J.J. Spaun clinched his first major golf title at the US Open in Oakmont on Sunday, June 16, 2025, with a dramatic 65-foot birdie putt on the final hole. He overcame a challenging start, including five bogeys in the first six holes, to defeat Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre by two strokes with a two-over 72.Spaun’s victory was highlighted by four birdies in the last seven holes, including a tap-in birdie at the par-four 17th hole where he drove the green. He joined golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson, and Jon Rahm in finishing with consecutive birdies to win the US Open.“Just to finish it off like that is just a dream. You watch other people do it… you see crazy moments. To have my own moment like that at this championship, I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life,” Spaun said.“It’s definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting. With the rain and everything and then the putt, you couldn’t write a better story. I’m just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that,” he added.
Prior to this victory, Spaun’s only PGA Tour win was the 2022 Texas Open. He had been runner-up at both the Cognizant Classic and Players Championship this year, losing to second-ranked Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the latter event.“I just felt like you keep putting yourself in these positions, like eventually you’re going to tick one off,” Spaun reflected.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?A 96-minute weather delay proved crucial for Spaun after his difficult start. “I just needed to reset everything, kind of like start the whole routine over. I felt like I had a really good chance to win the US Open at the start of the day. It just unravelled very fast. But that break was actually the key for me winning this tournament,” he explained.The victory was particularly meaningful given Spaun’s personal challenges. He was misdiagnosed with one type of diabetes in 2018, receiving ineffective treatment until 2021 when he was correctly diagnosed with a different type.
The morning of his victory had started chaotically. “My daughter had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long. Kind of a rough start to the morning. I’m not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mold of what was going on, the chaos,” Spaun shared.“I was just in shock, disbelief that it went in and it was over. I couldn’t even believe what I witnessed when that went in,” Spaun said about his winning putt.Norway’s Viktor Hovland, ranked 14th, finished third at 282 and witnessed Spaun’s remarkable comeback. “That was unbelievable. After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately. Everyone came back to the pack. And then the one on 18, it’s just absolutely filthy there,” Hovland commented.“As bad as things were going, I just still tried to just commit to every shot,” Spaun said. “I tried to just continue to dig deep. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
