Image Credit: world_pictures
Where do we even begin with that final round? We’re three majors down in 2025, and golf fans have already been treated to two classics. JJ Spaun was the hero, but the star of the show was Oakmont Country Club. What a venue. What a privilege it was to watch it wreak havoc on the world’s best. Unfortunately, Australia’s Adam Scott caught the brunt of it.
For those of us waking up early to watch the Adelaidean’s big chance at a second major, it was a tough loss to take. He’s beloved here and overseas for so many reasons. The swing, the style, the smile, the moments. Those four holes of horror in 2012, handing over the Open Championship to Els when it was his to win, and that magical putt in the rain at Augusta that made it all better a year later. He’s still the only Australian to wear the green jacket, but when asked recently if he saw himself as a Hall of Famer, the answer was no. “If I’d won another major championship…” he said. “If I do then maybe I could put myself in the Hall of Fame”. That moment may still come for the 44 year old, but Oakmont left a mark on him on Sunday.
Deeper than deep rough hurt the final pairing badly down the stretch. Scott and playing partner Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, both shot 8 over par to slide out of the top 10. They held first and second place still, standing on the 8th tee, when the horn blew signalling a halt in play. A swirling storm turned into a downpour just after 4 pm, and the delay lasted 96 minutes. When the action finally resumed, the leaders couldn’t regather themselves.
The lag putting from Scott was exceptional, and he was unlucky not to pick up any strokes with it. He came agonisingly close on a few from distance. From tee to green though, the Aussie star just wasn’t consistent enough. As for Burns, the frustration of losing last week’s Canadian Open in a playoff was compounded with this bitter defeat. He’ll feel there was some injustice done. The American pleaded for free relief from standing water on the 15th fairway. The ball rested on a squelching patch of short grass at the low point of the hole’s undulations, but the rules official said play it as it lies and his second shot sailed well off target, leading to double bogey.
“Conditions were just tough,” said Scott. “Once the fairways were soaked, it was very hard controlling the golf ball.”
JJ Spaun though, must be thanking the weather gods. He was the player who benefited most by far from the break in play, and one of just a few who could tame the sopping wet Oakmont back 9 as the light faded on Sunday evening. The Californian has been rock steady all week, but his luck on the opening holes was awful. How many bad breaks can one man have to start the final round of a major? He started tied with Scott, but was sitting 5 over par for the round before you could blink. On the 2nd his approach, a beauty of a wedge shot, somehow caught the flagstick so square that it rolled all the way back off the green. Then on the 4th a rake deflected his tee ball into the banked deep rough above a fairway bunker. Just brutal. If anyone needed a mental reset when that horn sounded, it was JJ.
On the back 9 he played outstanding golf. With the scoreboard in a constant state of change, the unheralded 34 year old entered his own little world, finishing with 4 birdies in 7. That shot on 17 was a moment of brilliance under pressure. It’s a wonderful penultimate hole; a gettable par 4 calling for a 290 metre blind shot, uphill into a narrow green. Spaun stuck it with a low cutting driver, and left himself a midrange eagle putt. The two putt birdie meant he needed only par on 18 to win the US Open. “The best shot of his life” was the call from the commentary box. He went and topped it pretty quickly.
On the final hole of the tournament, thanks in no small part to a perfect read from playing partner Hovland, he jarred it from 64 feet for birdie. The longest putt made all day. Unbelievable drama as the rain began to pour down again on the 18th green. The crowd went nuts as Spaun and his caddy wrapped each other in an emotional embrace, both jumping with joy. Runner up Bobby McIntyre, waiting in the clubhouse in hopes of a playoff, could only applaud. “Wow”, you could see him say. It’s the kind of moment that seems plucked from a golfer’s wildest dreams. Even more so in context.
Before today he’d never finished in the top 20 at a major. A one time winner, Spaun was at risk of losing his PGA Tour Card just last year, and as his ranking slid he started to come to terms with life after golf. “I played eight years out here, I’ve got a great family, I’ve accomplished, I’ve won. So it’s not the end of the world if this is how it ends for me.” Of all things, he told reporters that it was watching the movie ‘Wimbledon’ that changed his outlook. In it Paul Bettany plays an aging, struggling tennis player, who triumphs against all odds at the famous grass court Grand Slam. Channelling the film, the Los Angeles native has resurrected his career and gone on an absolute tear in the past year. From 165th in the world last July, to 8th today. He’ll be a shoo-in for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
Spaun was ready to give it up. On Sunday, on Fathers Day, he walked off the green and held his daughters in his arms as a US Open Champion. “It’s definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, kind of underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting,” he said after. “With the rain and everything and then the putt, I mean, you couldn’t write a better story. I’m just so fortunate to be on the receiving end.”
We were fortunate too, to get to watch it all unfold. Not just because of the way it ended, but because of what every golfer on that course was up against. Spaun won at -1. He was the only player to finish the tournament under par. I think everyone hoped to see that kind of result.
The US Open prides itself on being the hardest major, but there have been hosts in recent years that fell short of that modus operandi (looking at you Los Angeles CC and Erin Hills). Oakmont, with all its storied history of tormenting, has answered the call. If there’s a blueprint to be followed going forward this is it. The platonic ideal of ultra challenging championship golf. They say the perfect course blends the three main philosophies of design; heroic, strategic, and punitive. It’s a fair argument, but let’s set aside another category. The perfect US Open course. To hell with your heroism, strategy be damned. Prepare yourself for punishment.
The fairways are winding, and narrow in all the right places. It’s brutally long, particularly the par 5 12th and that evil 8th hole; a par 3 lengthened once again this year to a record breaking 275 metres. The bunkers are vast, intimidating visually and cruel in practice. The rough is always deep at a US Open, but this stuff was impenetrable. Miss the short grass here and your golf ball just disappears. Thank god for spotters. Without them good luck finding it, let alone hitting it. Add lashing rain to the mix and you have a recipe for Sunday carnage. The field got their asses thoroughly kicked by the course and the elements, and our champion had to shine through adversity to come out on top. It was one of the most entertaining and enthralling final rounds at a major in recent memory. This is what the US Open should always be. A reminder of how much fun tournament golf is when it’s sadistic.
-Will Newby