America’s J.J. Spaun snatched his first major victory with an incredible last minute 64-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to win two shots ahead of Scotsman Robert MacIntyre at the 125th U.S. Open.
After a lengthy weather delay, Spaun overcame a rough start to his final round at Oakmont to dramatically pull ahead of the congested leaderboard. He started a stroke back from overnight lead Sam Burns, and seemed to fade from contention early when he bogeyed five of his first six holes. But he was far from giving up. Spaun upped his game in the back nine when others struggled along the saturated course. A 20-foot birdie at the 14th temporarily gave him the solo lead, but he bogeyed the next to fall back to 1-over and share the top of the leaderboard with MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Burns.
MacIntyre fired through a final-round 68 and set the clubhouse target at 1-over with four groups still on the course. Hatton faded from contention with back-to-back closing bogeys, and Burns’ chances dropped after a costly double bogey on the 15th. Spaun sunk a two-putt birdie on the 17th with MacIntyre watching closely as he went on to make one of the shots of his life and drain the longest putt of the week to claim victory.
“I don’t think I did keep my composure with all the bad breaks I was getting [on front nine]. I just tried to dig deep, hit some good shots,” Spaun said afterwards, during his trophy presentation.
“Honestly, the weather delay we had just changed the whole vibe for the day. I leaned on the experience of a delay at The Players, and I kept pushing. I bounced back and fought really hard on the back nine.
“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy. I’ve obviously had aspirations and dreams but I never knew what my ceiling was, never knew how good I could be. I’m just proud I’ve been resilient in my career and have pushed through a lot of things. I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.”
This marks the San Diego State alum’s first PGA TOUR victory since the 2022 Valero Texas Open, and the first major he now adds to his belt.
Norway’s Viktor Hovland pulled ahead to finish in third place at 2-over. Hatton, America’s Cameron Young and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz finished in a share of fourth place. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler shared seventh alongside Burns and Spain’s Jon Rahm.
What is the next event?
The next major on the men’s calendar is the The Open Championship taking place between 17-20 July at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.