This beautiful mess of a U.S. Open was for golf's real ones. Like J.J. Spaun | Estes

This was a moment was for the diehards. Those true golf fans who’ll wake up early on a Thursday to catch a sleepy PGA Tour Live stream. The ones who’ll read the articles and listen to the podcasts and tune in to watch final rounds each Sunday, no matter who happens to be in contention.

If you know, you know. And if you aren’t one of those golf fans, you probably didn’t know much about the newest U.S. Open champion.

J.J. Spaun is — or was — what they call in sports a journeyman.

He’s 34 years old. Had logged 235 PGA Tour events before this game-changer, and of those, he’d won once.

Spaun was playing the best golf of his career in 2025, though. Posted four top-10 finishes in 16 starts. Lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy at The Players. He’d even started to get some buzz about being a possible selection for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

For those paying close attention, this wasn’t entirely out of nowhere.

But nonetheless, as Spaun stood over a 64-foot putt on the 18th green in the rain, seeking a two-putt for the trophy, how could anyone know what to expect?

The torturous Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh had been spanking the world’s best golfers for days, making carnage out of the 2025 U.S. Open. The rain-soaked final round was an especially tough watch. Nothing but bad breaks and bad shots. This wasn’t about winning. It was pure survival.

And so there was that last man standing. Spaun's moment was finally at hand and in his hands, and boy, did he act like it. Dude stepped up there and slapped that long putt toward the hole with the confidence of someone who knew it was going in . . . And then . . . it did.

WHAT A PUTT!!!!

J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/EWdYQeDAzF— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025

Golf!

A highlight for the ages. Everyone had to smile. Other players had to smile. There simply couldn’t have been a more beautifully rewarding conclusion after such an ugly tournament.

Spaun’s final round was straight Hollywood. He bogeyed five of his first six holes, and it wasn’t that he was playing terribly. He was dealt some incredibly bad luck, like an approach shot on No. 2 bouncing into the flag stick and ricocheting back off the front of the green.

Then there was a timely weather delay, during which he collected himself and went on to birdie four of the final seven holes while everyone else who’d been in contention was busy falling apart.

“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” Spaun told NBC’s Mike Tirico afterward. “I've always had aspirations and dreams, but a few months ago, I never knew what my ceiling was. I never knew how good I could be. But I'm just proud that I've been resilient in my career and pushed through a lot of things.”

Spaun’s victory was a refreshing change of pace from a recent run of big stars claiming all of the biggest events in men’s golf. The past six major titles had gone to four people: Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Schauffele and Scheffler — with Scheffler also winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

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Felt kind of fitting in this instance that a no-name like Spaun who’d been grinding for years in the Tour’s shadows was the one best equipped to overcome the non-stop adversity. This laughably difficult throwback golf course might be the toughest in America, if not the entire sport, and it had taken a toll on everyone.

Only one golfer — Spaun at 1 under — didn’t finish with a score over par. By the end, the sport’s best and brightest had enough of Oakmont.

McIlroy barely made the cut and told reporters on site that “it’s much easier being on the cut line when you don’t really care if you’re here for the weekend or not.

“I was sort of thinking, ‘Do I really want two more days here?’ ”

McIlroy finished 7 over, which was good enough to tie for 19th. World No. 1 Scheffler (4 over) kept hanging around and tied for seventh, but he could never get enough momentum for that late push. DeChambeau (10 over) didn’t even make the cut.

By the soggy end, the leaderboard offered a collection of names that casual sports fans looked at on a ticker on another channel and wondered, “Who?” But this wasn’t for those casual fans anyway.

This was a U.S. Open for the real ones.

Like J.J. Spaun.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The 2025 U.S. Open was for golf's real ones. Like J.J. Spaun.