Adam Scott first experienced Oakmont’s brutality when he could only hit six greens in two days when he played the course in 2007. But his next appearance was slightly better as he managed to make the cut and finish tied 18th at the 2016 U.S. Open, the last time it was hosted at Oakmont. It was his sixteenth appearance at the U.S. Open, a title he still has not won since his debut in professional golf in 2000. And Scott continued to see his dream slip away, as he missed an opportunity on Sunday to claim a second major title in his career.
Scott’s first and only major win was in 2013 at the Masters, when he edged out Angel Cabrera in a playoff. Scott gave up another chance when he came close at the 2025 U.S. Open but faltered in the final round.
After the final round, Scott did not hold back as he expressed his emotions with his fans.“Today wasn’t my day but I am still so grateful for everything this game continues to give me. Thank you @usga for hosting another incredible and historic championship. Onward,” the former World No.1 posted, post a disappointing 12th place finish. But this was not his worst finish at the U.S. Open, considering he has missed 9 cuts out of his 24 consecutive U.S. Open appearances, his first being in 2002.
Scott, who started consistently on the first two days, carding 70 each day, fired up the leaderboard on the third day, when he shot a 3-under round and was placed comfortably behind Sam Burns. Scott’s scores make him just the second player in U.S. Open history at Oakmont to have three rounds of par or better, after Curtis Strange (1994). Heading into the final day, he was the only player in the top 10 who had won a major championship. With just one shot off the lead, Scott was confident that this could be his chance to win another major, and his first U.S. Open title.
But the universe had other plans. Heavy rains throughout the day saw play being suspended, and that’s when Scott’s disaster unfolded. He and Burns, who were both in the leader group, carded rounds of 79 & 78, respectively, to finish far from first place. It was quite a turnaround for Scott, who was so close to taking home the title, but instead, took away a lesson and disappointment.
Scott also jokingly added that while his experience might have been his greatest asset when he was heading into the final round, his age was also a factor. But he was the only player in the field until the final day who did not score an over-par round. “I’m playing old-man-par golf at the moment. I guess I would have expected to be in this position if you said even par through two rounds. It’s just hard out there. It’s hard to keep it going when guys have got on a run. It seems like they’ve come back a bit,” the 44-year-old said before he played his final round at his 96th consecutive major championship on Sunday.
And he would have been really proud of himself, had he won, given that he worked hard over the last few months and felt his game was in good enough shape to win. “I’d be pretty proud of winning this thing on the weekend. Right now, that’s really what I’m here to do. I feel like this is what I’ve been working towards. I was kind of in the mix late at the PGA, and now kind of putting myself in this one for the weekend. It’s a long way to go, but I feel like my game is in good enough shape to do this,” Scott expressed before he entered the final round on Sunday. But this was not the first time he had come so close to winning a major.
Revisiting Adam Scott’s near misses at Majors
Scott played his first major in 2000 at the Open Championship, which was his rookie year on the European Tour when he turned professional that year. Playing in nearly 100 majors throughout his twenty-five-year career as a professional, this Sunday was not the closest he’s come to winning a major title.
In 2018, when Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, Scott was in contention too. Scott fired rounds of 70,65 & 65, to enter the final round at Bellerive Country Club to face a head-on battle with Koepka. He was placed two shots behind Koepka at 10-under, but a 3-under 67 on the final day was not enough to match Koepka’s 66. Tiger Woods finished second with his impressive final round of 64, and Scott had to settle for third place.
At the 2013 Open Championship, which was hosted at Muirfield Golf Links, Scott entered the final round three shots behind the leader, Lee Westwood. While Westwoof faltered down the stretch and lost the title to Phil Mickelson, Scott followed in his footsteps. Scott carded a one-over round on the final day, contrary to his one-under round on the third day, to lose the title and finish in tied 3rd place. The previous year, too, he lost the title to Ernie Els, when he finished just one stroke behind and tied for second, joining Woods and Brandt Snedeker.
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