JJ Spaun clinches first major championship after wild US Open Sunday
The post JJ Spaun clinches first major championship after wild US Open Sunday appeared first on ClutchPoints.
After six holes on Sunday at the US Open, JJ Spaun was five-over par. He was far from the only player struggling, but his train was off the tracks, and his championship hopes seemed dashed. But a 90-minute rain delay at Oakmont came at the perfect time, as he turned his day around when play restarted. A birdie on 17 gave him the lead, and JJ Spaun brought it home with another birdie on 18 to become the US Open Champion at Oakmont Country Club.
Spaun was the 18-hole leader after a sensational four-under par 66. He followed that up with a 72 on Friday and a 69 on Saturday, but it was not enough to clinch a spot in the final group. Spaun played with Viktor Hovland, who struggled with his putter again to fall short in a major.
Advertisement
Spaun's US Open win will be most remembered for his drive on the 17th hole. He hit a driver to 17 feet on the par four, lagged it up to knock-in range, and made his birdie. According to Golf Digest's Jamie Kennedy, only five drives all week finished closer than Spaun's on 17.
Spaun shot a 40 on the front nine on Sunday and went on to win. Justin Ray of the TwentyFirst Group says that he made some major championship history. 'The last player to card a 40 or higher on any nine holes the week of a major victory. Ernie Els, 2002 Open, 3rd Round, front nine. Spaun turned in 40 today,' Ray posted. He also noted that the last time a champion shot 40 on a side on US soil was Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters.
Spaun made his name known at The Players Championship this March, when he lost to Rory McIlroy in a playoff. He needed a par to win on Sunday, or he would have been back in a Monday playoff with Robert MacIntyre. Spaun split the fairway, hit the green, and rattled in an incredible birdie to win it.
Spaun joins McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler as the 2025 Major Champions so far this year. The fourth and final major will be The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 17.
Advertisement
Related: Adam Scott's classy gesture to JJ Spaun despite brutal US Open 4th round
Related: US Open news: JJ Spaun's heartfelt reaction to winning first major
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
9 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Tatis and Ohtani hit by pitches, and furious Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gets ejected in 3rd
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani was hit by a pitch from San Diego Padres starter Randy Vásquez in the third inning Tuesday night, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was ejected after arguing on the field. In the top of the inning, Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino plunked Fernando Tatis Jr., the second time the slugger has been hit by the Dodgers this season. In apparent retaliation, Ohtani was hit in the right leg near his knee, drawing heavy boos from the crowd. The umpires warned both benches. Roberts came out of the dugout for an animated discussion with crew chief Marvin Hudson along the third base line. Apparently upset that his team had been warned, Roberts grew increasingly angry while gesturing sharply. Third base umpire Tripp Gibson joined in and soon tossed Roberts. It was the manager's first ejection this season and the 13th of his career. ___ AP MLB:
New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Dodgers, Padres let sparks fly, as Ohtani, Tatis on receiving end of hit by pitches
LOS ANGELES — It took five games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the span of eight days for old bitterness to come through. The division rivals, who have met in the postseason in three of the last five seasons, exchanged hit by pitches in the third inning of Tuesday night's game that saw Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani as the recipients and led Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to an ejection after a tirade once both benches had been warned. Advertisement History trickled into the bitterness between the two sides. Last October's hotly contested National League Division Series featured at least one public spat between player and manager — Roberts accused Manny Machado of throwing a baseball in 'unsettling' fashion in his direction — and included at least one on-field delay when fans threw garbage onto the field at Dodger Stadium, egged on in part by Tatis and then-Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar. That bitterness colored some of Andy Pages' reaction on Monday night when the Dodgers outfielder had words for Padres right-hander Dylan Cease when he was hit with a 98 mph fastball on the left elbow guard in the fourth inning. Pages maintained postgame that he thought Cease hit him intentionally, perhaps because the Padres thought he was relaying Cease's signs from second base after doubling in the third. 'They thought I was relaying signs when I was jumping at second base, I think,' Pages said in Spanish. 'It's impossible that he can't miss a slider on the corner and he missed a fastball a strike zone inside. 'I don't think it was the right way to react. But like I told him, there are things you don't really see sometimes. I told him I reacted on adrenaline. What happened, happened. I tried to find a way to apologize.' Meanwhile, inside the visiting clubhouse, Cease said he did not understand Pages' reaction. While television cameras appeared to show Padres manager Mike Shildt yelling something in his direction, Pages said he didn't hear anything. 'It's not going to deter me from throwing inside,' Cease said. 'I don't know if I've ever hit a Dodger before. You know, it just happens. It's part of the game.' Padres star third baseman Manny Machado expressed similar confusion. 'I mean, they got way more superstars over there,' Machado said. 'If we want to hit somebody, well, they got some big dogs over there we can hit. … He's having a hell of a year, and he's going to continue to have a hall of a year, and I'm rooting for him. But, yeah, man, it's just part of the game. It's no big deal.' Advertisement According to Statcast, Cease threw 46 fastballs. Almost all of them were either over the plate or to his glove side. The lone exception was the 97.7 mph pitch that clipped Pages. Roberts downplayed the hit by pitch on Monday night, saying he didn't believe it was intentional. Tempers flared up anyways. After Martín Maldonado led off the third with a double off the wall, Tatis showed bunt against Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino and fouled it off. Trivino went up and in with a 95 mph sinker that hit Tatis in the back. The Padres outfielder didn't show any outward frustration, taking off his gear and trotting to first base. When Ohtani came up the following half-inning, he was greeted with a 94 mph sinker in on his shins from Padres starter Randy Vásquez that Ohtani backed out of the way of. He threw his next 94 mph sinker even more up and inside, catching Ohtani flush on the back of the right thigh. Here's where Dave Roberts got ejected. It was Tripp Gibson who tossed him for, it seemed, coming out to argue about the warning Can't remember many times Roberts looked more upset with a specific umpire than he did with Gibson tonight — Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) June 18, 2025 As the umpiring crew huddled to discuss warnings, Roberts sprung from the bench, arms out wide in disbelief. The Dodgers manager only got more animated when crew chief Marvin Hudson signaled that both benches had been warned. By the end of an argument that lasted at least a couple minutes, Roberts had been ejected for the 13th time in his managerial career. His ejection came at the hands of third-base umpire Tripp Gibson. Roberts received an ovation as he returned to the dugout and boos rained down on the umpiring crew as he descended down the tunnel. Pages, for his part, channeled whatever frustration he might have had Monday night into a productive night on Tuesday, homering in each of his first two at-bats for the first regular-season multi-homer game of his career (Pages did have a two-homer game last October). On the second one, which tied the game at 3-3, Pages carried the bat halfway up the first-base line before dropping it and trotting around the bases.
CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mets fall in 10 innings to Braves for season-high fourth straight loss
Austin Riley hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep center field in the 10th inning, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 comeback win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Marcell Ozuna tied the score with a three-run double in the eighth, and the Braves rebounded from a 10-1 loss at home Sunday to lowly Colorado. Atlanta has won four of five. New York, which leads the NL East, has dropped four in a row for the first time this season. Luke Williams, who opened the 10th on second base as the automatic runner, advanced to third on a wild pitch from Huascar Brazobán (3-2), who walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Riley's flyball allowed Williams to easily score the game-ending run. Raisel Iglesias (4-5) pitched a perfect 10th. Tyrone Taylor homered and drove in three runs, and Juan Soto also homered as the Mets built a 4-1 lead. Soto singled in the ninth off Dylan Lee but was doubled off first base after Ronald Acuña Jr. caught Pete Alonzo's drive at the right-field wall. The first pitch was delayed 56 minutes by rain. KEY MOMENT The Braves loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth with three singles off starter David Peterson and reliever Reed Garrett. Olson struck out against Garrett, and Riley hit a pop fly to shallow right field before Ozuna's double off Garrett tied the game. KEY STAT According to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Braves, their 71st game of the season was the latest they've played their first game against a division opponent in 25 years. During the 2000 season, they played their first game against the Montreal Expos in their 76st game. UP NEXT Braves left-hander Chris Sale (4-4, 2.79 ERA) will face Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (0-0, 6.75) on Wednesday night. Sale had his scheduled start Sunday against Colorado pushed back so he would be available against the Mets.
