J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of
wet Oakmont to win US Open
[June 16, 2025]
By DOUG FERGUSON
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — J.J. Spaun endured the toughest test in golf on
the toughest course in America in the worst kind of conditions. And
then he turned this miserable, wet Sunday at Oakmont into a finish
as memorable as any in the U.S. Open.
The champion not many expected delivered two shots no one will
forget.
First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a
two-putt birdie that gave him the lead. Then, needing two putts from
65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing
the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.
For all the mess Oakmont became in a series of downpours, for all
the bad breaks and bad lies and bad shots that cost so many
contenders, Spaun overcame a start that would have ended hopes of
more seasoned players and weathered the pressure to claim his
greatest prize.
“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun,
who finished last year at No. 119 in the world and moved up to No. 8
with his U.S. Open victory. "I always had aspirations and dreams. I
never knew what my ceiling was. I’m just trying to be the best
golfer I can be.
“I'm happy to display that here at Oakmont.”
He finished at 1-under 279, the sole survivor to par, and won by two
shots over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, who watched the finish from
a scoring room and could only applaud the stunning conclusion.
Five players shared the lead with an hour to go. Four players were
still tied as the U.S. Open made its way to the final four holes
that frustrated Sam Burns and Tyrrell Hatton, and crushed the hopes
of Adam Scott and Carlos Ortiz.
The last man standing was Spaun, the 34-year-old Californian with an
eerie resemblance to the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco
Harris.
Never mind that Spaun lacked the pedigree of so many players groomed
in elite competition, that he had only one PGA Tour title until
Sunday, was playing in only his second U.S. Open and had never
cracked the top 20 in his previous eight majors.
The ending was magical. The road leading to his U.S. Open title was
hard work and resiliency, especially Sunday. One shot behind to
start the final round, he had five bogeys in six holes, including a
shot that hit the pin on No. 2 and caromed 35 yards back into the
fairway, turning birdie into a bogey.
“It felt like as bad as things were going, I just still tried to
just commit to every shot. I tried to just continue to dig deep.
I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Spaun said. “I think that’s been
the biggest difference this year has been being able to do that.
Fortunately, I dug very deep on the back nine, and things went my
way, and here we are with the trophy.”
It was calamity for so many others.
Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey
from a divot in the first cut on No. 11 and from a lie in the
fairway on No. 15 so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78.
“It’s a tough golf course, and I didn’t have my best stuff, and
clearly it showed,” he said.
Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years
between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play.
One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway. He played
them in 5 over and shot 79.
“I missed the fairway. I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I
did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott
said.
Ortiz and Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making
mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day.
The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have
saved Spaun.
He was four shots behind and facing the tough ninth hole. And then
came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.
[to top of second column] |
J.J. Spaun celebrates making a birdie 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)
“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the
day,” Spaun said.
Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way.
But oh, that finish.
MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the Scottish game
of Shinty, became the new target. He also struggled at the start and
fell nine shots behind at one point. But he birdied the 17th and
split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse
lead.
Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner on
the 17th, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and
settled 18 feet behind the cup.
On the final putt, he was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same
line and going first. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf,
walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and
watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted.
He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of
caddie Mark Carens.
The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.
Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th
ended his chances of winning. He watched the Spaun's putt and it
brightened his mood.
“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said. “I’m
sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major
in that fashion is amazing.”
Hovland, who shot 73 to finish third, saw it all — the putt at the
end, the bogeys at the start.
“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,”
Hovland said. "Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting
that really. I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to
have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really, really
tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”
Hatton (72) and Ortiz (73), both part of LIV Golf and in serious
contention at a major for the first time, tied for fourth along with
Cameron Young (70). The consolation for Ortiz was getting into the
Masters next year.
Scottie Scheffler, 10 shots behind early in the final round, was
somehow still part of the conversation on the back nine. But he
missed far too many birdie chances even three-putting from 12 feet
no the 11th hole. The world's No. 1 player finished with a 70 to tie
for seventh with Jon Rahm (67) and Burns, his best friend who will
feel the sting.
He had a double bogey by missing the green into a bad lie on the
slope of a bunker. He missed a pair of 6-foot birdie putts to seize
control. And when he made a mess of the 15th for another double
bogey.
Through it all, Spaun emerged as a U.S. Open champion hardly anyone
saw coming — not at the start of the year, not at the start of the
round.
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