Amazing birdie, birdie finish for American
In the world of golf, J.J. Spaun is not such a well-known name yet the 34-year old from Los Angeles had a glorious victory in the 125th US Open at Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania, USA (12-15 June) in tough conditions to lift the trophy in historical fashion by two shots from Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre. Playing in his second US Open, American Spaun closed his final round on Father’s Day with two spectacular birdies to have the honour of claiming his first Major title on 1-under par (279).
After three rounds, J.J. Spaun was in a share of second place with Australian Adam Scott on 3-under par. The leader was fellow-American Sam Burns who was one stroke ahead.
On Sunday, nearly every player was either in the sand or buried knee-deep in horrendously thick rough. Spaun was having a tough day too. He opened with five bogeys in the first six holes. The dream of winning the 125th US Open looked a step way too big for Spaun. Indeed, the 503-yard, par 4 15th cost him a sixth bogey.
However, the player from Los Angeles did not bite the dust. He proved himself a real fighter by making birdies at the 12th and 14th holes and then finished with two tremendous birdies at the 17th and the 509-yard, par 4 18th to actually clinch the US Open title. And what amazing birdies they were.
The formidable Spaun had two awesome drives down 17 and 18. Indeed, his drive at the 17th landed on the green after threatening the cup for a hole-in-one. His eagle-putt just nudged the hole too, so it was a birdie for him to get back to level par for the championship.
In the pouring rain, he launched another super drive down the last hole. He played a 6-iron onto the green leaving himself with an enormous putt of 65 feet for birdie, if he could stand any small chance of getting under par for his final score. At this point, he needed two putts to win the 125th US Open Championship. A three-putt would mean a play-off with Robert MacIntyre from Scotland who was safely in the clubhouse with a final day’s score of 68 for a 1-over par tally.
Spaun negotiated the lengthy uphill putt across the green to sublime perfection. “Get in the hole!”, the supporters cheered. And, yes, amazingly J.J. Spaun actually holed the enormous putt for birdie and so secure a final day score of 72 to win the 125th US Open by two shots on 279 (1-under par). Now that is absolutely a tremendous way of winning your first Major!
Players in contention on Sunday
Australia’s Adam Scott was expected to be in fine form on the final day. Incredibly it was 4,445 days since he won his one and only Major, the 2013 Masters. At the start of Sunday’s play, he was in a share of second place with J.J. Spaun on 3-under par. Then began Spaun’s decline with a mass of bogeys on the first nine. Scott was playing solid golf at Oakmont CC all week and looked pretty certain to finish well, until Sunday that is.
No sooner had Spaun started gathering bogeys, then circumstances took a turn for the worse. The skies turned black and then torrential rain began to pour out of the sky. The horn sounded to stop play as the greens and fairways turned into flowing rivers. What was going to happen now? Could Sam Burns hang-on to his shared lead with Adam Scott at 2-over par after six holes? Perhaps Jon Rahm would throw a spanner in the works? The Spaniard was safely in the clubhouse after carding a super round of 3-under par 67 for a 4-over par US Open score.
With a little bit of luck, play would resume shortly and everyone could play a full round before the light begins to fail.
In fact, it ended-up a sad day for 28-year old Sam Burns. He continued to play after the water had subsided but fell foul of a host of bogeys and double-bogeys to slip down the leaderboard to a share of 7th place on 4-over par.
Alas, 44-year old Scott had a disastrous round in the end on Sunday too. He succumbed to a 79 with a hoard of bogeys scattered over his card and a final result of 6-over par for a share of 12th spot with seven other players including Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka from America. Schauffele, the two-time Major winner from 2024, finished the US Open with a 69. Major winner Koepka opened with a 68 and then trailed behind with a 74, 73 and 71.
Left-handed player from Scotland Robert MacIntyre shot up the leaderboard on Sunday after carding a 2-under par 68 which included an eagle at the par-5 4th. His tie for 11th spot from day three soon became a sole second position just two strokes behind the winner J.J. Spaun.
A birdie for Norway’s Viktor Hovland on the 17th hole cleared the way for a 3-over par 73 and a final score of 2-over par for the US Open and third spot. In a share of 4th place were Cameron Young (USA), England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz from Mexico on 3-over par.
And, if you’re wondering who the best amateur in the field was, well, that was a very proud 21-year old player from the Cayman Islands called Justin Hastings. He was the first ever player from the Cayman Islands to compete in the US Open and it was a delight to see him tie for 55th on 15-over par. Hastings was the only one of 15 amateurs to make the cut at Oakmont CC and survive the daunting rough and mass of bunkers.
The glory of winning the 125th US Open, his first Major, is a superb victory for American J.J. Spaun. And who knows, maybe this is the beginning of a very special period in the golfer’s life.
We are proud of your wonderful achievement, J.J. Spaun, the 2025 US Open Champion. Absolutely delightful!
Wendy Hoad
Editor
MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: The newly-crowned US Open Champion, J.J. Spaun. UNDER (l-r): Sam Burns and Adam Scott. Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton.