Oakmont, Pennsylvania
CNN
—
The tradition of the US Open finishing on Father’s Day Sunday could be in jeopardy after play was suspended due to dangerous weather.
The final pairing of Sam Burns and Adam Scott were about to tee off on the 301-yard, par-3 eighth hole just after 4 p.m. ET when the horn blew, indicating that play was being suspended.
Heavy rain had just begun to fall on Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a line of imposing clouds changed direction and headed over the course.
There is now real worry that the final round may not wrap up on Sunday and could finish on Monday.
The sun will set at Oakmont at 8:52 p.m. ET and the leaders have 11 holes left to play – approximately two-and-a-half hours of playing time. Play got back underway at about 5:40 p.m. ET.
Radar shows that rain could be around Oakmont Country Club, and the grounds crew is already out on the course attempting to push water off the fairways and greens. Footage shown in the media center at Oakmont showed standing water at multiple spots around the course.
The weather sent thousands of people scrambling for shelter and those without umbrellas or rain jackets were left drenched as they tried to find dry spots. The fans following Scott and Burns were in the most trouble as they were a long walk away from either entrance to the grounds where concessions, merchandise and other covered areas are located.
It’s a disappointing moment as Burns and Scott were locked in a thrilling back-and-forth contest in the final pairing.
The opening holes of the final round were a challenge for the leaders as Scott began with a bogey on the first and then Burns followed suit with one of his own on the second. Scott then bogeyed the difficult third before bouncing back with a birdie on the fourth.
A hole later, Burns faltered again with his second bogey of the round and Scott grabbed a share of the lead for a short period when he buried his par putt. The 44-year-old Scott was the sentimental favorite for much of the gallery as the Australian is looking for his second major win, more than a decade after his 2013 Masters win.
Scott walked the fairways as assuredly as ever, confident in his game after firing a 3-under par 67 on Saturday to seal his place in the final group – just the third time he had ever been in the final pairing at a major. He showed his first moment of frustration as he left a birdie putt well short on the par-3 sixth hole. His par putt missed as well and he fell out of the lead again when Burns dropped his par putt.
The skies had been threatening rain for much of Scott and Burns’ round, and when they walked to the tee box on No. 7, the skies began to leak. First, it was a brief spurt of big, heavy raindrops that petered out after a few minutes. Both Scott and Burns made tidy pars, Scott missing a birdie putt by inches.
When they got to the tee on No. 8, the rain really began to fall. Burns at one point addressed his ball, getting in position to hit his driver on the 301-yard par 3, but then backed off. A few moments later, the horn sounded, and the national championship screeched to a halt.
As the restart neared, crews were all over the course to push standing water off the fairways and attempt to keep the bunkers from flooding. The players returned to the driving range to warmup again just after 5 p.m. ET, hoping to finish up this most difficult of tournaments in time.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
