Scott faces Hall of Fame chance today

Aussie, 44, has the most experience of the final-round contenders at Oakmont

Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland are vying for the U.S. Open title today (Mike Ehrmann/USGA)

OAKMONT, Pa. — Assuming the weather cooperates (and that’s a big assumption with thunderstorms and significant rain in the forecast this afternoon) somebody will walk away from Oakmont tonight with a legacy defining performance.

Adam Scott has the chance to solidify himself as a World Golf Hall of Famer.

The 44-year-old Australian played his way into the final pairing just a shot behind red-hot leader Sam Burns. The 2013 Masters champion could become the second oldest U.S. Open champion and set the record for the longest gap between majors — 12 years surpassing Ben Crenshaw (1983-94) and Julius Boros (1952-63) standards of 11 years.

It’s a pretty incredible opportunity for the guy playing in his 96th consecutive major in his third attempt at Oakmont. He’s figured it out well enough to put together the only three rounds of par or better in the field — making him just the second player in U.S. Open history at Oakmont to accomplish that, joining Curtis Strange (1994).

“It would be super fulfilling. Everyone out here has got their journey, you know,” said Scott after veering from his “old-man-par” 70-70 start with a 3-under 67 on Saturday, matching Carlo Ortiz for the low round of the day. “Putting ourselves in these positions doesn’t just happen by fluke. It’s not easy to do it. I really haven’t been in this kind of position for five or six years, or feeling like I’m that player.

“But that’s what I’m always working towards. It’s not that easy to figure it all out. But if I were to come away with it (Sunday), it would be a hell of a round of golf and an exclamation point on my career.”

For all of his success in the game, it’s Scott’s record of consistency and achievement — with 14 PGA Tour victories including the Masters (2013) and Players Championship (2004) as well as 11 Presidents Cup appearances — that carries the weight of his legacy. It is one that can change Sunday with a U.S. Open victory at Oakmont.

It is an amazing run to be at that level for so long, although Scott is the first to admit he’s light on the majors he seemed destined to win with a golf swing to dream about for many who aspire in the game. Jack Nicklaus (146) is the only player to ever compete in 100 consecutive majors or more, and Jack won 18 of those.

A win at Oakmont would solidify what is already arguably a hall-of-fame career for Scott.

Scott first played Oakmont in 2007 on a reconnaissance mission with then-defending U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. While Ogilvy lost a ton of balls and shot 83, Scott played the storied course with relative ease, and felt pretty good about himself.

Once the 2007 U.S. Open started, it was a different story. “I hit six greens in two days and flew back to Australia,” he said.

A few weeks ago he visited Oakmont for a practice round ahead of his 24th consecutive U.S. Open start and hit every fairway on the front side but still shot 3-over par.

Now he’s the only major winner in the top 10 on the leaderboard with one round to go (Scottie Scheffler is T11 at 4-over par). Not only must he beat Burns in the final group, but Players runner-up J.J. Spaun is also tied for second at 3-under with Viktor Hovland in fourth at 1-under and Ortiz lurking in fifth at even. Guys like Tyrrell Hatton (1-over), Robert MacIntyre (3-over) and Scheffler (4-over) will have to make a Johnny Miller-like charge and hope for some help from the leaders to have a chance.

Scott, a 14-time PGA Tour winner, is ready for the challenge, having been in this position more than anyone else in contention.

“I’m playing good, so there’s no reason not to,” Scott said. “I’m playing from the fairway a lot. I’ve played fairly conservative, and I haven’t really been forcing the issue much. Could be a different story tomorrow. A lot can happen in 18 holes out here. But I like what I’ve done so far.”

Scott’s Masters triumph in a playoff over Angel Cabrera in 2013 came nine months after what was perhaps his most crushing loss, when he squandered a four-shot lead by bogeying the final four holes at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s in the 2012 British Open, where Ernie Els was the winner.

This will be just the third time that Scott is in the final group in the final round of a major, the first during that Open at Royal Lytham in 2021 and again in 2018 at the PGA Championship won by Brooks Koepka. This is just the seventh time Scott has been among the top three heading into the final round of a major, his first since the 2018 PGA. His last tour victory came at the 2020 Genesis Invitational.

So far, Scott is doing a lot right at Oakmont. He is second in the field in strokes-gained off the tee and third in strokes-gained tee to green. Putting, often his nemesis, has been good enough. He needed 34 putts in the first round by only 27 on Saturday and ranked 25th in the field in strokes-gained putting.

“It was like a readjustment out there today,” he said after considerable overnight rain saturated the course. “Obviously it was softer, and controlling spin to some pins was very difficult. But I just tried not to force anything. I played safe shots and accepted I wasn’t going to finish next to the hole when it wasn’t dialed in, like on 18 I had not a really good number and I had to throw it out to the right — I had a terrible shot, but I hit it out to the right just not to miss it left, and I think I’ve managed it well.”