The 3rd major of the year is in the books and it was a good one. Played on Oakmont in Pennsylvania, this course is anything but easy. Although there is no water or trees on this course, the thick rough make it one of the more difficult courses to play, couple that with the rain and what’s the result? Only 1 player finishing below par.
1 time PGA tour winner J.J. Spaun led the field after day 1, with Si Woo Kim and Brooks Koepka at his heels. The 5” plus grass proved to be the downfall of many golfer over the weekend, who quickly learned that if you do not hit the fairway or green, you are in for a tough save as most saw par’s turn to bogeys, and bogeys turn to triples. Sam Burns took the lead at the end of round 2 with J.J. right behind him and Vicktor Hovland in 3rd while chasing his first career major championship.
Heading into the final round on Sunday saw Burns still on top, and Adam Scott in second looking to become the 2nd oldest U.S. Open winner in history at the age of 44. Spaun gained a stroke from day 2 and was tied with Scott after Saturday’s round.
Then Sunday came. And what a fascinating day of golf it was. The course was wet, the stakes were high, and the struggle was real. Burns and Scott shot a 79 and 78 respectively seeing their dreams of winning dashed, all thanks to the bad breaks and lies that the Oakmont rough provided. But the real story of the day was the 2025 U.S. Open Champion, J.J. Spaun. Starting the round with 5 bogeys in 6 holes it was looking clear that J.J. just wouldn’t be able to pull it off. On the 2nd hole he hit a great shot that looked like it was going to be within 8-10 feet of the pin, but the ball struck the flagpole and rolled all the way off the green over 30 years away from the hole. Nothing was going right.
But the back 9 would be one he’ll never forget. A rain delay slowed things down, and J.J. was able to reset and focus. He would go on to shoot a 32 on the back 9 after a 40 on the front. And hitting some memorable shots along the way. First he drove the green on 17 leading to a birdie putt that gave him a 1 shot leading going into 18, and then the real magic happened. Facing similar putts on 18, Viktor Hovland went first, and gave a great putt that ended up going just a few feet past the hole. It gave J.J. the read he needed, and the rest was history. Only needing to 2 putt, instead he drained the 64 foot putt and the crowd erupted. Solidifying himself as a major champion, only his 2nd PGA tour victory.
J.J. was the only player under par, finishing at -1 while the rest of the field just couldn’t overcome Oakmont’s relentless rough. Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm had some decent changes of their own but would finish +4 in a tie for 7th, and rounding out the top 5 was Robert MacIntyre, Vicktor Hovland in 3rd, and Cameron young, Tyrell Hatton, and Carlos Ortiz in a tie for 4th. All with chances, all with struggles. It was fun to see the carnage, and to watch who would persevere in a tournament where the winner finishes at 1 under par as opposed to -20. Next month will finish major season with The Open being played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Congratulations J.J. Spaun on winning the 2025 U.S. Open…well deserved!
2 OFF THE TEE 