UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- For the most part, this had been a lost year for Adam Scott.
His best finish was a tie for fourth in his first event back in March when he had switched to a conventional putter. But he went back to the long flatstick as his results waned, and Scott had not finished better than 24th in any event leading into the U.S. Open.
He made a spirited charge on Sunday at Chambers Bay, shooting the best score of the week, a 6-under-par 64 that was 1 stroke off the U.S. Open and major championship record.
It ended up being 2 strokes behind winner Jordan Spieth, but it was a big boost for Scott nonetheless.
"I've been working hard at it and I just haven't figured out what it is," said Scott, who brought caddie Steve Williams out of retirement for the summer. "And putting it altogether has been frustrating for sure. But this is the kind of event where you have to put all of that frustration aside and keep your patience and I did that well this week.
"Every day I could have been a little upset with how things went out there for me because I felt I played pretty good. Today I got all the reward."
Scott played one of just two bogey-free rounds in the tournament to tie for fourth in the first tournament with Williams back on the bag.
"It was a big effort for me today," Scott said. "To be honest, it's the kind of round I needed to get things going for me this year, hopefully."