U.S. Open: Scheffler struggled to overcome 'challenging' Oakmont course

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Scottie Scheffler admitted he found the U.S. Open "challenging" after failing to put pressure on the top of the leaderboard over the weekend.

The world number one had been the overwhelming favourite going into the tournament on the back of his dominant PGA Championship win, where he claimed a five-shot victory in May.

In fact, he was looking to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win back-to-back major tournaments.

However, like many other players, Scheffler struggled to get going at Oakmont and eventually finished on four-over, five shots off the winner J.J. Spaun, who was the only player to finish the tournament under par.

Scheffler was level-par in Sunday's final round and finished tied for seventh, with Jon Rahm and Sam Burns on the leaderboard.

It was his 15th top-10 finish in 21 major appearances since 2020, more than any other player.

But Scheffler acknowledged that the difficulty of the course was the biggest factor in a disappointing tournament for him.

"I felt like I did some good things out there," he said. "A few more putts drop today, I think it's a little different story.

"My first three days, I felt like I was battling the whole time. Today, I hit some shots. I hit some putts that I really thought were going in, hit some lips.

"It was just challenging. I was just right on the edge today. I battled as hard as I did this week."