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PGA TOUR

J.J. Spaun made five bogeys in his first six holes and went on to win the U.S. Open by two strokes for his first career major title. Spaun started the final round one shot behind the leaders but appeared to play himself out of the tournament by making a bogey on each of his first three holes. A par on the fourth hole was followed by two more bogeys, and he finished the front nine in 40. And then the rains came, and the 90-minute delay that followed proved to be the reset that Spaun needed. Looking at his second Monday playoff finish this year, Spaun birdied the penultimate hole to give him a one-shot lead before rolling in a 65-footer on the final hole – the longest of the week – for the win. Spaun was the only player among the 66 that made the cut to finish under par. Robert MacIntyre overcame a slow start and recovered from a nine-stroke deficit to sit as the clubhouse leader until Spaun’s final hole heroics left him runner-up, his best career result in a major. For the remaining contenders, the rain and Oakmont teamed up to seal their hopes of potentially winning it all. Viktor Hovland, playing alongside Spaun, almost matched him in front nine futility but couldn’t get anything going on the back nine and settled for his best U.S. Open finish and second top-10 of the season; Sam Burns, coming off a playoff loss last week at the RBC Canadian Open, led by two shots through 10 holes but played the remaining eight holes in 7-over; Adam Scott, attempting to become the second-oldest tournament winner and the first to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play. He played them in 5-over to finish tied for 12th; Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz also had their hands on the trophy late in the round. Hatton made bogeys on the final two holes while Ortiz made a mess of the 15th hole to end his chances of winning. The consolation for Ortiz is that his finish earned him an invitation to next year’s Masters. …Nick Taylor posted his best career result in seven appearances at the U.S. Open. It was also his fifth top-25 finish in his last six starts. …Taylor Pendrith was one of only seven players to shoot under par in the final round – his only sub-par round of the week. …Corey Conners withdrew from the final round with a wrist injury, which he suffered in the opening round and re-aggravated in the third round. It’s the first time in his 206 career starts he has had to withdraw from an event on the PGA Tour.

NEXT EVENT: Travelers Championship (Jun 19)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor

LPGA TOUR

Carlota Ciganda broke out from a six-way tie atop the leaderboard and birdied the final two holes, including a four-footer on the final hole to avoid a playoff and win the Meijer LPGA Classic. It is her third career LPGA win and first in more than 8 1/2 years; however, the 35-year-old Spaniard has eight career wins on the Ladies European Tour, including last December. She’s also the oldest player to win on the tour this season. Ciganda was one of only two players to shoot all four rounds in the 60s. Hye-Jin Choi, who played alongside Ciganda in the final round, was the only other player to shoot in the 60s all four days. She posted her best result of the season and her third straight top-5 finish. Fellow South Korean Somi Lee notched her best finish of the season and of her career in third. Lexi Thompson, making only her sixth start of the season as part of her part-time schedule, was in the hunt for the win until bogeys on two of her final three holes left her tied for fourth. A year ago, Thompson lost in a playoff to Lilia Vu. …Brooke Henderson notched her fifth top-15 finish of the season and second in as many tournaments. 

NEXT EVENT: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Jun 19)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Brooke Henderson, Savannah Grewal, Alena Sharp (Reserve #3), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Reserve #25)

EPSON TOUR

Riley Smyth birdied two of her final four holes to win the Great Lakes Championship by one shot. It is her second Epson Tour win of the season after she won the season-opening event in February. She joins Gina Kim as the only multiple winners this season, and she moves up to No. 2 in the Race for the Card standings, 21 points behind Kim. Erika Hara, Isi Gabsa and Laney Frye all finished tied for second. …Mary Parsons recorded her best result of the season and first top-20 result in only her second Tour start. …Maddie Szeryk posted her sixth top-40 finish in her last seven starts.

NEXT EVENT: Island Resort Championship (Jun 20)

CANADIANS ENTERED:  Leah John, Maddie Szeryk, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Monet Chun, Yeji Kwon, Josee Doyon, Brooke Rivers, Brigitte Thibault, Mary Parson, Ashley Chow (Reserve #17)