Favorites at The Open, J.J. Spaun's future and how Ryder Cup are teams shaping up

OAKMONT, Pa. -- The U.S. Open, the 3rd large title of the season, produced the astir improbable champion successful J.J. Spaun, who won successful thrilling manner with back-to-back birdies connected the last 2 holes astatine Oakmont Country Club connected Sunday.

Spaun was the lone golfer to decorativeness nether par astatine 1-under 279, and helium was the lone subsister connected a time erstwhile the rainfall and upwind made Oakmont adjacent much treacherous.

The last large title of the season, the Open Championship astatine Royal Portrush Golf Club successful Northern Ireland connected July 17-20, is simply a period away.

Who volition beryllium the favorites successful The Open? Will Spaun's improbable triumph propel him to much wins? What astir the Ryder Cup?

What bash you expect from J.J. Spaun the remainder of the season?

Mark Schlabach: Last season, Spaun missed the chopped successful 10 of his archetypal 15 starts connected the PGA Tour and was ranked 169th successful the world. He was disquieted helium mightiness suffer his circuit card.

"Last twelvemonth successful June I was looking similar I was going to suffer my job, and that was erstwhile I had that infinitesimal where, 'If this is however I spell out, I mightiness arsenic good spell down swinging," Spaun said.

Spaun turned things astir precocious successful the summer, and he's been playing immoderate of the champion play of his vocation this year. He tied for 2nd astatine the Cognizant Classic successful the Palm Beaches successful February and lost to Rory McIlroy successful a Monday playoff astatine the Players Championship. He'd been adjacent to adding a 2nd vocation triumph connected tour, and helium yet got it done astatine 1 of the astir hard play courses successful the world.

"I deliberation it's conscionable perseverance," Spaun said. "I've ever benignant of battled done immoderate it whitethorn beryllium to benignant of get to wherever I needed to beryllium and get to what I wanted. I've done this before. I've had slumps benignant of astatine each level. I've ever benignant of, I went backmost and said, 'You've done this before. You've been down before. You got retired of it.' There's benignant of similar a small pattern, truthful hopefully I don't bash that signifier again."

Spaun's competitors weren't each that amazed that helium won the U.S. Open, which is saying something. Although Spaun mightiness not beryllium that acquainted of a sanction to radical who don't travel play closely, helium is considered 1 of the champion ball-strikers successful the world. His putter got blistery implicit 4 days astatine Oakmont, which is 1 of the biggest reasons helium won.

Paolo Uggetti: While astatine archetypal glimpse it whitethorn look similar Spaun was a fluke U.S. Open winner, it's a testament to his improvement arsenic a subordinate that helium was capable to outlast each idiosyncratic successful the tract this week.

As his caller manager Josh Gregory elaborate pursuing the last round, Spaun could person been contented conscionable being a middling PGA Tour subordinate -- helium had $17 cardinal successful vocation net anterior to this week, aft each -- but alternatively helium wanted, Gregory said, to beryllium elite.

"It'd beryllium precise casual to settee and accidental what I'm doing works," Gregory said. "To his credit, helium said 'I request to beryllium better.'"

For Spaun, who has ever been an elite ball-striker, that meant moving connected his putting and his chipping, which Gregory said helium has helped with. This week was impervious of the enactment he's enactment in, and it volition acceptable him up good for the remainder of the year. Now, whenever determination is simply a people that prioritizes robust play, Spaun looks similar he'll besides beryllium capable to trust connected converting erstwhile helium finds the green.

While contending astatine the last large of the twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium far-fetched fixed Spaun has ne'er played successful the Open, I afloat expect Spaun to beryllium successful the premix astatine respective PGA Tour events, including the upcoming Tour Championship.

Thoughts connected the Ryder Cup aft the year's archetypal 3 majors?

Schlabach: U.S. Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley was greeted by cheers of "USA! USA!" erstwhile helium reached the 18th greenish astatine Oakmont Country Club connected Sunday, and it's a conflict outcry he's going to perceive often implicit the adjacent fewer months.

Spaun each but secured his Ryder Cup spot by winning the U.S. Open. He's 3rd successful points, trailing lone satellite No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time large victor Xander Schauffele. Bryson DeChambeau is fourth, followed by Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. They're astir apt locks to marque the team.

Besides Spaun winning, Russell Henley and Ben Griffin were astir apt the biggest moves astatine Oakmont. They tied for 10th astatine 5 over, and they're present seventh and eighth successful Ryder Cup points, respectively.

The apical six players successful the points standings aft the BMW Championship connected Aug. 17 volition automatically marque the team; Bradley volition besides marque six captain's choices.

Uggetti: I'm definite skipper Luke Donald enjoyed seeing Viktor Hovland erstwhile again get adjacent to securing his archetypal large rubric arsenic good arsenic Tyrrell Hatton and adjacent Jon Rahm, who astir backdoored himself into contention, performing well. They each finished wrong the apical 10 and volition each surely beryllium astatine Bethpage adjacent if Rahm and Hovland are presently extracurricular the top-6 successful the European rankings astatine the moment.

Someone who is wrong the top-6 is Robert MacIntyre, whose Sunday tally to 2nd spot helped him people his best-ever decorativeness successful a large and bump his sanction each the mode up to 4th successful Ryder Cup standings.

MacIntyre was considered the past antheral 2 years agone successful Rome, but helium much than held his ain going 2-0-1. On Tour this season, MacIntyre has 4 top-10 finishes, and that benignant of effect astatine a people similar Oakmont volition surely fortify his lawsuit and enactment him successful a large presumption to instrumentality to the squad successful September.

Too-early thoughts connected The Open Championship?

Schlabach: Scheffler battled his plaything and his putter for 72 holes astatine Oakmont, but helium managed to necktie for seventh astatine 4 implicit for different top-10 decorativeness astatine a major. Even astatine little than his best, Scheffler is inactive amended than most, and I deliberation the database of golfers who tin contend astatine Royal Portrush starts with the three-time large winner.

"My main takeaway is I battled arsenic hard arsenic I did this week," Scheffler said. "I was truly arrogant mentally of however I was implicit the people of 4 days. I did a batch of things retired determination that could truly benignant of interruption a week, and I ne'er truly got that 1 bully interruption that benignant of propels you. I'd deed it this acold off, and seemingly each clip I did, I was punished beauteous severely for it."

Shane Lowry took location the Claret Jug the past clip The Open was played successful Northern Ireland successful 2019, and I deliberation he'll beryllium among the favorites again. Lowry struggled mightily successful his 2nd consecutive large and missed the chopped aft posting 79-78.

Rory McIlroy volition beryllium looking for redemption aft missing the chopped astatine Royal Portrush 5 years ago. He inactive battled his operator a spot astatine Oakmont but went location with immoderate momentum aft posting a 3-under 67 connected Sunday. I deliberation he'll get his caput and plaything successful the close spot earlier arriving successful Northern Ireland.

"Look, if I can't get motivated to get up for an Open Championship astatine home, past I don't cognize what tin motivate me," McIlroy said. "Yeah, arsenic I said, I conscionable request to get myself successful the close framework of mind. I astir apt haven't been determination the past fewer weeks.

"But arsenic I said, getting location and having a mates weeks disconnected earlier that, hopefully feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, volition get maine successful the close spot again."

Uggetti: How astir the defending champion making different tally astatine it? With everyone's eyes connected apical of the leaderboard Sunday, Xander Schauffele softly enactment unneurotic an under-par circular to decorativeness wrong the apical 12 astatine Oakmont.

Slowly but surely, Schauffele's crippled has been rounding backmost into large title signifier aft helium missed immoderate clip aboriginal successful the play with a rib injury. In his past 7 starts, Schauffele has 5 top-15 finishes.

"I've ne'er been wounded before. So I deliberation it was each benignant of new," Schauffele said this week. "I felt similar I was playing astatine a beauteous precocious level. Then I got hurt. My expectations of what I knew I could bash to wherever I was were precise different, and accepting that was tough. I deliberation that was benignant of the biggest wake-up telephone for maine coming back."

It's just to accidental Schauffele is astir each the mode backmost and conscionable successful clip for the 2nd large title helium won past season. The 31-year-old secured the Claret Jug past twelvemonth astatine Troon with a marvelous Sunday show that proved helium could excel, not conscionable connected PGA Tour setups, but besides connected links courses with links conditions. Portrush volition bring those 2 things to the signifier successful a month, and Schauffele volition person the payment of knowing helium has won successful that benignant of situation before.

Besides Spaun, who were the biggest winners astatine Oakmont?

Schlabach: Viktor Hovland's plaything has been a messiness -- oregon astatine slightest helium believed truthful -- for overmuch of the season, but helium managed to get successful the premix and finished 3rd astatine 2 implicit and successful 3rd place. Hovland's interior conflict for perfection mightiness preclude him from joining Scheffler, Schauffele and others arsenic the genuinely champion golfers successful the world, but there's small statement that he's 1 of the astir talented. Everything is determination for him to triumph a mates of majors, astatine least.

"I support progressing successful the close direction, and to person a accidental to triumph a large title without my champion worldly and not feeling precise comfortable, it's ace cool," Hovland said. "So I'm going to instrumentality a batch of positives with maine this week."

Although Adam Scott would person liked a amended decorativeness than Sunday's 9-over 79, helium was close determination successful the premix until conditions got atrocious connected the 2nd nine. I had believed Scott's chances of contending successful majors were implicit since helium is 44 years old. But this was the archetypal clip he's done it successful rather a while, and helium inactive mightiness person thing near successful the vessel to bash it again.

Uggetti: I'll spell backmost to MacIntyre here. The antheral from Oban looked comfy successful the chaotic conditions Sunday and played the backmost 9 astatine Oakmont successful a bogey-free 2-under to drawback the clubhouse pb that astir got him successful a playoff with Spaun.

"I'm conscionable a feline who believes," MacIntyre said. "Today was a time that I said to myself, 'Why not? Why not it beryllium maine today?'"

All week, the Scotsman putted lights out, ranking 4th successful strokes gained: putting and, contempt a circular of 74 connected Friday, kept himself successful the tourney that helium predicted would person an adjacent par winner.

MacIntyre was astir right.

Once helium was finished with his circular and helium could lone ticker arsenic Spaun drained the 64-foot birdie to unafraid a 1-under finishing people and the victory, cameras caught MacIntyre successful the scoring country giving Spaun a hearty clap and an earnest "Wow." It was a quality infinitesimal that garnered a batch of praise and capped disconnected a week MacIntyre volition not soon forget.

"It feels great," MacIntyre said of being successful contention. "It's what I've dreamed of arsenic a kid, sitting backmost location watching each the majors. Yeah, it feels unbelievable."