JJ Spaun wins 125th US Open with monster putt at rain-drenched Oakmont CC

On a chaotic and rain-interrupted Sunday at the Oakmont Country Club, it needed an out of the world effort from J.J. Spaun on the 72nd and final green to seal victory at the 125th US Open.

The best putter ever four days of competition with over 400 feet gained on the greens, Spaun saw his 64-foot effort meander its way into the cup in the rain for a two-stroke margin over Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre after the other front-runners had faded away.

Spaun birdied his final two holes after he had dropped five shots at the start on Sunday. An enforced rain break helped him refocus, and with early leaders Sam Burns and Adam Scott fading away on the back stretch, it was in the Californian’s hands to make sure of his second and biggest professional victory at the top level.

"I knew based off of, like, what the crowd was saying that I felt like if I two-putted I would probably win, but I didn't want to look," Spaun (66-71-69-72) told reporters later. "I didn't want to do anything dumb trying to protect a three-putt or something.

“I grew up watching golf. I was a young kid, wanted to play golf. I loved golf. It was a passion for me growing up. I always played with my parents growing up. I wasn't really groomed to be a professional golfer. I didn't get put through academies. I didn't play the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association).

“I played local stuff. I did qualify for my first big USGA event, which was the US Junior. I did that two times when I was like 16 and 17. That's kind of when I realised my potential. I just kept going, like one foot in front of the other. Junior golf, college golf, turning pro, and now here I am with the US Open trophy,” he added.

Spaun led the field with the only bogey-free first round at Oakmont, which gave no quarter to the 156-strong field. On Sunday, he looked out of the race with his five early bogeys but he kept grinding away as Burns, Scott and Viktor Hovland could not build on their starting advantage.

Hovland (71-68-70-73) did eventually finish third three strokes behind Spaun and MacIntyre (70-74-69-68), as Cameron Young (70) and LIV Golf players Tyrrell Hatton (72) and Carlos Ortiz (73) shared fourth place.

Overnight leader Burns (78), eventually finished in a tie for seventh place while Scott, who had a ragged back nine was further down in a share of 12th. "I went out there and gave it the best I had," Burns said later. "Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my head high.”

Added Scott, playing in his 96th consecutive major championship, “It just wasn’t easy out there. All things being equal, it’s Sunday of the US Open, one of the hardest setups, and the conditions were the hardest of the week. Thank God it wasn’t like this all week.” 

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Ryan Fox had the day’s best cards of 3 under 67.