Despite lacking the superstar names of 12 months ago, the US Open once again delivered a phenomenal finale on Sunday, with J.J. Spaun emerging victorious at Oakmont.
J.J. Spaun produced an outstanding performance down the stretch to win his first major title. He made birdie on three of his final five holes to win by two. His putt on the 18th hole will be added to the pantheon of all-time great US Open moments.
But the 2025 US Open is likely to be remembered best for just how many players had a chance over the course of the final 18 holes.
Sam Burns led initially, while Adam Scott was in the mix for much of the day. Elsewhere, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz and Viktor Hovland all seemed to be on the cusp of getting across the line and winning their first majors.
How many players looked after their final rounds at the US Open on Sunday
Oakmont had one final surprise in store on Sunday. The weather forced a delay at one stage, while the amount of rain made the Pennsylvania course even longer. One of the turning points came when Burns was denied a drop when he felt that he was dealing with standing water.
And it seems that no-one – except Spaun, perhaps – ended up enjoying their day. Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that all of those out there in the tricky conditions on Sunday knew that they had been in a battle.
“To me, this US Open was perfect. The golf course, Oakmont, was incredibly difficult,” he said.
“We had players like Justin Thomas, I talked to him briefly on the range on Saturday, he came back to the golf course to get in some practice even after missing the cut before he moves on to Connecticut and the Travelers Championship.
“He was like, ‘dude, this is the hardest golf course I have ever played, did not even feel like I played that badly and got my teeth kicked in’. There is that element of intimidation and just an overwhelming sense this golf course is going to beat you to a pulp.
“The conditions were incredibly challenging. Whether that’s the wind you had for the first time on Sunday, whether that was the rain getting water on the club face, having water on the fairways creating flyer lies. One of the days, on Thursday, it was a bit firmer and faster, on Saturday it was more receptive and you had better scoring.
“I loved the varying scoring conditions as well. Players were clearly pushed to the breaking point and anyone who stood outside the scoring room on Sunday night saw that, with players one after one, those particularly who had kicked away their chances to win, whether that was a Scottie Scheffler or Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland or Adam Scott or Sam Burns.
“One by one those players came in and they just looked absolutely beat to hell and that is what the US Open can do and what the US Open is supposed to do.”
J.J. Spaun puts himself alongside Jack Nicklaus after managing to overcome Oakmont
Heading into the final day, there appeared to be a chance that someone may set a new record for the lowest winning score at Oakmont. Burns needed to finish two under par for his last round to become the first player to win at the course on six under par.
When the conditions were deteriorating again, it appeared that the champion may end up over par for the week. However, Spaun was superb in getting across the line.
| Year | Winner | Winning Score |
| 1927 | Tommy Armour | +13 |
| 1935 | Sam Parks Jr. | +11 |
| 1953 | Ben Hogan | -5 |
| 1962 | Jack Nicklaus | -1 |
| 1973 | Johnny Miller | -5 |
| 1983 | Larry Nelson | -4 |
| 1994 | Ernie Els | -5 |
| 2007 | Angel Cabrera | +5 |
| 2016 | Dustin Johnson | -4 |
| 2025 | J.J. Spaun | -1 |
Spaun has become the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1962 to win the US Open at Oakmont with a score of one under par.
It is not bad company to be in for the 34-year-old.
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