J.J. Spaun’s major title was memorable for more reasons than you’d think

The past 12 months had a little of everything — a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and so much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look back at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.

No. 15 — The zero-torque putter movement
No. 14 — ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ takes golf world by storm
No. 13 — Joaquin Niemann’s big 2025 (and crucial 2026)

Stories of 2025 No. 12: J.J. Spaun’s major moment

It was raining, and crouching green-side, my battle to keep my notebook dry while simultaneously scribbling thoughts on it had just begun. Eighty feet away from me, J.J. Spaun had bigger things to worry about. Spaun faced a 64-footer for birdie on Oakmont’s par-4 18th with a U.S. Open trophy on the line.

Make and he wins, but no one was expecting that — not in this weather and not from the parking lot. But a good lag putt here was a likely par and one-shot win over Robert MacIntyre, who was waiting in scoring.

It had been a long, difficult day at Oakmont. Weather delayed the final round of the third major of the year by 96 minutes, and Spaun, who started the day just a shot behind leader Sam Burns, went into the locker room reeling. He bogeyed five of his first six holes and the tournament was slipping away. It was easy to start thinking of the Players Championship from three months earlier, when Spaun was a massive underdog in a playoff with Rory McIlroy and dunked one into the water on the iconic par-3 17th. McIlroy won the three-hole aggregate playoff easily.

Despite the loss at TPC Sawgrass, Spaun saw only the positives in his close call. He used the same mindset during the weather delay at Oakmont. He changed his outfit (“I’m done wearing those clothes,” he said) and reset everything. He came out refocused and recharged.

“All I was thinking, and even my whole team, my coach, my caddie, they were like, ‘Oh, dude, this is exactly what we need,'” Spaun said. “And it was. We went back out and capitalized.”

Spaun made pars on 9, 10 and 11 before making birdies on 12 and 14. He bogeyed 15 but got it back with a birdie on 17. All around him, competitors were falling off the leaderboard on a difficult U.S. Open Sunday. Then came the 18th, and Spaun needed just two putts to win.

You know what happened next. He drained it. But do you remember what happened elsewhere? While I was jockeying for position among waterlogged media members and as fans around the green focused their gaze on Spaun’s celebration, some of the best moments in the aftermath of the victory came elsewhere.

There was Spaun’s wife and kids, celebrating on the platform above the green. There was MacIntyre, watching in scoring. He needed Spaun to bogey to get in a playoff with him, but he didn’t seem to care about that at the time. He looked up at the TV in scoring and unleashed a few hearty, jovial claps. “Wow,” he said.

Outside of scoring, there was Tyrrell Hatton talking to the media. He had finished bogey-bogey and was particularly annoyed with some of the questions he received about his finish. But his mood changed mid-answer as he watched Spaun finish on a nearby TV.

“Oh, he’s holed it,” Hatton said. “Unbelievable.” He paused, then smiled. “What a putt to win. That’s incredible.”

Between Scottie Scheffler’s pair of major routs, McIlroy’s green jacket and Spaun’s walk-off winner, golf fans were spoiled by 2025’s majors.

And sometimes even the players realize how good the entertainment is.