Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: A New Dawn For Spaun

This article is part of our Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap series.

J.J. Spaun disclosed early in the week at the U.S. Open that he had never been more nervous on a golf course than in the playoff against Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS Championship three months back. He got torched in that playoff.

After Spaun ended the third round of the U.S. Open just one shot off the lead, NBC's Brad Faxon said, "I really think that experience [vs. McIlroy] is going to help him down the stretch at Oakmont."

In theory, that made sense. In actuality, Spaun came out on Sunday to absolute disaster: He bogeyed five of the first six holes and went out in 40.

But you know what? Spaun never wavered, never showed any of those nerves. He kept plugging along.

And on one of the most chaotic final days in recent major championship history, one that included a torrential rain delay, Spaun birdied four of the final seven holes at mighty Oakmont, including the final two, and drained a surreal 64-footer on No. 18 to miraculously capture the 125th U.S. Open for his first major title.

He finished 1-under par, two strokes better than Robert MacIntyre, who came out of nowhere to finish second and wasn't even shown on TV until the 12th hole. That's how volatile this day was.

So as it turns out, Faxon was right. But how?

Spaun detailed a recent conversation he had with California buddy Max Homa, who recounted how Tiger Woods once told him that things happen in a major. Weird things, wild things. And you just have to stick around. Don't try to do too much. Just hang around.

"I kind of was thinking about that out there this afternoon," Spaun said, "here I was four back, maybe going back out after the delay, and then I made some good pars, nothing crazy. Got a really good birdie.

"Then, next thing you know, I'm like tied for the lead, I think, and within four holes of the restart.

"That just kind of goes back to that [Homa conversation], like you just try to, like, stay there. You don't have to do anything crazy, especially at a U.S. Open. All those things came true."

It all came true. There was so much chaos. First, Spaun hit an incredible approach shot on No. 3. It was so good it hit the flagstick. It was so unlucky it bounded backward some 50 yards. Bogey. Then his ball hit a rake on No. 4. Oakmost is hard enough without those things happening.

Spaun said the roughly 90-minute rain delay midway through the round was just what he needed. He settled down. He talked with his coaches. He changed his clothes.

But by then the course was drenched with mini-lakers forming on the greens. They frantically squeegeed the course. But the rain kept coming. And the golfers kept playing, The USGA clearly wanted to finish on Sunday.

By early on the back nine, there was a 5-way tie for the lead at 1-over: Spaun, Sam Burns, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz. Things started to go sideways for all of them -- balls in the rough, questionable rulings, bogeys, double bogeys -- all of them but Spaun.

Spaun drilled a 40-footer for birdie on 12 to join the pack. He sank a 22-foot birdie on 14 for the solo lead. He bogeyed 15 to fall back into a 4-way tie. But he birdied 17 and, incredibly, 18 to complete a 32 on the back nine.

After Spaun hit that flagstick and rake, the golf gods finally gave him a good break on 18. After he hit his second shot onto the green 64 feet away, playing partner Viktor Hovland hit his approach right by Spaun's ball -- but away. Spaun was able to get a perfect read on greens that had been slowed by the soaking rain.

"Viktor helped me a lot. It was a foot left of my line," Spaun said. "... I was more focused on how hard he was hitting it. I kind of knew the line already, but it looked like he gave it a pretty good whack because it started raining there for the last 10, 15 minutes. I just tried to pick my line and put a good stroke on it. I knew it was going to be a little slow.

"About eight feet out, I kind of went up to the high side to see if it had a chance of going in, and it was like going right in. I was just in shock, disbelief that it went in and it was over. Yeah, here we are."

To illustrate how amazing the victory was, Spaun:

• Became the first player to shoot 40 on the front in the final round of a U.S. Open and win since Francis Ouimet in 1913
• Sank the longest putt on 18 by a winner in U.S. Open history (one that left MacIntyre applauding and saying "Wow" while watching on TV from the clubhouse)
• Shot the lowest back nine, 32, by a U.S. Open winner since Woods in 2000
• Became only the fifth golfer to finish birdie-birdie in regulation to win a U.S. Open, joining Ben Hogan (at Oakmont) in 1953, Jack Nicklaus in 1980, Tom Watson in 1982 and Jon Rahm in 2021.

Spaun, 34, was already amid his best season on Tour, even though his lone previous win came in 2022 at the Valero. He had that runner-up to McIlroy at TPC Sawgrass. He shared second at the Cognizant. He had two other top-10s and six other top-25s.

It was a far different story 12 months ago, when Spaun didn't qualify for the U.S. Open and was well outside the top 150 in the world rankings. "Last June, I was looking like i was gonna lose my job," he said, meaning he was in jeopardy of not finishing in the top-125 of the FedEx Cup point standings to keep his card. But then he had top-10s at the Rocket Mortgage, 3M, Wyndham and ZOZO, then opened this season with a tie for third at the Sony.

Spaun began the week at No. 25 OWGR and moved up to No. 8. Of course, it's a career best. He gets a five-year exemption into the other three majors and for 10 years at the U.S. Open. He's also third in the Ryder Cup standings and will surely be on the team this fall, likely as an automatic selection but if not surely as a captain's pick.

And yet, none of that was in the realm of possibility some five hours earlier after five bogeys in six holes.

"It just, it felt like, as bad as things were going, I just still tried to just commit to every shot. I tried to just continue to dig deep. I've been doing it my whole life," Spaun said.

"I think that's been the biggest difference this year has been being able to do that. Fortunately, I dug very deep on the back nine, and things went my way, and here we are with the trophy."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Robert MacIntyre
It's incredible that MacIntyre finished second, his best major result ever. He was not being shown by NBC for the longest time because he was far back. He began the day seven off the lead. But as the weather turned horrible -- much like in his native Scotland -- MacIntyre thrived. He shot a 33 on the back. Sitting in the clubhouse, he had to think there was a good chance he'd be in a playoff. But it was not to be.

Viktor Hovland
Hovland finished solo third, three shots back. He surely had his chances. But he bogeyed four holes on the front and never got a share of the lead on Sunday, as six others did. Hovland now has four top-5s in majors. This was only his second top-10 all year, to go along with his win at the Valspar, but it's clear Hovland could pick off a major at any time.

Tyrrell Hatton
This was also Hatton's best major ever – he finished in a three-way tie for fourth. He also had his chances. He had a short putt on 16 for the solo lead but missed it, then bogeyed 17 and 18. Hatton may not be one of the best LIV players on LIV. But he might be the second best LIV player in majors, behind only Rahm.

Carlos Ortiz
Ortiz is another LIV player, and he had to go through final qualifying in Dallas just to get to Oakmont. He tied for fourth in by far his best major ever. It also was the best finish ever in a major by a golfer from Mexico.

Cameron Young
A miserable year for Young is not so miserable anymore. He tied for seventh at the Truist, then for 25th at the Memorial, then fourth at both the Canadian Open and U.S. Open. At this rate, can his first PGA Tour win be far behind?

Sam Burns
It's mind-boggling that the golfer who led the Open much of the week and for much of Sunday is all the way down here, in a three-way tie for seventh. Burns shot 78 on Sunday. It all fell apart on the back nine, with two doubles and three other bogeys, and he came home in 40. Burns got by most accounts a terrible break on 15. His ball appeared to be sitting in casual water, which would result in a free drop. But rules officials denied his request twice, hit a terrible shot and doubled the hole. Still, it was Burns' best major finish ever and, the back nine notwithstanding, he has played his best golf in years of late.

Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler was never in contention and he tied for seventh. Ho-hum, another top-10. But he was on the periphery of contention much of Sunday and, if a few putts would've dropped, who knows? So there will be no career grand slam this year, though he will be the overwhelming favorite in five weeks at the Open Championship.

Jon Rahm
Rahm went out early, finished long before the bad weather hit. He shot a 67 to tie for seventh, his second straight top-10 in a major. Yet unlike at the PGA, he did not contend this week.

Ben Griffin
The clock has not struck 12 for Griffin, and it appears that it won't. Hsi incredible stretch of golf continued with a tie for 10th, a result that moved him to No. 15 in the world rankings.

Russell Henley
Henley shared 10th place with Griffin and is now up to No. 6 OWGR.

Adam Scott
As incredible as it was to see Burns' name so far down the list, this is even wilder. Scott began the day in the final group with Burns. But he shot 79 to tumble into a seven-way tie for 12th. He shot 41 on the back. This may have been the last, best chance for the 44-year-old to win a second major.

Xander Schauffele
Schauffele tied for 12th, giving him a top-15 nine years in a row at the U.S. Open.

Brooks Koepka
Koepka also tied for 12th for his best major showing since 2023.

Rory McIlroy
Mcilroy tied Rahm with the best round on Sunday, a 67. But he was far back in a tie for 19th. We suspect that whatever post-Masters funk McIlroy is in will be gone by the time he heads home to play the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

MISSED CUTS

Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann, Sepp Straka. Just an absolute bloodbath, but that's usually the case in the U.S. Open. For all the strides that DeChambeau has made in his game, he still needs to fully take only what the golf course gives him. Oakmont doesn't give much. … Johnson was the defending champion from the 2016 Open at Oakmont and missed his third major cut this season. … For as great a season as Straka has had, he's also gone 0-for-3 in the majors. … Corey Conners had to withdraw before the fourth round after injuring his wrist by hitting a hidden TV cable in a sand trap earlier in the week.

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