MacIntyre made Spaun earn the U.S. Open title, nearly pulling off a record-tying comeback

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Robert MacIntyre nearly matched the biggest final-round comeback in U.S. Open history.

Instead, he had to settle for sole possession of second place, but on a day when so many contenders — including the winner — had their problems, MacIntyre handled both Oakmont and the weather with aplomb.

MacIntyre shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 1 over — two strokes behind J.J. Spaun. MacIntyre was seven strokes back of leader Sam Burns at the beginning of the day. He actually made up 10 shots on Burns but couldn't outlast Spaun.

“I think when I was walking up 14 or 12, and I seen a leaderboard that the leader was at even par. I kind of knew where I was at, I was at 3-over, I think, at the time,” MacIntyre said. “The whole week, I’ve said level par in my head. I’m just looking for four even pars. Almost got there, but not quite.”

As MacIntyre spoke, Spaun was still out on the course. A playoff — or even an outright victory for MacIntyre — was still possible. When Spaun rolled in his majestic birdie putt on 18 to finish at 1 under, camera footage showed MacIntyre clapping.

Arnold Palmer is still the only U.S. Open winner to come from seven strokes behind in the final round. He did it in 1960 at Cherry Hills.

Palmer birdied six of his first seven holes that day. MacIntyre's rally was more about staying afloat and waiting for the leaders to fall back. The left-hander from Scotland actually bogeyed two of his first three holes to drop to 5 over, but a 58-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth started him in the right direction.

“That kind of settled me down,” he said. “That got me into somewhat of a groove and back in the golf tournament. Then the back nine was just all about fighting.”

MacIntyre said he dried off his shirt and kept stretching during a 97-minute weather delay that interrupted the final round. Down the stretch he was sharp, hitting his tee shot just short of the green on the par-4 17th and moving to 1 over with a birdie there. He had a birdie putt from just over 30 feet on the last hole, but that one didn't drop, and Spaun finished the tournament with two straight birdies to win it.

But MacIntyre did enough to make him earn it. Of the top six finishers, only MacIntyre shot under par on the final day. And the Scot was the only player in the field to shoot under par both Saturday and Sunday.

"Today was a day that I said to myself, Why not? Why not it be me today?" he said. “When I was going round, and I just trusted myself, trusted my caddie Mike (Burrow), trusted all the work that I’ve done.”

MacIntyre was a member of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team in 2023. He won his first two PGA Tour titles last year at the Canadian Open and Scottish Open.

Although being from Scotland didn't necessarily give him an advantage in the wet weather at Oakmont.

“When that rain came on, I wouldn’t be outside. I’d be indoors like you guys,” he said. “Fair-weather golfer now that I’ve moved to the PGA Tour.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, hits from the rough on the second hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, waves as he walks to the 18th green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, and Cameron Young, left, shake hands after finishing the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive on Wednesday warned that it would take action against any “unjustified measures” after the U.S. State Department barred five Europeans it accuses of pressuring U.S. technology firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

The Europeans were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations. They include the former EU commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton.

Breton, a businessman and former French finance minister, clashed last year on social media with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump in the months leading up to the U.S. election.

The European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive branch and which supervises tech regulation in Europe, said that it “strongly condemns the U.S. decision to impose travel restrictions” and that it has requested clarification about the move. French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned it.

“If needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures,” the commission said in a statement, without elaborating.

Rubio wrote in an X post on Tuesday that “for far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”

“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” he posted.

The European Commission countered that “the EU is an open, rules-based single market, with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with our democratic values and international commitments.”

“Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies, applied fairly and without discrimination,” it said.

Macron said that the visa restrictions “amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty,” he posted on X.

Macron said that the EU’s digital rules were adopted by “a democratic and sovereign process” involving all member countries and the European Parliament. He said that the rules “ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country.”

He underlined that “the rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.”

Breton and the group of Europeans fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States.

The four others are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.

Rubio said the five had advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

The action to bar them from the U.S. is part of a Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or penalties.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Sarah Rogers, the U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy, called Breton the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.

Breton responded on X by noting that all 27 EU member countries voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’” he wrote.

Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)