US Opens are as much a mental test as a physical one. Everything is set up to lure you into making mental mistakes. One poor decision that leads to a big number, and a lost tournament.
Sam Burns was on the verge of making a big mental mistake during the final round – but he stopped himself. And it may well have saved his championship.
So here’s what happened. Halfway through his seventh hole, the rain started to pour at Oakmont. NBC on-course analyst Smylie Kaufman reported that they were the “fattest rain drops” he’d ever seen.
As the rain grew more severe, Burns was on the tee, due to hit one of the most difficult shots on the course: a driver, in the pouring rain, into Oakmont’s 301-yard par-3 – the longest par-3 in US Open history.
Burns stepped over his shot, did his pre-shot waggle, and was seconds away from pulling the trigger when he stopped suddenly to pick up his ball and walked back to his umbrella.
Burns started slow-playing things a little. He changed his glove, wiped his grips, wiped his clubface, and talked with his caddie. In all, he milked 93 seconds off the clock, by my count, but it was just enough. Right on cue, the horn blew and play was suspended.
In some alternate universe, Burns hits this impossibly difficult shot and it goes disastrously. Into heavy rough or a bunker, then play is suspended immediately after. Maybe he salvages a bogey or double, but either way, his slim one-shot lead would be no more.
Instead, now he got to go back to the clubhouse, reset, re-warm up. Prepare specifically for this shot. Then when the time comes to hit it, have the benefits of nicer weather and softer greens.
It just showed a clever bit of awareness and foresight. In the heat of the pressure and the pouring rain, Burns stopped himself from making a potentially very costly error. It was a small moment, but the kind of decision that wins US Opens.
