J.J. Spaun didn't know quite how close the scoreboard was when he approached the green on the 18th hole on Sunday. He didn't want to look, but he could sense the energy from the crowd.
"I felt like if I two-putted, I would probably win," Spaun said afterward.
Spaun was right. Needing a two-putt on the final hole to clinch a win at the 125th U.S. Open here at Oakmont Country Club, he nailed the birdie putt. He sealed the win with a 64-foot putt, the longest putt of anyone in the tournament:
WHAT A PUTT!!!!
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025
J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/EWdYQeDAzF
It capped off a remarkable comeback and a final round of chaos, carnage and clutchness.
Few would have predicted Spaun, 34, to come away from Oakmont with the win. He came into the tournament with one career PGA tournament win on his resume, and only even made the cut in five of his 10 major championship appearances, with his best shot at a win coming when he finished 23rd in the 2022 Masters. This was only his second appearance in a U.S. Open.
Leading up to Sunday, though, Spaun was a standout. He had a bogeyless first round (66), a decent second round (72), and a good third round (69), placing him at four under par to start the day. But Spaun struggled early on Sunday and shot five bogeys within his first six holes.
A 95-minute weather delay after 4 p.m. completely changed the course. Coming out of the delay, players were struggling with the slower green speeds, a change from the smooth-like conditions they had been playing on all week.
Vikor Hovland and Carl Ortiz shot three over, Tyrrell Hatton shot two over. But the most brutal performance came from the final pairing, Sam Burns and Adam Scott, who shot an astounding eight over and nine over respectively after previously leading the tournament.
Spaun, though, benefitted from the break. He drew on his experience at The Players Championship in March, where he forced a playoff against Rory McIlroy and finished as the runner-up.
"I felt like I had a really good chance to win the U.S. Open at the start of the day," Spaun said. "I felt like it just unraveled very fast. But that break was actually the key to me for winning that tournament. ... I didn't hit too many bad shots after that."
The greens set the stage for one of the most brilliant comebacks in recent major history.
It was a close, dramatic finish to close out the tournament, with Spaun at one point climbing into part of a five-way tie for first. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre hit two birdies over his last five holes to take the lead, but Spaun retook the lead with a two-putt birdie on hole 17. Spaun found the green on the 18th hole before nailing the 64-foot putt.
.jpg "J.J. Spaun putts on the 18th green Sunday in Oakmont, Pa.")
WARREN LITTLE / GETTY
J.J. Spaun putts on the 18th green Sunday in Oakmont, Pa.
"It's a storybook, fairytale, ending," Spaun reflected. "Kind of the underdog, fighting back, not giving up, never quitting. With the rain and everything, the putt, you couldn't write a better story. I'm just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that."
