U.S. Open 2025: What to know about J.J. Spaun's win at Oakmont

New York Times

16-06-2025

A frantic, exceedingly soggy final round at Oakmont managed to generate one of the more exciting horse races in recent major championship history.
A half-dozen players claimed a share of the lead at some point during the afternoon, navigating one of golf's most demanding venues. After a weather delay of more than 90 minutes, J.J. Spaun emerged above the pack, making birdie on four of his last seven holes to secure his first major win.
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Here are the top numbers and notes to know from the final round of the 125th United States Open.
1. Spaun's performance Sunday was inarguably one of the most resilient by a major champion in the history of the sport. He clanged an approach off the pin at the second that bounded back some 50 yards. He made bogey on four of his first five holes and scored 40 through nine holes. He didn't make a birdie until the 12th and wound up carding six bogeys in all. He missed half of his fairways and lost more than a stroke and a half to the field with his approach play in the final round. None of that mattered.
Spaun is the first player to card a 40 or higher on the front nine in the final round of a U.S. Open and still win since Francis Ouimet in 1913. He is the first man to card a 40 or higher on any nine holes the week of a major win in 23 years (Ernie Els, third round of the 2002 Open). His six bogeys today are the most in the final round by a U.S. Open champion since Hale Irwin at Inverness in 1979.
2. Spaun's championship-clinching birdie putt at 18 was 64 feet, five inches, the longest made by any player on the 18th all week. He is just the fifth player to finish birdie-birdie to win the U.S. Open in regulation, and the second to do it at Oakmont. Ben Hogan also birdied the 71st and 72nd holes in his victory in 1953.
Spaun holed putts of 22, 40 and 64 feet all during his last seven holes played. His makes at 12 and 18 are his two longest all year. Spaun made 160 feet of putts Sunday, 40 more than any other player in the field. His preposterous 401 feet of putts made for the championship also led all players. He entered the week ranked 158th of 179 qualified players on the PGA Tour in feet of putts made per round.
Spaun had played in the U.S. Open just once previously, missing the cut at Torrey Pines in 2021. He is the first player to win this championship in his second career start since Webb Simpson at The Olympic Club in 2012.
WHAT A PUTT!!!!
J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/EWdYQeDAzF
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025
3. While Spaun's winning putt will be played on U.S. Open highlight reels forever, the significance of the tee shot he hit the previous hole cannot be understated. Tied for the lead standing on the 71st tee, a 314-yard par 4, Spaun hit an absolutely perfect drive, bouncing onto the green, 18 feet from the cup. He made a two-putt birdie to take an outright lead he refused to relinquish. Spaun gained 2.35 strokes on the field for the week with his tee shots, ranking a modest 26th among players to make the cut. His last two tee shots were responsible for 70 percent of his strokes gained off the tee for the week.
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Spaun is just the fourth player since 2000 to be age 34 or older and get his first major win at the U.S. Open. Two in that group got it done at Oakmont: Angel Cabrera was 37 when he outlasted the field at 5 over back in 2007.
4. Robert MacIntyre finished alone in second place, the best result by a player from Scotland at the U.S. Open since Colin Montgomerie did the same in 1997. MacIntyre shot 69-68 on the weekend, the only player in the field to break par in both Rounds 3 and 4. He played his last 12 holes of the championship 3 under, bogey-free, going 4-of-4 scrambling to post 1 over for the week.
This is MacIntyre's first top-five finish in a major championship. His previous best came in his debut, the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush, where he finished T6. MacIntyre was tied for 23rd through 36 holes this week before nearly completing a historic winning charge. In U.S. Open history, only three players have come from farther down the leaderboard after 36 holes and gone on to win.
5. Viktor Hovland finished alone in third place, three shots off the lead — precisely where he began the final round. Hovland now has four top-five finishes in major championships. Since the beginning of 2022, that is tied for most of any player without a major win in that span, alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa.
Though his approach numbers for the week were quite good overall, they weren't up to his elite standards on Sunday. Hovland had an average proximity to the hole in the final round of 49 feet, 9 inches — more than 27 feet farther away than what he produced on Saturday. Perhaps the most buoyant statistic for Hovland moving forward came from his beleaguered short game. Hovland, who entered the week ranked 158th on tour this year in strokes gained around the green, led the field at Oakmont in that metric.
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6. Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, closed with 78 to finish in a tie for seventh place. It's the highest final round shot by a 54-hole leader in a U.S. Open since Dustin Johnson carded 82 at Pebble Beach in 2010.
Burns received a less-than-magnanimous ruling regarding casual water relief at the 15th, where he ended up making double bogey, derailing his title hopes. Over the last two summers, Burns has now been one back entering the final round at Royal Troon and one ahead entering Sunday here at Oakmont. In those final rounds, he is a combined 15-over-par.
The last player to hold a one-shot lead through 54 holes at the U.S. Open and win the championship in regulation remains Payne Stewart in 1999 at Pinehurst.
7. Adam Scott closed with 79, his worst round in a U.S. Open since an 82 in 2007. That was also here at Oakmont. Scott never quite had his best form at any point Sunday – his lone birdie of the afternoon came on the fourth hole. His seven fairways hit and nine greens in regulation were both personal lows for the week. A run of 5-over-par on his last five holes left him in a tie for 12th place.
Scott was seeking to become the first player in men's golf history to win his second career major 12 or more years after claiming his first. Now 44, he would have been the second-oldest U.S. Open champion all-time, behind only Hale Irwin in 1990 (age 45).
8. Carlos Ortiz made just one birdie Sunday amid the extremely difficult conditions but leaves Pennsylvania with easily his best major finish. His tie for fourth is the best finish in men's major championship history by a player representing Mexico. The previous mark was held by fellow LIV Golf competitor Abraham Ancer, who finished tied for eighth at the 2022 PGA.
Tyrrell Hatton shares fourth place with Ortiz and American Cameron Young. It marks the best major championship finish of Hatton's career to date, his previous best a T5 nine years ago at The Open. His Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm posted the early clubhouse lead, 4 over, after a Sunday 67. It's the third time Rahm has shot 67 or lower in the final round of a U.S. Open, tied for the second most in history.
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9. Xander Schauffele never truly got in contention, but his tie for 12th place continues a staggering run of U.S. Open consistency. Schauffele is just the third player since World War II to finish in the top 15 in the United States Open nine years or more in a row. The other two players are Sam Snead (also nine straight) and Jack Nicklaus (12).
Rory McIlroy closed a sour week with a sweet note, finishing his U.S. Open with a round of 67. It's McIlroy's 10th career round of 67 or lower at the U.S. Open, the most of any player in history. With 39 rounds of 67 or better in his major championship career, Rory trails only Tiger Woods (48), Nicklaus (42) and Phil Mickelson (41) for most in the modern era.
10. The final men's major of the season is The Open, hosted by Royal Portrush for just the third time. Shane Lowry was the last victor there six years ago, his Saturday 63 sparking a six-shot runaway and a party that may have only recently ended. Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka and Lee Westwood rounded out the top five that week.
The opening round of The Open is in 32 days.