US Open 2025: JJ Spaun wins maiden major title with 65-foot birdie putt; beats Robert Maclntyre by two shots
JJ Spaun claimed his first major title after a rain-soaked, drama-filled final round of the US Open 2025 at Oakmont Country Club. He battled a flooded course, a 90-minute weather delay, and fierce competition from Scotland's Robert MacIntyre to clinch the victory with a stunning 65-foot birdie putt on the 18th green.
Spaun's journey to the title
Spaun's journey to the title was anything but smooth. He started the day one shot behind the overnight leader Sam Burns. The 34-year-old Californian endured a nightmare start, bogeying five of his first six holes, including an unlucky break at the second where his approach hit the flagpole and rolled 50 yards away.
'I don't think I did keep my composure with all the bad breaks I was getting. The weather delay changed the whole vibe for the day,' JJ Spaun expressed during the trophy presentation ceremony.
A 90-minute rain delay shifted the momentum. Spaun bounced back, scoring a strong 32 on the back nine, and finished the final round with a two-over-par 72, making him the only player to complete the tournament under par.
MacIntyre's brilliant charge
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre mounted a challenge by posting the only sub-par final round among the overnight top 10 with a two-under 68. Beginning the day seven shots behind the leader, Robert MacIntyre made a 60-foot eagle on the fourth hole and added birdies on the ninth, 14th, and 17th, finishing at one over par to set the clubhouse lead.
Watching Spaun's winning putt on television, MacIntyre applauded him. 'Having a chance to win a major is what I dreamed of as a kid,' MacIntyre said. His runner-up finish strengthens his Ryder Cup prospects and sets him up for a strong defense of his 2024 Scottish Open title.
Other contenders
The brutal Oakmont layout and relentless weather tested the field. Overnight leader Sam Burns struggled to an eight-over 78, finishing at four over alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. England's Tyrrell Hatton was in contention until a costly bogey-bogey finish, including a break at the 17th where he needed three shots to escape thick rough. Norway's Viktor Hovland, despite missing three five-foot putts, secured third at two over with a final-round 73.
Spaun's magical finish
Spaun's defining moment came at the 18th where he found the green in two and faced a 65-foot putt to avoid a two-putt par. The putt dropped, sparking celebrations among the drenched Oakmont crowd.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Golf-McIlroy first to qualify for Team Europe at Ryder Cup
June 16 - Rory McIlroy became the first player to qualify for Europe for the 2025 Ryder Cup, the team announced on Monday, with the Masters champion set to make his eighth consecutive appearance in the biennial event. McIlroy sealed his spot through the European Points List, a qualification pathway based on performances in DP World Tour and co-sanctioned events, as the Northern Irishman has enjoyed four victories so far since last August. The 35-year-old completed a long-sought career Grand Slam at Augusta National in April, on top of victories at the Dubai DP World Tour Championship in November, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and The Players Championship. A top-20 finish at the U.S. Open over the weekend was enough to mathematically guarantee his place on the team. The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in New York from September 26–28, with European captain Luke Donald set to round out his 12-man squad later this year through six automatic qualifiers and six captain's picks. "It's always a huge honour to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, so it means a great deal to have qualified for my eighth in a row and to be part of Luke's team again at Bethpage," McIlroy said. "Winning a Ryder Cup away from home is one of the biggest challenges there is in golf. We know it is going to be tough in New York, but we are all looking forward to that challenge in September and the opportunity to potentially do something special." McIlroy has been a Ryder Cup mainstay since his debut in 2010, helping Europe to five victories in seven appearances.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
American shows remarkable resurgence, hits a 65-foot birdie on 72nd to win the US Open
Oakmont Country Club , that merciless crucible of golf, has long been the stage where dreams are forged and reputations shattered. In the 125th US Open , J.J. Spaun , a 34-year-old journeyman with a single PGA Tour win, etched his name into the storied silverware. After sliding into a dark recess on the front nine, Spaun's remarkable resurgence was equal parts improbable and poetic. Facing a rain-soaked course and a leaderboard teeming with talent, Spaun's final-round heroics—culminating in a 65-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole—delivered a maiden Major title that resonated like a thunderclap across the Pennsylvania hills. His triumph was a testament to resilience, a narrative of a man who turned a nightmare start into a fairytale finish, outlasting a field that crumbled under Oakmont's unrelenting pressure. Spaun's week began with a historic flourish: a bogey-free 66 in the first round, matching the lowest opening score in Oakmont's US Open history, a feat only previously achieved by Dustin Johnson in 2016. Spaun's flawless round was one of just two bogey-free performances in the last three Oakmont US Opens. By the third round, he sat one stroke behind Sam Burns at 3-under, staying in the hunt with a relentless putter. Spaun gained more than two and a half strokes on the field with his putter. Over the week, he sank more than 400 feet of putts, including some monster putts under pressure over the final stretch. It is hard to believe Spaun was outside the top 100 at the start of the season. But three top three finishes, including a heartbreaking playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at the Players, must have served as a warning. Even if we weren't paying him attention then, the US Open catapults Spaun into rarefied territory as a Major winner. Halfway through Sunday, Spaun was licking his wounds. His card was a bleeding mess as the players retreated inside for the weather interruption. The Angeleno stumbled out of the gates, carding five bogeys in his first six holes for a front-nine 40, falling to 5-over. A 90-minute rain delay at 4:02 p.m. offered a reset, and Spaun seized it, posting a 3-under 32 on the back nine, including birdies on 12 (40 feet), 14 (20 feet), 17 (two-putt), and the astounding missile on the 18th. His final score of 1-under-par made him the only player under par for 72 holes. That was a testament to Oakmont's brutality, as it is to the resilience of the Los Angeles resident. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 中年以降であれば、このゲームは必須です。 BuzzDaily Winners ゲームをプレイ Undo The final round was a chaotic ballet of shifting fortunes. Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader at 4-under, held a one-shot edge over Spaun and Adam Scott, with Viktor Hovland at 1-under. By the 11th, Burns doubled, Scott bogeyed, and no player was under par, with a five-way tie at 1-over among Burns, Scott, Spaun, Tyrrell Hatton, and Carlos Ortiz. Robert MacIntyre, starting at 3-over, clawed back with a 60-foot eagle on the fourth and three birdies, setting the clubhouse lead at 1-over with a 68. Spaun, reinvigorated post-delay, surged with a 40-foot birdie on 12, taking the solo lead with a sensational drive to pin on 17. Burns faltered, carding a 78, his back nine marred by a double on 11 and a bogey on 12. Scott, playing stellar golf at 44, shot a 79, undone by a bogey-bogey finish. MacIntyre's resolve shone, but Spaun's closing birdie-birdie finish—only the fifth such ending in US Open history, alongside Ben Hogan's 1953 Oakmont win—sealed a two-shot victory. LIV Golf 's contingent made a strong showing, defying sceptics. Tyrrell Hatton, with an eagle on 12 and a birdie on 13, reached 1-over, tying for the lead late but stumbled with a bogey-bogey finish for a 72, ending the week in T4 at 3-over. Carlos Ortiz, a dark horse, shot a third-round 67 and birdied 11 for a defiant 73, briefly co-leading at 1-over before finishing T4 at 3-over. Jon Rahm, starting at 7-over, fired a joint-best 67, with three straight birdies to close, securing T7 at 4-over. Their performances underscored LIV's depth, with Ortiz and Hatton in the thick of contention and Rahm's late charge hinting at his enduring class. After struggling most week, including a dalliance with the missed cut, McIlroy regained his dignity with a stoic 67 in the final round, good enough for T19. Live Events Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1, battled Oakmont's ferocity to a T7 finish at 4-over, despite a first-round 73 that marked his worst Major opening. His 70-70 weekend rounds showed resilience, with birdies on 17 in both the third and final rounds, though a three-putt bogey on 11 and a double on the third hole cost him. The putter deserted Scheffler – several misses inside five feet, and many three putt misadventures left the world No 1 struggling on Oakmont's undulating green complexes. His ability to salvage a top-10 finish despite his struggles were another testimony to his impeccable quality. The rain-soaked fairways of Oakmont, ever the stern judge of golf's mettle, bore witness to J.J. Spaun's ascent from journeyman to legend. His back-nine 32, a defiant riposte to a front-nine collapse, was less a round than a revelation. Each birdie was a brushstroke on a canvas of adversity. As Robert MacIntyre watched, agape, from the clubhouse, Spaun's 65-foot putt on the 18th—a putt that danced with destiny—found the cup, sealing a victory that echoed through the Allegheny Valley. In a championship where necessity met nerve, Spaun's triumph was a singular act of will, proving that even Oakmont's cruelest tests can yield to an unwavering, steely heart.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
J.J. Spaun weathers the storm at U.S. Open for first major win
J.J. Spaun sank an improbable 64 1/2-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to cap his stunning first major victory, emerging from the pack in the wild, waterlogged final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club. Spaun finished the round birdie-birdie to card a 2-over 72 and finish 1-under-par 279 for the week, two better than Scotland's Robert MacIntyre (final-round 68). Spaun, 34, had just one prior victory on the PGA Tour. He held the first-round lead, hung around through Friday and Saturday and then won a war of attrition in horrid weather conditions. At one point down the final stretch, five players were tied for the lead at 1 over, and the group didn't even include eventual runner-up MacIntyre. At the 314-yard, par-4 17th hole, Spaun pumped a drive uphill that settled on the well-guarded green. He two-putted for birdie to take the outright lead. Needing par at No. 18, Spaun landed his second shot on the far side of the green and got a read from playing partner Viktor Hovland of Norway, who putted first. Spaun only needed par to win but drained the birdie, letting the waterworks flow as the heavens poured on him. WHAT A PUTT!!!! J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025 Hovland (73) placed third at 2 over. Cameron Young (70), England's Tyrrell Hatton (72) and Mexico's Carlos Ortiz (73) tied for fourth at 3 over. Sam Burns led Spaun and Australia's Adam Scott by one stroke after 54 holes, but Burns and Scott came undone in the rain. Burns shot a 78 to fall to 4 over, tied with Scottie Scheffler (70) and Spain's Jon Rahm (67); Scott (79) posted 6 over. Even before the adverse conditions set in Sunday afternoon, there was carnage throughout the leaderboard. The worst seemed to be reserved for Spaun, who bogeyed five of his first six holes and got an especially bad break at No. 2. Spaun's wedge shot into the green took one hop and bounced off the flagstick. The backspin kicked in and the ball rolled 40 yards down the front of the green as Spaun stared, bewildered. Oakmont was devilishly difficult throughout the week, but heavy rain made the back nine borderline unfair. The rain gear and umbrellas had come out well before a suspension began at 4:01 p.m., lasting 96 minutes.
