Hovland gaining momentum at Valspar Championship
The Golf Central Pregame crew breaks down Viktor Hovland's highlights from Round 2 of the Valspar Championship.
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New York Times
9 hours ago
- New York Times
Why J.J. Spaun winning the U.S. Open was actually awesome
OAKMONT, Pa. — One by one, they made their way over the bridge, down the stairs and into the scoring area. Their shoes and ankles were covered in mud. Their polo shirts soggily suctioned to their bodies. Their eyes glazed over from the things they'd seen. My goodness, these men wanted to win the U.S. Open with every bit of their being, to finally win a major championship and make this ugly, rainy day worth the battles behind them. Advertisement And then they watched those dreams fade away, as J.J. Spaun made his a reality. Tyrrell Hatton was mid-interview as the putt rolled in, seeing a television screen out of the corner of his eye. The often aggravated, ornery Englishman slowed his words as he saw it, and his scowl turned to a smile of calm joy. 'He's holed it,' Hatton said. 'Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That's incredible.' Viktor Hovland was there on the green, still fighting with hope as it went in. His dreams were shattered right in front of him, yet Hovland immediately put his putter down and clapped with pure appreciation. He even slapped the man's hand like a first-base coach celebrating a home run. Robert MacIntyre was leaning back in a scoring area chair, hoping to the golfing gods for a J.J. Spaun disaster. He was the clubhouse leader with a chance to steal the U.S. Open until Spaun took the lead. If Spaun could just bogey 18, they'd go to a playoff. MacIntyre watched too as it fell, and the 28-year-old Scot lifted his arms and exaggeratedly clapped his hands high in the air. Pure respect. Well Done. 'Wow,' he mouthed to himself. Because everybody who witnessed what J.J. Spaun did on that 18th green Sunday at Oakmont understood they had just seen what this whole damn thing is about. They saw the reasons to still believe. The payoff for all the pain. The fact that maybe, just maybe, anybody can win a U.S. Open. And that mattered so much more than feeling sorry for themselves. What happened was Spaun — a journeyman, a grinder, a stocky, 5-foot-8, 34-year-old golfer who nearly lost his PGA Tour card a year ago — came out of a rain delay four shots behind the lead after a disastrous start. And Spaun just played. Played so well that he went to that 18th green at the toughest course in America with cold, foggy rain beating down, needing just a two-putt for a major championship. Instead, Spaun went ahead and made the 64-foot, 5-inch putt to win the whole thing by two shots. WHAT A PUTT!!!! J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025 There are times at sporting events when you become fundamentally aware that it's OK to feel. That we're all just people working jobs and traveling around, hoping to get a little bit further, and a little bit further, and hoping it all works out in the end. You don't get what you want often enough, and the cynicism can build in. Even watching golf. Oh, Scottie Scheffler wins again? Bryson DeChambeau? Cool. More superstars are getting what they want. But now and then, you witness Spaun launching his putter into the air in complete disbelief that he — he — really did the thing at the one place designed to bend golfers to its will. And you remember to feel. Advertisement Because J.J. Spaun is not your typical U.S. Open champion. He's a Lakers fan who was asked about his Kobe Bryant moment and compared himself to Derek Fisher. He recited a Tiger Woods story about playing in U.S. Opens, but not because Woods talked to Spaun himself. No, he just got the story secondhand from Max Homa. He is a mixed-race guy from California who started playing golf without any formal lessons, learning by hitting balls into a net his dad set up in the garage. He was a walk-on at San Diego State and earned his way onto the team before becoming an All-American. He grinded on mini tours for four years, and even when he made it to the PGA Tour, he simply fought to survive for half a decade. He broke through with a 2022 win at the Valero Texas Open, but within two years was missing 10 cuts in five months. 'Last year in June, I was looking like I was going to lose my job, and that was when I had that moment where, if this is how I go out, I might as well go down swinging,' Spaun said. There was a shift that summer. For so long, it was about climbing, climbing, climbing. Aspirations. Goals. Bitterness. Slights. Yet at 33, he understood he was OK. He had a wife, Melody, and two kids under age five. He'd spent eight years on the PGA Tour. He had made it in life. So golf did not need to be everything. The motto became: Let the golf be golf. For so long, he had heard others talk in those sorts of self-improvement slogans and didn't grasp them. Sure, stay focused. Stay calm. Got it. He had a family, but that still meant stress to provide for them. He still allowed golf to be his identity. He'd leave close calls in Hawaii and Memphis distraught, feeling a 'crawl-into-a-hole-and-die kind of a feeling because it was just so embarrassing. I was just afraid to feel embarrassed again.' But last June, when he had to come to terms with the possibility this whole ride could end, it shifted. 'If this is how I'm going to go out,' he said, 'then this is it.' And the golf got better. Three top 10s and five top 30s in six starts to end the season. Good performances in the fall. He kept his tour card, kept the success going into 2025, and got himself into signature events like the Players Championship. And there in Ponte Vedra, the possibilities were able to shift. No, it wasn't life or death anymore, but he could dream a little bigger. Advertisement That day, so much like this Sunday, he went into the final round with a lead and struggled. Three bogeys before an afternoon rain delay forced him to reset. Everyone assumed the tournament was Rory McIlroy's until Spaun came out of the delay and birdied 14 and 16 to force McIlroy into a playoff. He didn't win, but he understood he could. So on Father's Day, entering it one stroke behind leader Sam Burns, he opened with an ugly bogey. Then, he caught one of the worst breaks imaginable on No. 2 with a perfect approach that bounced off the flagstick, went across the green, and rolled down the steep front for an eventual bogey. He bogeyed five of his first six holes for a front-nine 40. NBC stopped showing his shots. He was done for. Until another weather delay. As he went back to the driving range to prepare for the restart, his (very new) coach, Josh Gregory, told him, 'Stop trying so hard.' Just chill, the team told him. Because in any world, J.J. Spaun should not be disappointed he's four back at a major championship. When he went to the ninth tee to restart, he smoked one in the fairway and knew. He had a chance. While everybody around him collapsed into oblivion, Spaun made a 40-foot birdie on 12, a 22-foot birdie on 14, and when he went to the famous drivable par-4 17th hole, he was tied for the lead. There on 17, he hit a shot so good it's only unfortunate history will remember the winning putt on 18 more. He landed the uphill green, hitting a 309-yard drive to 18 feet from the tight pin. He two-putted for birdie, went to the 18th tee with the lead and needing a par to win. And he launched a perfect drive into the fairway. He stepped off the tee with his chest pumping in and out like a cartoon, the adrenaline surely flowing in excess. From the fairway, a bogey was less likely. He could put his approach safely on the left of the green, as he did. He could, as most would assume, two-putt for par and go off into the foggy sunset. But by Sunday night, J.J. Spaun had learned to dream a whole dream. Advertisement 'I didn't want to play defensive,' he said. 'I didn't know if I had a two-shot lead. I didn't want to do anything dumb trying to protect a three-putt or something.' Hovland's putt before his showed him the exact line. Spaun had his guide. He had his line. And Spaun launched that 64-foot, 5-inch putt up the hill and let it go. And the entire golfing world — from the gallery, to the workers, to the golfers hoping he missed — watched something special happen in front of them. They watched as the putt fell, and they remembered what this was all for.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Open Sunday live updates, leaderboard: J.J. Spaun wins in dramatic fashion
J.J. Spaun played the two best shots of his life when it matter most. The result: He's won the U.S. Open. Tied with Robert MacIntyre at +1, Spaun went to the driveable 17th and launched this shot: ONE OF THE BEST DRIVES OF THE DAY ON 17!Co-leader J.J. Spaun with that left for EAGLE! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 He would miss the eagle, but make the birdie, to grab a one stroke lead. All he needed was a par on 18. he would do one better. WHAT A PUTT!!!!J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025 Spaun started his day with five bogeys on the front nine, and yet survived to win his first major champinoship. All times ET Sunday, June 15 USA: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. NBC: 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. (As of 7:58 ET; players in bold have finished) 1. J.J. Spaun E 2. Robert MacIntyre +1 3. Viktor Hovland +2 T4. Tyrrell Hatton +3Adam ScottSam BurnsCam YoungCarlos Ortiz View full leaderboard here WHAT A PUTT!!!!J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025 Tied with MacIntyre, J.J. Spaun needed something at 17, and he got it with this brilliant drive on the short par 4: ONE OF THE BEST DRIVES OF THE DAY ON 17!Co-leader J.J. Spaun with that left for EAGLE! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 He missed the eagle, barely, but made the birdie. He's the new leader. The mark has been set: Robert MacIntyre is in at +1. A solid par at 18 gives him the clubhouse lead, and that has to be comfortable considering all the bogeys that are still out there on the course. Advantage MacIntyre. And maybe he has a right to be. With his ball on the edge of the fairway on 15, Burns asked for a ruling, saying he was in standing water. Twice officials told him no, despite water shooting up with every practice swing Burns made, clearly in an effort to prove his point. Force to play it where it sat, Burns hooked a splashy shot into the left rough, a shot that sure looked like it took on a lot of water. The result: Double bogey. This is where Burns just hit on 15. — Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) June 15, 2025 Spaun found trouble on 15, but had a 12-footer for par. It slid by and now he slides back into a share of the lead at 1-over. Spaun with a bogey on now have a four-way tie for the lead at +1. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Robert MacIntyre is 2-under on his round, and now just one back after a birdie at 17. With one hole left, he can set the new clubhouse lead. BIRDIE ON 17! BOBBY MAC IS ONE BACK! 🏴 — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 This one will hurt. Seven feet for birdie at 14 and he hit it a little soft. A missed opportunity for Burns. It could have been worse for Adam Scott on 14 after driving into a trap and having to chip out sideways ... still in the rough. A brilliant approach gave him a look at par, but it just missed. He's back to +2 Scottie Scheffler, with a bogey at 18, moves to +4, in a tie with Jon Rahm for the clubhouse lead. And now, they continue to wait. J.J. Spaun could have ejected himself from the tourney after five bogeys on his front nine. But now ... he's the solo leader. That's some serious toughness right there. SPAUN AGAIN! FOR THE LEAD!J.J. Spaun leads the U.S. Open with 4 holes to play. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 We wrote him off an hour or two ago, but here he is, having missed putt after putt after putt and still, Scottie Scheffler is now just two holes back after a birdie at 17. He has just one hole left to get lower. So, it's still a longshot for Scheffler, but he's in the mix ... as usual. And just like that... Scottie is only 2 back of the lead! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Sam Burns gives another back, pushing him to +1 and ... into a traffic jam atop the leaderboard. 1. Sam Burns +1Adam Scott Carlos Ortiz Tyrrell HattonJ.J. Spaun Wow. Whoa ohhh ohh ohh ohh, hangin' tough. Had to do it. J.J. Spaun, he of the brutal off-the-stick approach earlier in the round and five bogeys on the front, is just one back after a long birdie at 12. J.J. SPAUN! 40 FEET FOR BIRDIE! 🐥He's one back. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Tyrrell Hatton has the best round of the day for the leaders, and now he's dropped another birdie at 13 to get to +1, one off the lead. Adam Scott put his approach in the tall grass behind the green. Sam Burns left his on the slope of a trap. Neither got on the green from there ... and from there, things continued to derail for both players. Both had long bogey putts. Scott made his, Burns missed his. And now zero players are under par, and there is still hope for Jon Rahm in the clubhouse at +4. From bad to worse for Sam Burns on 11. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Let's make a note of this: At 10, Sam Burns hit his approach first, just before the rain fell, and put it to short birdie range. He made it. BURNS BIRDIE! 🐥His first of the final round extends his lead to 2. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Adam Scott was next, and that's when rain started coming down hard, making for a more difficult shot. He left it well short. He nearly holed the birdie putt, but it came up just short. Luck of the draw on that one. Play continues as a drizzle starts to fall ... and maybe more than a drizzle. But really depends on where you are on the course. Adam Scott is being pelted at 10, Tyrrell Hatton is dry at 11 A bogey at 9 for Burns, but he'll take it after being in the thick, thick rough off the tee, then getting a bad break with his approach spinning off the green. Lead over Adam Scott is just 1 shot. Sam Burns put his tee shot on No. 9 deep into the hay on the went on to make bogey. His lead is down to 1. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Let's start with Jon Rahm sitting with the clubhouse lead at +4. Does Sam Burns and the rest drop all the way back? I don't think all seven players between Rahm and the top are falling that far, but then, Oakmont is certainly testing the players right now. The guess here is that +1 wins it. A missed green on the par 3 leads to a bogey, and now Sam Burns is the leader by 2 and the only player under par. The only player in red Burns leads the U.S. Open by 2 shots. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 (As of 7:58 ET; players in bold have finished) 1. J.J. Spaun E 2. Robert MacIntyre +1 3. Viktor Hovland +2 T4. Tyrrell Hatton +3Adam ScottSam BurnsCam YoungCarlos Ortiz View full leaderboard here WHAT A PUTT!!!!J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025 Tied with MacIntyre, J.J. Spaun needed something at 17, and he got it with this brilliant drive on the short par 4: ONE OF THE BEST DRIVES OF THE DAY ON 17!Co-leader J.J. Spaun with that left for EAGLE! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 He missed the eagle, barely, but made the birdie. He's the new leader. The mark has been set: Robert MacIntyre is in at +1. A solid par at 18 gives him the clubhouse lead, and that has to be comfortable considering all the bogeys that are still out there on the course. Advantage MacIntyre. And maybe he has a right to be. With his ball on the edge of the fairway on 15, Burns asked for a ruling, saying he was in standing water. Twice officials told him no, despite water shooting up with every practice swing Burns made, clearly in an effort to prove his point. Force to play it where it sat, Burns hooked a splashy shot into the left rough, a shot that sure looked like it took on a lot of water. The result: Double bogey. This is where Burns just hit on 15. — Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) June 15, 2025 Spaun found trouble on 15, but had a 12-footer for par. It slid by and now he slides back into a share of the lead at 1-over. Spaun with a bogey on now have a four-way tie for the lead at +1. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Robert MacIntyre is 2-under on his round, and now just one back after a birdie at 17. With one hole left, he can set the new clubhouse lead. BIRDIE ON 17! BOBBY MAC IS ONE BACK! 🏴 — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 This one will hurt. Seven feet for birdie at 14 and he hit it a little soft. A missed opportunity for Burns. It could have been worse for Adam Scott on 14 after driving into a trap and having to chip out sideways ... still in the rough. A brilliant approach gave him a look at par, but it just missed. He's back to +2 Scottie Scheffler, with a bogey at 18, moves to +4, in a tie with Jon Rahm for the clubhouse lead. And now, they continue to wait. J.J. Spaun could have ejected himself from the tourney after five bogeys on his front nine. But now ... he's the solo leader. That's some serious toughness right there. SPAUN AGAIN! FOR THE LEAD!J.J. Spaun leads the U.S. Open with 4 holes to play. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 We wrote him off an hour or two ago, but here he is, having missed putt after putt after putt and still, Scottie Scheffler is now just two holes back after a birdie at 17. He has just one hole left to get lower. So, it's still a longshot for Scheffler, but he's in the mix ... as usual. And just like that... Scottie is only 2 back of the lead! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Sam Burns gives another back, pushing him to +1 and ... into a traffic jam atop the leaderboard. 1. Sam Burns +1Adam Scott Carlos Ortiz Tyrrell HattonJ.J. Spaun Wow. Whoa ohhh ohh ohh ohh, hangin' tough. Had to do it. J.J. Spaun, he of the brutal off-the-stick approach earlier in the round and five bogeys on the front, is just one back after a long birdie at 12. J.J. SPAUN! 40 FEET FOR BIRDIE! 🐥He's one back. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Tyrrell Hatton has the best round of the day for the leaders, and now he's dropped another birdie at 13 to get to +1, one off the lead. Adam Scott put his approach in the tall grass behind the green. Sam Burns left his on the slope of a trap. Neither got on the green from there ... and from there, things continued to derail for both players. Both had long bogey putts. Scott made his, Burns missed his. And now zero players are under par, and there is still hope for Jon Rahm in the clubhouse at +4. From bad to worse for Sam Burns on 11. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Let's make a note of this: At 10, Sam Burns hit his approach first, just before the rain fell, and put it to short birdie range. He made it. BURNS BIRDIE! 🐥His first of the final round extends his lead to 2. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Adam Scott was next, and that's when rain started coming down hard, making for a more difficult shot. He left it well short. He nearly holed the birdie putt, but it came up just short. Luck of the draw on that one. Play continues as a drizzle starts to fall ... and maybe more than a drizzle. But really depends on where you are on the course. Adam Scott is being pelted at 10, Tyrrell Hatton is dry at 11 A bogey at 9 for Burns, but he'll take it after being in the thick, thick rough off the tee, then getting a bad break with his approach spinning off the green. Lead over Adam Scott is just 1 shot. Sam Burns put his tee shot on No. 9 deep into the hay on the went on to make bogey. His lead is down to 1. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025 Let's start with Jon Rahm sitting with the clubhouse lead at +4. Does Sam Burns and the rest drop all the way back? I don't think all seven players between Rahm and the top are falling that far, but then, Oakmont is certainly testing the players right now. The guess here is that +1 wins it. A missed green on the par 3 leads to a bogey, and now Sam Burns is the leader by 2 and the only player under par. The only player in red Burns leads the U.S. Open by 2 shots. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2025
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland in prime position entering final 36 holes
OAKMONT — The last time the U.S. Open was played at Oakmont Country Club, champion Dustin Johnson combined for 11 birdies and eagles across 72 holes. Through two rounds of the 125th U.S. Open, both Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns have already matched that mark at this year's championship per Elias Sports. Advertisement Burns almost played a clean round of golf on the second day at the U.S. Open, bogeying just one hole on the first while carding six birdies, four of which came on the back nine to open up his day. Required Reading: 2025 U.S. Open: Victor Perez records first ace in championship at Oakmont since 1983 The Shreveport, La., native shot an impressive 65 on the day after shooting four under par on the back nine to begin his day. The latter half of the course was far friendlier than in the first round, where he bogeyed three of the last four holes and double bogeyed one. 'I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes, Burns said. 'Today I was just focused on getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together. I feel like I've been playing well coming off last week, into this week and my round yesterday. You just need to get yourself in position and give yourself as many looks as you can.' Sam Burns watches his ball's flight after hitting his second shot on No. 12 during the second round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. on June 13, 2025. Hovland also put together a bounce back, and while he did not card the same as Burns, he still shot a 68 to put him (-1) thru 36 holes. Advertisement The Norway native had a fairly clean first nine holes starting on the back nine, sinking birdies on the 10th and 12th holes. He then eagled the par 4 on the 17th after almost driving the green and landing in the rough, chipped in from around 56-feet out. On the front nine, Hovland struggled on the second, carding a double bogey. His shot off the tee landed in the right rough followed by another shot that landed in the bunker. After getting out of the bunker on his third shot — having to go back onto the fairway because he was against the lip — Hovland found the green with his fourth shot before two putting. 'I played really well up until that point and didn't want to miss it left off the tee, so I oversliced it a foot in the rough,' Hovland said. 'I was expecting a lie that I could chase up the green but couldn't even cover the bunker and was up against the lip.' Advertisement Both Burns and Hovland are now in prime position heading into the final 36 holes after their strong second rounds. This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: U.S. Open: Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland in prime position after second round
