Was Sam Burns 'Robbed' During The US Open Final Round Or Was It A Case Of 'That's Golf'? - How Fans Reacted To The American's Controversial Drop Ruling

Late on in the US Open final round at Oakmont, 54-hole leader Sam Burns found the very right edge of the fairway down the par-4 15th following a 298-yard drive.

However, when he reached his ball, the Louisiana-born pro noticed there was casual water in the area following a significant downpour which affected the area and caused the championship to be delayed by over 90 minutes a couple of hours earlier.

Despite the best efforts of the dedicated green staff and course volunteers, Oakmont was at the very limit of what it could soak up and the continuous showers were threatening to force a Monday finish.

Following the restart, which saw Burns and playing partner Adam Scott begin on the mammoth par-3 eighth, players were regularly being allowed free drops if their ball or stance was in an area of casual (or standing) water.

Scott was twice allowed to move his golf ball around the turn while eventual winner, JJ Spaun was the beneficiary of a free drop on more than one occasion on Sunday.

However, a particularly controversial denial arose involving Burns at the aforementioned 15th. Once the World No.22 reached his ball, which was 205 yards from the pin, he noticed splashes of water flicking up by his feet.

Burns took a number of practice swings near the landing spot which also lapped water up off the surface of the saturated fairways.

Believing he might be able to earn a free drop, Burns consulted one official but was turned down. The American asked for a second opinion but was also informed he would have to play his ball in its natural condition.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Burns' ball shot left in the air and landed in the thick, juicy rough 50 feet from the hole. Unable to conjure up a miracle recovery, Burns walked away with a double bogey which greatly harmed his chances of a maiden Major victory given he was tied for the lead moments earlier.

Possibly feeling aggrieved by the decision, Burns bogeyed two of his final three holes to finish at four-over for the championship and in a tie for seventh.

A video on X from Normal Sport's Kyle Porter showed the scene shortly after and proved just how close to the surface casual water was.

Following his round, Burns explained the situation from his point of view. He said: "Yeah, that fairway slopes left to right. That's kind of the low part of the fairway there. When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up.

"Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time. Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that.

"From that point, Travis and I said, Look let's focus on the shot, try to execute. I did the best I could. I was 100 percent locked in on what I was trying to do. Ultimately, it felt like the water just kind of got in the way, and I went left. It is what it is."

Obviously, Burns was disappointed at the decision from USGA officials, with a handful of TV commentators and analysts also confused at the call. But what do you, the golf fans, think? Here's a selection of comments from our Facebook followers...

"Either way, once the first ruling was made, the second official was never going to overrule the first officials ruling. My opinion was that you could practice swing on most of the fairway and get water flying up, so i knew he wasn’t getting relief."

"Shooter McGavin had to play the ball off of Frankensteins fat foot so…"

"If normal foot pressure brings water to surface, it’s casual water. Clear as a bell."

"They said that you actually have to see standing water. I didn't see any. I know it was wet, but there was no standing water that you could see."

"That’s golf."

"Unlucky, no. Robbed, yes."

"Bad call by the official. If I can see the puddle on tv, that man needs glasses."

"Casual water should have been the rule yes he should have gotten a drop."

"You could see his footprints and how wet it was, and see the amount of water when he ticked the grass. Absolutely the worst call in the [US] Open. Other players got relief from mud not even casual water."

"The champion is the one that shows grit and mental toughness. JJ Spaun up at 03:00 with a sick daughter on the last day, then hit the flag and instead of a 6 foot putt finds himself 49 yards back in the fairway, then hit a rake and it bounces into an impossible lie. Awesome attitude and resilience. The CHAMPION won!"

"Watching the water fly off his club on the practice swing was crazy. What did they expect was going to happen when he actually took a divot. The announcers called it immediately that he should get relief from there."

"He had no chance on that shot. that was standing water. If you’ve ever tried to hit a ball out of standing water, you know that it’s nearly impossible.. and that neck shot and that double bogey ended his tournament because of the poor ruling."

"Tough ruling but if he strikes the ball better after it all works out. He put a snappy/chunky pull hook stroke on the ball - probably because his head was back on the ruling."

"If he was that unsure, pitch it out, hit it close with your 3rd, take your par. Go to the next."

"Watch practice swing! Clearly standing water! But that did not lose him the tournament. 8 over par lost him the tourney!"

"Rub of the green, as it were."

"Two officials said no. You have to go with that. As he stood addressing the ball, I did not see him standing in a pool of water. That is not a bad break. The guy that had a bad break was JJ Spaun when he hit the flagstick from 120 years and the ball rolled 50 yards away from the hole."

"From the camera I saw there was no standing water, two officials agreed. Just because water comes up on the practice swing, doesn’t mean it’s too wet."

"The swing he made was worse than the ruling."

"No, might not like the rule but it clearly says "It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as you step on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after your stance is taken."

"Luck has nothing to do with it…it is what it is. There is the rule and there is what people think the rule is…to meet the rule it has to meet the whole standard of the rule. Let me assure you and every other troll out there, if you are a USGA rules official within a mile of the final pairing on Sunday at a US Open, you will forget more about the actual rule book than most golfers will ever know."

What do you think about Sam Burns' failed drop request at the US Open? Tell us in the comments section at the bottom of this article.