of the green on the par-4 17th and moving to 1 over with a birdie there. He had a birdie putt from just over 30 feet on the last hole, but that one didn't drop, and Spaun finished the tournament with two straight birdies to win it.
But MacIntyre did enough to make him earn it. Of the top six finishers, only MacIntyre shot under par on the final day. And the Scot was the only player in the field to shoot under par both Saturday and Sunday.
"Today was a day that I said to myself, Why not? Why not it be me today?" he said. “When I was going round, and I just trusted myself, trusted my caddie Mike (Burrow), trusted all the work that I’ve done.”
MacIntyre was a member of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team in 2023. He won his first two PGA Tour titles last year at the Canadian Open and Scottish Open.
Although being from Scotland didn't necessarily give him an advantage in the wet weather at Oakmont.
“When that rain came on, I wouldn’t be outside. I’d be indoors like you guys,” he said. “Fair-weather golfer now that I’ve moved to the PGA Tour.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Noah Trister, The Associated Press
