J.J. Spaun triumphs for a special 2025 U.S. Open Championship

Winning is special. 

Winning your first golf major, at the sport’s hardest venue, in front of your wife, kids and dad on Father’s Day is even more special — and J.J. Spaun did it.

“It was a very touching moment to see my girls there,” Spaun said. “It was so cool to have my whole family there on Father’s Day. It’s just incredible. I have no words to describe the moment and them being able to see me as the winner.”

After a ridiculous two-birdie finish on holes 17 and 18 that was capped off with a 65-foot putt, Spaun engraved his name in golf history as the 2025 U.S. Open Champion at Oakmont Country Club and the fifth ever U.S. Open champion to end a regulation round with two holes — each one under par — to total a 279 across four days.

“This is an all-time high for me,” Spaun said. 

After starting the day in second place, Spaun faced challenges throughout the final 18, bogeying his first three holes and dropping from three under par to as high as two over through hole 11. 

“It felt like, as bad as things were going, I still tried to just commit to every shot. I tried to continue to dig deep,” Spaun said.

The toughness of the course, combined with the brutal weather, created a hard environment for a win, yet one that Spaun — with the help of his team and a wardrobe change — proved he could overcome. 

“It’s definitely like a storybook, fairytale ending, underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting,” Spaun said. “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 of that.” 

The delay that the weather caused was beneficial to Spaun, giving him a much needed break and change of pace from his hard start to the day.

“All I was thinking was — and even my whole team, my coach, my caddie, they were like, ‘Oh, dude, this is exactly what we need.’ And it was,” Spaun said. “We went back out and capitalized. I changed my outfit. I’m like, ‘I’m done wearing those clothes, I just needed to reset everything, start the whole routine over.’”

Spaun caught the brunt end of an approach shot on hole two that hit the flagpole and rolled back 50 yards. Despite it, he persevered. 

“All I heard was a really loud, ‘Oh!’ [and] it wasn’t a good one,” Spaun said. “During the delay I went and watched my [shot] and it was just really unlucky … It was not a good start to the day.”

After coming back out post-weather delay, though, Spaun locked in, eyeing down the $4.3 million prize which he’d eventually pocket. 

“The tee shot on 9, my first shot back, that was the hole we got stopped on,” Spaun said. “I just flushed one nice little cut up the left side. And I was like, ‘All right, we’re back.’ I didn’t hit too many bad shots after that.”

With his tournament-saving turnaround, Spaun not only presented himself to the world, but inwardly as well.

“It’s just trying to get over that line of handling the nerves and handling pressure. I really showed myself a lot today on that back nine,” Spaun said. 

After shining on golf’s biggest stage, he held up the U.S. Open trophy, which shined just as bright. Embracing his wife, kids and dad, he walked off the 18th green with one more dream achieved than when he arrived on it. 

“I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life,” Spaun said.