Latest news with #125thU.S.Open
The Province
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Province
J.J. Spaun wins U.S. Open in unbelievable finish at Oakmont: 'Just a dream'
J. J. Spaun of the United States celebrates winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on in Oakmont, Pa., on Sunday. Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images OAKMONT, Pa. — All week long it was Oakmont vs. Golfers and on the 72nd hole of the 125th U.S. Open, J.J. Spaun won it for the golfers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'As bad as things were going, I just still tried to just commit to every shot,' Spaun said, seated beside the trophy. 'I tried to just continue to dig deep. I've been doing it my whole life.' In the last hour of what passed for daylight on a miserable rainy day outside Pittsburgh, with a war of attrition claiming leader after leader, Spaun impossibly went on the attack. It all ended with a 64-foot birdie putt on the final hole, a putt that took Spaun to one-under par, a symbolic win after a week of brutal punishment dished out by the most unforgiving of golf courses. 'Just to finish it off like that is just a dream. You watch other people do it. You see the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor's putt, you see crazy moments. To have my own moment like that at this championship, I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Spaun celebrated the Father's Day victory with his wife and two daughters in attendance. 'My daughter always asks me, every time dad goes golfing, she's like, 'Were you the winner today?' ' Spaun said. 'So today she's like, You're the winner today. She got to see it. She didn't have to ask me.' Tied for the lead, Spaun did what every other contender couldn't do at the par-4 17th. With danger left, right and long, the 34-year-old from L.A. drove the green from 314 yards away, setting up a two-putt birdie to give him a one-shot lead at level-par. Nothing is easy at Oakmont though, and after finding the fairway and the green at the 18th hole, Spaun had two putts to claim his first major. He somehow needed just one, pouring in the long birdie putt to put an exclamation mark on his first major championship win. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It is just second win of his career after winning the 2022 Valero Texas Open. Spaun lost the Players Championship in March in an agonizing playoff against Rory McIlroy, misjudging the wind and making triple bogey at the famed island green 17th. 'His game this year has been great in big-time events. He's one of the more underrated players, and this year he's showing that,' said the aforementioned Canadian Taylor, who shares a trainer with Spaun. 'He's showing his true talent now.' Spaun's first professional win came in Thunder Bay, Ont. at the Stall Foundation Open in 2015. 'I grew up watching golf. I was a young kid, wanted to play golf. I loved golf. It was a passion for me growing up,' Spaun said. 'I always played with my parents growing up. One thing led to another. I wasn't really groomed to be a professional golfer. I didn't get put through academies. I didn't play the AJGA. I played local stuff.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Oakmont claimed 54-hole leader Sam Burns with a double bogey at hole 15. For 44-year-old Adam Scott the end came with a double bogey at the par-3 16th. The fiery Englishman Tyrrell Hatton met his fate with bogeys at both 17 and 18. 'I went out there and gave it the best I had,' Burns said. 'Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course.' In the end, the closest competitor was Scotsman Robert MacIntyre who shot a Sunday 68, to finish solo second at one-over par. MacIntyre's U.S. Open hopes ended in a comfortable chair in the clubhouse where he sat hoping that Oakmont would slay every man left on the golf course. And it nearly did, except for J.J. Spaun. A month of rain, a week of rain, and finally a Sunday of rain couldn't stop Oakmont from putting up a devastating test to the world's best players. It's narrow and pitched fairways seemingly guiding golf balls into five-inch rough that was freshened with leaf blowers each day to insure maximum punishment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Once players found the greens, they were met with severe slopes and speeds that seemed impossible in these wet conditions. 'I think that's true to a U.S. Open,' Taylor said after finishing T23 at eight-over and top Canadian. 'When I grew up that was the U.S. Open. We play enough courses where guys just send it and figure it out from there.' Viktor Hovland hung in longer than most, and playing in the second-to-last group with Spaun, the Norwegian shot a 73 on Sunday to finish third at two-over. 'Just didn't have it today. Just didn't hit it very good, and I missed way too many short putts, just didn't make anything. It was a grind, but happy to battle back at least, and it was a very nice week,' Hovland said. 'I keep progressing in the right direction, and to have a chance to win a major championship without my best stuff and not feeling very comfortable, it's super cool.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Hatton (72), Cameron Young (70) and Carlos Ortiz (73) finished tied for fourth at three-over. Burns (78), Scottie Scheffler (70) and John Rahm (67) were one shot further back at four-over. Heavy rain threatened to push Sunday's final round into Monday when play was suspended at 4 p.m. with the leaders on just the eighth hole. When the rain softened, but standing water remaining in many fairways, play resumed at 5:40 p.m. 'They were desperately wanting to finish tonight,' Taylor said. 'It was fair, but it was borderline as for what a normal tournament would deem acceptable.' After a week defined by incredible difficulty, it was a fitting end to the record 10th U.S. Open at Oakmont. Read More National Vancouver Canucks Sports NHL Vancouver Canucks
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Spaun 'wonderful' in 'war of attrition' at Oakmont
Dan Patrick discusses the "war of attrition" that was the 125th U.S. Open, sharing why Oakmont Country Club was "the star" of the tournament and how J.J. Spaun beat "the best" and "the beast."
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Oakmont president Lynch summarizes 125th U.S. Open
John Lynch, the president of Oakmont Country Club, joins Golf Today to discuss why the 125th U.S. Open was an "outrageous success" and explain why J.J. Spaun's 64-foot walk-off putt was "virtually impossible to make."
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Pro Golfers Reactions to JJ Spaun 64-Foot Walk-Off are Priceless
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The final round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont was nothing short of brutal. Rain had soaked the course, turning an already punishing setup into a nightmare for the field. But through the chaos, J.J. Spaun delivered one of the most unforgettable finishes in major championship history. OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 15: J. J. Spaun of the United States celebrates winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 15, 2025... OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 15: J. J. Spaun of the United States celebrates winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 15, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) More Getty Images Standing over a 64-foot birdie putt on the 18th, needing only a two-putt to secure his first major, Spaun drained it, sending the crowd into a frenzy. As the ball disappeared into the cup, Spaun threw his putter into the air, overwhelmed by the moment. Viktor Hovland, who had battled Spaun throughout the day, was the first to embrace him. Hovland hugged the $4.3M winner and expressed his mad respect, saying, "That was impressive dude, congrats." 'That was impressive dude, congrats.' Mad respect from Viktor Hovland to JJ Spaun. Sports still undefeated — Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) June 16, 2025 "Yeah, that was unbelievable," Hovland said later during the press conference. "To watch him hole the putt on 12 down the hill there was unreal. 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." Viktor had his own battle. He had led for much of the final round, but a bogey on 16 and a missed birdie chance on 17 left him finishing at 2-over, settling for third place. Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre, watching from the clubhouse hoping to join Spaun in a playoff, was captured with his priceless reaction. As Spaun's putt dropped, MacIntyre couldn't help but smile and clapped wholeheartedly. A few seconds later, he shouted, "Wow!"—a moment caught on camera that instantly went viral. Bob MacIntyre applauding JJ Spaun draining the winning US Open putt as it ended his dream. Love that reaction. Did all he could, but he had to applaud — Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) June 16, 2025 Tyrrell Hatton was mid-interview, and had an epic live reaction. "Oh, he has holed it. Unbelievable! What a putt to win! That's incredible." When asked what Spaun must be feeling, Hatton didn't hesitate: "In shock!" The praise kept rolling in. Billy Horschel, sidelined due to injury, tweeted: "Take a bow @JJSpaun!!!!". Ex PGA Tour pro, Colt Knost, also chimed in: "Congrats @JJSpaun!!! What a back 9!!! He added "Dude has always been a stripe show and now a @usopengolf champion!!!". Michel Kim, a fan favorite, summed it up tweeting: "Dropped out of coverage to 65ft birdie putt and a US Open trophy. Unreal. Congrats to JJ!" More Golf: Adam Scott's Strange Practice Routine Unveiled amid US Open Run
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Luckiest man alive? After conquering Oakmont, it's irrevocably J.J. Spaun
OAKMONT, Pa. – J.J. Spaun's closing pursuit of major glory began at 3 a.m. Sunday in, of all places, a CVS in downtown Pittsburgh. Spaun's almost 2-year-old daughter, Violet, had woken up with a stomach bug, and mere hours into Father's Day, dad duty called. 'Rough start to the morning,' Spaun admitted. 'But it kind of fit the mold of what was going on, the chaos.' Little did he know then just how chaotic the finish to this 125th U.S. Open would be. But whatever mean, ol' Oakmont decided to throw his way on Sunday afternoon just outside the Steel City, Spaun would be ready. His coach had made sure of it. Spaun had long possessed the talent to win majors, one of the world's best ball-strikers who could get hot with the putter every now and then; he just needed to first conquer his mind. Before Spaun's run and eventual loss to Rory McIlroy at The Players earlier this year, Spaun was frustrated by recent close calls, bemoaning bad breaks and wondering if he'd ever ascend into the sport's elite class. That prompted Spaun's instructor of nearly three years, Adam Schriber, to pull his pupil aside and deliver a healthy dose of reality. The 63-year-old Schriber, best known for coaching Anthony Kim, usually travels to events in a beat-up motorcoach that too often breaks down, but he's also 11 years older than his dad was when he died of leukemia. Spaun, a 34-year-old husband and father of two, overcame a diabetes misdiagnosis a few years back to win on the PGA Tour, and after briefly contemplating retirement last season following a down year, he had bounced back with arguably the best golf of his career. How could they possibly be the unlucky ones? In fact, Schriber posed to Spaun, 'What if you and I are actually the two luckiest motherf---ers in the world?' Spaun calls those motivational dialogues, Schriber's 'Lou Holtz talks,' coined after the former football coach with whom Schriber has traded wisdom. 'He once told me, either you give your guys a hug, or you put your foot up their ass; nothing in between,' Schriber recalled. Spaun needed his latest Holtz talk while walking to the first tee on Thursday morning. After a few days familiarizing himself with Oakmont's punishing landscape, Spaun's hopes had dwindled again. 'I feel like I have to play perfect golf out here,' Spaun told Schriber. 'No,' Schriber quickly interjected, 'what you need is a perfect attitude. You're going to hit good shots that are going to get f---ed because that's how this place is, and you can either react or respond. You know what you need to do.' And so, through rain, mud, wrist-breaking rough and a little early vomit, Spaun outlasted it all, stepping over his competitors' beaten remains before slaying Henry Fownes' beast with a 64-foot dagger on the final hole to finish as the only man under par and a major champion for the first time. 'I tried to just continue to dig deep,' Spaun said. 'I've been doing it my whole life.' WHAT A PUTT!!!! J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! The thing about Oakmont is there's nowhere to hide – and it's not just because of the thousands of trees that have been removed from the sprawling property in recent decades. William C. Fownes Jr., the son of Oakmont founder and architect Henry C. Fownes, lived in the clubhouse during those summers in the early 1900s and was known to keep a watchful eye on the course. Fownes Jr. famously said, 'a shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost,' and when he'd witness what he believed to be a crack in the course's defense, he'd fix the problem to ensure that such shots were never found again. At one point, Oakmont had 330 bunkers. Gil Hanse and the USGA are responsible for this current iteration, with Hanse having recently completed an extensive renovation and the governing body instructing the club to grow 5-inch rough everywhere. With Oakmont's fairways and greens softened in the run-up by record precipitation, such growth was deemed necessary to stymie the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. For the most part, it worked, as DeChambeau, the reigning champ, joined several top players – Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas among them – in hacking their ways to missed cuts, while Scheffler grinded out a T-7 finish but not without a couple club slams. Rory McIlroy smashed a tee marker into pieces on Friday. Corey Conners might've even broken his wrist. And that pesky Spaun? He opened with a 4-under 66, just the eighth bogey-free round in what has now been a decade's worth of U.S. Opens at Oakmont, and followed with solid rounds of 72-69 to enter Sunday's final round trailing leader Sam Burns by just a single shot. But Oakmont, of course, still had some tricks for the once aspiring professional skateboarder: A flighted sand wedge from 93 yards that clanged off the flagstick and back off the green at the par-4 second. A drive that ricocheted off a bunker rake and into a gnarly lie near Oakmont's famed church pews on the par-5 fourth. Through five holes, Spaun had carded five 5's and was 4 over – and a mis-club by Spaun's caddie, Mark Carens, contributed to another bogey at the par-3 sixth. On his way to a front-nine 40 – something no winner on the PGA Tour, let alone a major, had done in the final round since 1993 – Spaun would need a miracle. Carens knew just where to look. It was a year ago on Father's Day that Carens' father, Eddie, died after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's and dementia. At one point on the front side, Carens looked skyward and pleaded, 'What are you doing, Ed? Pay attention, man!' Then the heavens opened, and it poured harder than it had all week, stopping play for nearly two hours and providing Spaun, eight holes in and now four shots back of Burns, a chance to regroup. He grabbed some food, swapped his soaked Puma polo for a dry one and huddled with his coaches for some extra encouragement. The kick came from Schriber, and the hug from Josh Gregory, the short-game guru who had officially joined Spaun's stable this week, teaching Spaun, among other things, how to better judge lies in the rough. Their message was the same. 'They were just like, 'Dude, just chill. Just let it come to you, be calm. Stop trying so hard,'' Spaun recalled. Added Gregory: 'I looked at him as he went to the tee and I said, 'Bud, you're a dad, this is Father's Day, you've got two beautiful babies, and you've got a chance to win the U.S. Open. You would've signed for this on Monday.' Spaun then stepped up on the par-4 ninth and flushed one, a perfect, little cut up the left side. Eddie didn't let him down from there. 'On the back nine, he was definitely there,' Carens said of his pops, 'and we didn't get a bad lie in the rough coming in.' Jun 15, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; JJ Spaun celebrates with his caddie Mark Carens after putting on the 18th green to win during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Spaun recounted a recent lunch with Max Homa back home in Arizona, during which Homa shared some advice from Tiger Woods, who told him the key to winning major championships was just sticking around. Spaun birdied the par-5 12th to join a five-way tie for the lead, then added another two holes later with a 22-foot make to claw back to even par and take a one-shot lead. That's when dreams began to wash away. Scheffler bogeyed his last hole to finish at 4 over. Carlos Ortiz doubled the par-4 15th to drop out of contention at 3 over, where he'd finish along with Cameron Young and Tyrrell Hatton, the latter of whom bogeyed each of his last two holes. Viktor Hovland seemed stuck in neutral all day and eventually placed third at 2 over. Burns' denial of relief from what seemed to be temporary water in the 15th fairway encapsulated his round, which included 78 strokes and as many doubles as birdies (two). He and Adam Scott combined to shoot 17 over in the final pairing, with Scott's 79 dropping him to T-12. 'It just wasn't easy out there,' Scott said. 'All things being equal, it's Sunday of the U.S. Open, one of the hardest setups, and the conditions were the hardest of the week. Thank God it wasn't like this all week.' Spaun's last challenger was a man who, by his own admission, didn't need any pep talks. 'I'm just a guy who believes,' Robert MacIntyre said, safely in the house at 1 over. When he wrapped up his final-round 68, MacIntyre had about a 60% chance to win, per the live betting odds. But as MacIntyre spoke with the media, a nearby television displayed Spaun hitting two of the best drives of his life – the first one at the short, par-4 17th, where his tee ball raced past the hole before Spaun two-putted from 18 feet for birdie; and the second at the par-4 finishing hole, where he split the fairway to leave himself 190 yards in. The wet turf was no issue for Spaun, whose feet, Schriber says, are his 'superpower.' As Spaun landed his approach on the left side of the green, MacIntyre finally was able to retreat to the scoring area, away from the still spitting rain, to watch the drama unfold on television. Most guys in Spaun's position – a former walk-on from Los Angeles who became an All-American at San Diego State and has made over $20 million on the PGA Tour – would be perfectly content. But when Spaun was courting Gregory, he told him, 'I want to be elite.' Another tweak Gregory made to Spaun's game was in his putting setup, getting Spaun's hands higher to fix the arc of his stroke. With a teach from Hovland, Spaun knew he had to hit his birdie putt on the last firm and with no fear. Schriber once shared a story with Spaun about a 15-year-old Kim, who had just lost a prestigious junior event by hitting his closing drive behind a tree while trying to avoid the water. Kim then said to Schriber, with conviction, 'If I go down again, I'm going down trying to hit it where I want to hit it.' 'I didn't want to do anything dumb trying to protect a three-putt or something,' Spaun said. '… About 8 feet out, I kind of went up to the high side to see if it had a chance of going in, and it was like going right in. I was just in shock, disbelief that it went in, and it was over.' J.J. Spaun carries his daughter away from the 18th hole while celebrating his US Open Championship win at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, PA on June 15, 2025. Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Spaun's bomb, which capped a final-round 72, wasn't just the longest putt made all week at Oakmont; it was nearly 30 feet longer than anything Spaun had converted all season. When the ball disappeared, so, too, did Spaun's putter, which was launched into the misty air, freeing up Spaun's right fist to do its thing. As chaos ensued, Spaun then hugged Carens, still holding his umbrella as the two twirled around in celebration before Carens stopped to point to the sky. 'Just to finish it off like that is just a dream,' Spaun said. 'You watch other people do it. … To have my own moment like that at this championship, I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.' Inside but only about 100 yards away, MacIntyre heard the roars early and then could only applaud as he watched what they were for. 'He won the golf tournament,' MacIntyre told afterward. 'I mean, he's dreamed of it. I've dreamed of it. Everyone's dreamed of that moment. For him to pour in the winning putt, nothing I can do. Fair play.' Once Hovland finished out, Spaun rushed to his family – Violet appeared to be feeling much better – and grabbed his 4-year-old daughter, Emerson, lifting her into his arms as he walked up the catwalk to sign his scorecard, passing over a throng of fans chanting, 'J.J.! J.J.! J.J.!' Streaming down Spaun's face were a mix of rain and tears, mostly tears. Almost always, when Spaun returns from playing golf, Emerson asks him, 'Were you the winner today?' But not on this day. Emerson looked into her dad's eyes and declared, 'You're the winner today.' How lucky is he?
