The final round of the US Open began with players including overnight leader Sam Burns, 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland and JJ Spaun all challenging for the title as the prospect of a fascinating day’s play opened up.
That was until the heavens opened, forcing play to be suspended at 4.01pm local time. By the time play resumed almost two hours later, the destination of the title was still firmly in the balance, and, with around three hours of daylight left, so was the prospect of crowning a winner on Sunday.
Even after play resumed, dark clouds still lingered far too close to Oakmont for comfort, with the weather radar for the region at the time suggesting another huge downpour was likely before sunset.
Sure enough, only about half an hour after the restart, the heavens opened again. Although play continued, it did nothing to alleviate concerns that a Monday finish could be necessary. But when was the last time that happened in the US Open?
There have only been two Monday finishes at the Major where a playoff wasn’t needed (until 2018, if necessary, the tournament was settled with an 18-hole playoff, with Tiger Woods’ defeat of Rocco Mediate in 2008 arguably the most famous).
The first Monday finish when additional holes were not needed came in 1983, and remarkably, Oakmont was also the venue, with Larry Nelson needing to wait until Monday before he could edge out Tom Watson for the title.
The weather in the 2025 tournament has hardly provided wall-to-wall sunshine, but it was considerably worse the second time the US Open finished on a Monday, in 2009, when the tournament was held at Bethpage Black.
Heavy rain affected all four days of the event, ensuring that none of the four rounds could be completed on the scheduled day, with the final round not even able to begin until Sunday evening. When darkness inevitably forced suspension of play for the day, leaders Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover were only as far as the second hole.
After play resumed on Monday morning, Glover was the man who eventually got his hands on the trophy, winning by two ahead of Barnes, David Duval and Phil Mickelson, who endured the agony of his fifth runner-up finish.
