All was set for Sam Burns to win his maiden major championship at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. He started off and finished the first round with an even par 72. Then in the second round, he went full beast mode carding a 5 under 65, which is one of the best scores recorded in Oakmont history. He followed this up with one under 69 at round 3, leading the tournament. However, things started falling apart in the final round. In the final round, Burns had to play in stormy, rainy weather till the 6th hole, where he carded two bogies and the other four at even par. After which, the tournament was suspended for 90 minutes due to bad weather. So, where did Burns falter?
After the tournament resumed from the 6th hole, he shot three even par, one bogey, and one birdie. But the 11th hole became a disaster for Burns. His tee shot led the ball to find the fairway, but it rolled into a divot in the thick grass. When Burns prepared to take the shot, he immediately realised the ground was soaked wet due to the rain. He called a rules official over to check and requested a relief, but the official denied claiming that, as per the USGA Rule Book, Rule 16 Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions, it’s not valid. The official said that the rule won’t apply since his stance was not affected by the water.
Retired PGA Tour pro and analyst Smylie Kaufman has called this rule stupid at the Pardon My Take Podcast, “So you get casual water relief based on where you are standing, and so what that means is if you look down and you look at your feet and water rises up. That’s when you get deemed casual water, but it’s not based on where the golf ball is. Which is stupid, that’s where this really is a silly rule.”
Sam Burns did not get relief from casual water after consulting with 2 rules officials — he wasn’t happy after his shot.
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 15, 2025
Kaufman seems right when he said the rule is stupid, as in the video, it’s clearly evident that the ground was soaked wet. When Burns makes the swing, we can see the huge water splash with the shot. He even tried to convince the officials by splashing the water with his club, but no actions were taken. They ruled out Burns’s request, which turned out to be fatal for his performance. He made a double bogey at the 11th hole, which cost him his lead.
He finished the round with his worst score at the U.S Open this year, 8 over par 78. NBC Commentator Brad Faxon reacted to this incident, saying, “Maybe one of the worst breaks not being able to move that ball on 15. He should have been able to take relief from there. That’s a bad call.” However, Burns gave a very mature reply to the reporters, “So at the end of the day, I mean it’s not up to me. It’s up to the rules official, and that’s kind of that.” However, Burns is not the only person to lose a title due to the rules imposed.
Other Golfers who suffered due to rule infringement
Rules are set to create a balance and equality among players; it is not biased towards anyone. At the 1997 Players Championship, Davis Love III fell victim to a silly mistake. As he took a practice swing at the 17th green, the putter touched the ball, which moved it from its original position. After taking one more practice swing, he carded a bogey with two more putts. Instead of replacing the ball and taking a one-stroke penalty, he moved forward with his careless action. Soon after, the PGA authorities realised what he had done and disqualified him. It cost him a huge sum of $105,000.
A similar situation, but a more tragic incident, happened to Lexi Thompson at the final round of the ANA Inspiration 2017. She was having the best time of her life leading the tournament three strokes ahead of her counterparts. But soon things fell apart when Sue Witters, an LPGA Official, informed her that she was given a four-shot penalty. On the day before the finals, a TV viewer spotted her replacing the ball on the green in the wrong place. Her three-stroke lead was wiped out in an instant. But her resilience took her to the final playoffs with So Yeon Ryu. If not for the TV viewer, Thompson would have emerged victorious.
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