US Open champion JJ Spaun turned a free fall into a title at rain-soaked Oakmont

Washington Post

6 hours ago

OAKMONT, Pa. — Nobody backs their way into a U.S. Open title.
J.J. Spaun wasn't about to be the first to say he did.
On a day built for umbrellas, ponchos and industrial-sized squeegees, Spaun reversed his own free fall, took advantage of several others' and hit two shots that turned him into a major champion while finally, mercifully, creating a moment to remember at the rain-soaked brute called Oakmont.
'I just tried to dig deep,' said the 34-year-old Californian who can now call himself a major champion. 'I've been doing it my whole life.'
The shots that will go down in history are the drive he hit on the reachable par-4 17th and the 65-foot putt he sank with the sun going down and the rain falling on 18.
The first set up a birdie that put him in the lead by himself for good. The second was for emphasis — he needed only a two-putt, after all — that ensured this U.S. Open would finish with one — and only one — player under par.
The 65 footer, the longest of any putt made all tournament, closed out a back nine 32 and left Spaun at 1-under 279 for the tournament. His 72 was the highest closing-round score for a U.S. Open winner in 15 years.
But that wasn't Sunday's takeaway.
Rather, it was the 401.5 feet worth of putts the champion made over four days. And the fact that Spaun joined none other than Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Jon Rahm as the fifth U.S. Open winner to finish birdie-birdie.
'I just felt like you keep putting yourself in these positions, like eventually you're going to tick one off,' said Spaun, whose loss in a playoff to Rory McIlroy three months ago at The Players Championship was his third top-three finish of 2025.
But at the U.S. Open? In that kind of weather?
None of it seemed possible when the rain started coming down during the tail end of a front-nine 40 that took Spaun from one shot back at the start of the day to four behind and fading fast.
A 1-hour, 37-minute rain delay ensued. It was a break that changed everything.
'They were just like, 'Dude, just chill,'' Spaun said of the pep talk he got from his coaches.
They suggested that, if earlier in the week, he'd been told he could be four shots back with nine holes to play, he would have jumped at the chance.
'They just said: 'Just let it come to you, be calm. Stop trying so hard,'' Spaun said.
Staying calm resulted in making a downhill 40 footer on the par-5 12th for birdie, then a 22-foot birdie on 14 to take the lead by himself for the first time, at even par.
Everywhere else, there were meltdowns in the rain.
Third-round leader Sam Burns thinned a shot out of a divot and over the 11th green en route to the first of two back-nine double bogeys. He shot 40 on the back and finished tied for seventh.
Adam Scott, the only major champion in the top 10 after Saturday's play, shot 41 in the rain on the back nine and dropped to 12th .
'I didn't adapt to those conditions well enough,' Scott said.
Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 72, briefly threatened and was part of a brief five-way deadlock for the lead before making bogey on the last two holes to finish tied for fourth.
Robert MacIntyre turned out to be Spaun's most persistent challenger. The left-hander from Scotland faded his drive just short of the green on the way to birdie on 17 to get to 1 over and set the target for Spaun, who was playing three groups behind.
MacIntyre was waiting in the locker room when Spaun hit his approach on 18 to 65 feet. Everyone knew it was no sure two-putt. Hardly anyone expected Spaun to get down in one.
'To watch him hole the putt on 12 down the hill there was unreal,' said Viktor Hovland, who played in the twosome with Spaun. 'And then he makes another one on 14 that was straight down the hill. And then the one on 18, it's just absolutely filthy there.'
When they close the book on Spaun's victory at this rainy U.S. Open, maybe the most telling story will be about the way his Father's Day began. As much as the front-nine 40, it had to do with the 3 a.m. trip to the drug store for his daughter Violet, who Spaun said was 'vomiting all over.'
'It was kind of a rough start to the morning,' he said. 'I'm not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mold of what was going on, the chaos .'
Then, through all the rain, and through all those bad lies and bad breaks, Spaun brought some order to it all with a drive and a putt that landed him the silver trophy and gold medal that go to U.S. Open winners.
'We all sacrifice so much to be here, and to see it come to fruition, that's why we do it,' said Spaun's coach, Adam Schriber. 'It's for these moments.'
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf