'All Those Things Came True' - How A Nugget Of Advice From Tiger Woods Inspired JJ Spaun's Incredible US Open Comeback

Through six holes at the US Open, very few people gave JJ Spaun a chance of winning the US Open. Not because he was playing poorly, exactly, but the American was five-over and had dropped quickly down the leaderboard.

There were some horrible bouts of bad luck sprinkled in there, mind, such as the 50-yard ricochet off the flagstick at two and a bounce off a sprinkler head at three which denied a fairway in regulation.

But then the rain arrived.

Oakmont was quickly washed out and the championship was halted for over 90 minutes as the incredible team of green staff tried their best to return the iconic Pennsylvania layout to something like a playable state.

During that time, Spaun was able to mentally and physically reset. New clothes were thrown on and a fresh perspective was installed courtesy of his team.

Spaun's coaches reminded him that he had come back from a similar position at The Players Championship in March and almost won that outright following a rain delay before ultimately falling to Rory McIlroy in a Monday playoff.

Then the 34-year-old remembered a conversation he had with his good friend, Max Homa about a golden piece of advice Tiger Woods had shared regarding what to do when there appears to be no forward progress available at a US Open.

Woods would know. Of his 15 Major championship victories, three were US Opens.

Before going back out to complete his final round, Spaun shared what was going through his mind in terms of a game plan and how Woods' advice was central to it ultimately proving successful.

Spaun said: "I was thinking about a time when I was having lunch with Max Homa at home. We live in the same area. We belong to the same club. He was telling a Tiger story where he was like, 'As long as you just like are still there, you don't have to do anything crazy, especially at a US Open.'

"He's like, 'Tiger said this would happen, and the wind will switch, but you've got to just stay there. Even if you're four back, you've just got to stay there. You don't have to do anything crazy.'"

Upon the resumption, Spaun executed Woods' theory to perfection. He made three pars in a row before taking advantage of the par-5 12th via a birdie. At that point, he was in a five-way tie for the lead.

He continued: "I kind of was thinking about that out there this afternoon, where I was four back, maybe going back out after the delay, and then I made some good pars, nothing crazy. Got a really good birdie.

"Then, next thing you know, I'm like tied for the lead, I think, and within four holes of the restart. That just kind of goes back to that, like you just try to like stay there. You don't have to do anything crazy, especially at a US Open. All those things came true."

As nearly all of his rivals began to slowly drift out of contention via bogeys, the Californian soldiered on undeterred. Trading a birdie and a bogey at the 14th and 15th, Spaun remained steadfast in his belief that the Woods-inspired plan of attack would prove fruitful.

He was right, until the 17th hole when Spaun threw that idea out of the window in favor of one that saw him grasp his Major-winning moment with both hands.

A genius tee shot at the short par-4 17th led to a birdie which helped him take solo charge. Minutes later, a miraculous putt on the 18th sealed the deal in Hollywood style.

It was a shot befitting of the man who played a small part in Spaun's success, and much like Woods, Spaun turned up on the back nine on Sunday when it really counted.

He said: "Yeah, there was no faking, there was no hiding since Thursday. I think that's what I've been able to overcome. I'm not trying to shy away from the moment. Like I just tell myself, if I can do this when there's no pressure or no lead, like why can't I do it when there is?

"It's just trying to get over that line of handling the nerves and handling pressure. I really showed myself a lot today on that back nine."