JJ Spaun overcomes nightmare start on his final round to secure fairy-tale ending in US Open
On a day when play was suspended for 96 minutes due to torrential rain, Spaun (35) overcame a nightmare start and birdied the final two holes sensationally to win on a demolition derby final day.
The unheralded Californian, who lost to Rory McIlroy in a Monday playoff for The Players and whose lone win came in the Valero Texas Open in 2022, started the day tied for second with Adam Scott on three-under, just a stroke behind leader Sam Burns.
But he got off to a horror start, dropping five shots in his first six holes.
Burns was a shot clear of Scott on two-under through seven holes when play was suspended with Spaun four behind as he turned in a nightmare 40.
But the back nine turned into a comedy of errors, with the leaders making mistake after mistake in the rain-soaked conditions.
Scottish left-hander MacIntyre set the clubhouse target at one-over when he recovered from two bogeys in his first three holes with an eagle at the fourth.
Out in level par, he birdied the 14th to get back to two-over, then drove the 17th and two-putted for birdie to shoot 68 and set the clubhouse target at one-over 281.
He was tied for the lead with Tyrrell Hatton and Sam Burns, but the Englishman bogeyed the last two holes to finish on three-over.
Burns also imploded, dropping six shots in a six-hole stretch from the 11th as he crashed to a 78 to tie for fourth with Scottie Scheffler (70) and Jon Rahm (67).
Spaun began his run for home by knocking in a 40-footer for birdie at the 12th to make it a five-way tie for the lead with Burns, Carlos Ortiz, Scott and Hatton.
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He then made a 22-footer at the 14th to take the solo lead on level par. But there was more magic to come.
After a bogey at the 15th, he drove the 314-yard 17th and two-putted for birdie to edge ahead of MacIntyre and then made a 65-footer at the last as the Scot watched from the clubhouse and applauded his sensational finish. Viktor Hovland finished third on two-over after a 73 with Cam Young (70), Hatton (72) and Ortiz (73) tied for fourth.
'It's definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting,' he said.
'With the rain and everything and then the putt, you couldn't write a better story. I'm just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that.
'Just to finish it off like that is just a dream. You watch other people do it. You see the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor's putt, you see crazy moments.
'To have my own moment like that at this championship, I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.'
Scott also suffered in the rain and faded to tie 12th after coming home in 41 for a 79, while Rory McIlroy's closing 67 left him joint 19th on seven-over.
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