JJ Spaun lauded his own “fairytale ending” after killing Robert MacIntyre’s US Open dream.
Spaun’s brilliant finish at the brutal Oakmont robbed MacIntyre of the chance to become Scotland’s first major champion since 1999 after he burst into contention after an excellent two-under-par 68.
That made him the clubhouse leader at one over and the Scot looked set for at least a play-off against Spaun, who had two holes to play.
But the American first sent a stunning 309-yard drive onto the green at the short par-four 17th and two-putted for a birdie before sinking a mammoth 64-foot putt on the 18th green to seal glory.
MacIntyre was watching open-mouthed in the scorer’s office and could do nothing but applaud his opponent.
“It’s definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting,” he said.
“With the rain and everything and then the putt, you couldn’t write a better story. I’m just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that.
“Just to finish it off like that is just a dream. You watch other people do it. You see the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor’s putt, you see crazy moments.
“To have my own moment like that at this championship, I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.”
Spaun may consider the thunderstorm at around 4pm local time (9pm BST) to be divine intervention.
Before the heavens opened at Oakmont and forced a 96-minute delay, the first-round leader was five over for his round after eight holes and four off the lead.
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But while leaders Sam Burns and Adam Scott floundered in the soaking conditions after the resumption, Spaun found his best game and birdies at the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th took him to glory.
“I felt like I had a chance, a really good chance to win the US Open at the start of the day,” he said.
“It just unravelled very fast. But that break was actually the key for me to winning this tournament.
“The tee shot on nine, like my first shot back. That was the hole we got stopped on. I just flushed one, like a nice little cut up the left side.
“And I was like, ‘All right, we’re back’. I didn’t hit too many bad shots after that.”
Overnight leader Burns saw his hopes get washed away after the restart.
He held a two-shot lead when the rain came but could not cope with the sodden conditions, producing two bogeys to finish tied for seventh on four over.
The American Ryder Cup player felt he should have been given free relief due to standing water on the 15th fairway.
“That fairway slopes left to right,” he said. “That’s kind of the low part of the fairway there.
“When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it’s just water splashing every single time.
“Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed.
“At the end of the day, it’s not up to me, it’s up to the rules official. That’s kind of that.”
