Pro was en route to unthinkable 90 at U.S. Open. Then came theatrical finish

OAKMONT, Pa. — You may have seen the video. 

It arrived Friday morning from Oakmont Country Club’s second hole, after Will Chandler struck his second shot, and his shoulders slumped. He knew the mistake. His ball was well short of the back pin during the U.S. Open’s second round, and it rolled, rolled, rolled back down a slope. About 40 seconds after it had fallen, it finally came to its rest — and about five hours after it happened, about 250,000 people had watched a social-media post of the sequence.  

There was more, though. 

More strokes. On 2, the 27-year-old pro from Sea Island, Ga., finished with a double-bogey 6. On 1 green, from about 75 feet away, Chandler putted 30 feet past the hole and posted another double. On his tee ball on 3, he found the famed Church Pew bunkers to the left of the fairway, then took seven more shots on his way to a quad bogey.    

In all on the front nine, Chandler shot a whopping 12-over 47. He wouldn’t even have to duplicate that on his final nine to sign for an unthinkable 90. 

He bogeyed 10. 

But parred 11. And birdied 12, after hitting his third shot on the par-5 to 3 feet.   

After two more pars, No. 15 bit him and he doubled again, but he rebounded again, behind pars on 16 and 17. On 18, sitting at 14 over for his round and 22 over for his U.S. Open, Chandler hit stroke one into the right rough, and stroke two dropped onto the back-right part of the green.   

There was still more, though.  

One more wait. 

Chandler hit his putt. One, two, three, four, five seconds ticked off, as his ball crawled, crawled, crawled toward a slope that would funnel his ball toward the cup. The 500 or so folks around the green started to cheer. “Go. Go. Goooo.” “Come on.” “There you go.”

Six, seven, eight, nine, 10 seconds. 

The cheers increased. 

Twenty seconds. 

His ball dripped over the ridge. It finished 5 feet away. Playing partner Andrea Pavan laughed. The Oakmont faithful applauded. Chandler finished with a 14-over 84 on Friday, and he ended with a 22-over total for his two rounds. 

Some of the strokes drew views. 

Others drew applause. 

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