Sam Burns doesn’t challenge officials’ controversial relief call at US Open – “It's not up to me”

Sam Burns became the centre of a heated rules controversy during the final round of the 2025 US Open at Oakmont. He was denied relief from standing water on the 15th fairway. The incident occurred at a crucial moment in the round when Burns was still in a strong position to win his first career major.

The issue began overnight in rain-saturated portions, as water had pooled on the course. Burns' drive on the 15th hole landed in a low-lying area of the fairway, where significant water had pooled. Reflecting on that, Burns said, via ASAP Sports:

"Yeah, that fairway slopes left to right. That's kind of the low part of the fairway there. When I walked into it, you could clearly 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," Burns said.

According to USGA's rule 16.1c, the player is entitled to free relief when temporary water interferes with the lie of the ball, the area of intended stance, or the area of intended swing. However, both officials concluded that Sam Burns' situation did not qualify for free relief.

At that point in the round, Sam Burns was tied for the lead with J.J. Spaun. After the controversial decision, he was dropped from +1 to +3, and he eventually finished with an 8-over-par 78, his worst round of the tournament.

Burns finished tied for seventh at +4 overall and took home over $615,000 in prize money. With that, let's look at the details of the US Open's prize money.

2025 US Open prize purse for every position, including Sam Burns

Here's the list of payouts every player received for their position:

• WINNER - J. J. Spaun (-1) [$4,300,000]
• 2 - Robert MacIntyre (+1) [$2,322,000]
• 3 - Viktor Hovland (+2) [$1,459,284]
• T4 - Cameron Young (+3) [$876,869]
• T4 - Tyrrell Hatton (+3) [$876,869]
• T4 - Carlos Ortiz (+3) [$876,869]
• T7 - Sam Burns (+4) [$614,423]
• T7 - Jon Rahm (+4) [$614,423]
• T7 - Scottie Scheffler (+4) [$614,423]
• T10 - Ben Griffin (+5) [$465,937]
• T10 - Russell Henley (+5) [$465,937]
• T12 - Xander Schauffele (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Brooks Koepka (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Chris Kirk (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Thriston Lawrence (+6) [$348,967]
• T12 - Adam Scott (+6) [$348,967]
• T19 - Rory McIlroy (+7) [$242,532]
• T19- Ryan Fox (+7) [$242,532]
• T19 - Victor Perez (+7) [$242,532]
• T19 - Emiliano Grillo (+7) [$242,532]
• T23 - Collin Morikawa (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Patrick Reed (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Jordan Spieth (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Thomas Detry (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Jason Day (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Sam Stevens (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Matt Wallace (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Max Greyserman (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Nick Taylor (+8) [$161,132]
• T23 - Chris Gotterup (+8) [$161,132]
• T33 - Tom Kim (+9) [$113,503]
• T33 - Aaron Rai (+9) [$113,503]
• T33 - J. T. Poston (+9) [$113,503]
• T33 - Keegan Bradley (+9) [$113,503]
• 37 - Maverick McNealy (+10) [$101,379]
• T38 - Taylor Pendrith (+11) [$90,408]
• T38 - Tony Finau (+11) [$90,408]
• T38 - Matt Fitzpatrick (+11) [$90,408]
• T38 - Marc Leishman (+11) [$90,408]
• T42 - Hideki Matsuyama (+12) [$72,943]
• T42 - Andrew Novak (+12) [$72,943]
• T42 - Si Woo Kim (+12) [$72,943]
• T42 - Trevor Cone (+12) [$72,943]
• T46 - Niklas Norgaard (+13) [$56,944]
• T46 - Daniel Berger (+13) [$56,944]
• T46 - Rasmus Hojgaard (+13) [$56,944]
• T46 - Jhonattan Vegas (+13) [$56,944]
• T50 - Ryan McCormick (+14) [$48,101]
• T50 - Michael Kim (+14) [$48,101]
• T50 - Adam Schenk (+14) [$48,101]
• T50 - Mackenzie Hughes (+14) [$48,101]
• T50 - Ryan Gerard (+14) [$48,101]
• T55 - Justin Hastings (a) (+15) [$0]
• T55 - Laurie Canter (+15) [$46,081]
• T57 - Sungjae Im (+16) [$45,423]
• T57 - Denny McCarthy (+16) [$45,423]
• T59 - Harris English (+18) [$44,984]
• T59 - Brian Harman (+18) [$44,984]
• T61 - Jordan Smith (+19) [$43,445]
• T61 - Jhonny Keefer (+19) [$43,445]
• T61 - James Nicolas (+19) [$43,445]
• T64 - Cam Davis (+22) [$42,351]
• T64 - Matthieu Pavon (+22) [$42,351]
• 66 - Philip Barbaree Jr. (+24) [$41,692]