J.J. Spaun nearly fell apart at the US Open. A rain delay reset, and two magical shots, lifted him to the championship

Bogey, bogey, bogey, par, bogey, bogey. It’s a helluva way to start the most important of your life.

Bogey, bogey, bogey, par, bogey, bogey. It’s a helluva way to start the most important round of your life. In the span of about two hours on Sunday, J.J. Spaun looked like a golfer in complete freefall. It looked like the magic touch from his first three rounds at Oakmont Country Club had completely abandoned him. On the second hole, it appeared as though the crowd was watching the golf gods forsake him in real time when his approach shot bounced once, hit the flag stick and then rolled 50 yards away from the cup. “I hit it perfect, and it was right at it. It was just a matter of was it the perfect distance or not?” he said. “All I heard is a really loud, ‘Oh!’ It wasn’t a good one. … It was just really unlucky. It was pretty much a two-shot swing. I was thinking that would have been pretty close, maybe inside of five feet, if it didn’t hit the flag.” That start on the course was emblematic of how Spaun’s day began. “I was running to CVS in downtown because my daughter had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long,” he said. “It was kind of a rough start to the morning. I’m not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mold of what was going on – the chaos.” So, maybe then the rain that drenched this stunning golf course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a form of divine intervention.