J.J. Spaun’s U.S. Open win, Rory’s challenge, Oakmont lessons

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, discuss J.J. Spaun’s U.S. Open win, Rory McIlroy’s week and everything we learned at Oakmont.

J.J. Spaun won the 2025 U.S. Open, closing with a final-round 72 to edge Robert MacIntyre by two. With five players tied at one over late in the day, are you surprised to see Spaun emerge from this group? What was the difference?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens) I never would have picked Spaun to win prior to the tournament. But by the time late Sunday rolled around, he’d played three-and-a-half rounds with the calm demeanor and dead-eyed driving that are crucial in a U.S. Open. He’d also fought back from a couple of seriously bad breaks. A ridiculously unlucky carom off the flag on 2. An unfortunate bounce off a rake at 4. Compare that to the way Sam Burns let a wet lie on the fairway get under his skin, and you could say the big difference was outlook. Spaun made some poor swings and piled up bogies. But in the end, he didn’t beat himself.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): I was certainly surprised in real time, but when you think back to the brutal luck Spaun had to start the day, it’s not as surprising. No one in the field got as much bad luck pre-rain delay, and the stoppage was a good reset. Once he came back out, the bad breaks befell other contenders, and Spaun was able to stay steady.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I’m very surprised, especially given how Spaun’s final round started. After the bogey at the first and bad break on the second, I thought he was headed for an early exit. But he didn’t let that rattle him. He stayed in his process and hung around until the rain delay, which allowed him to breathe and reset. Once play resumed, his accurate driving gave him opportunities to rise, and the tee shot on 17 was his major moment.

Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): I agree with Sens, it was the way he shrugged off the bad breaks to start that kept him in it, but it was his putting that won him the tournament. Sure, the tee shots on 17 and 18 were critical, but they would have been irrelevant had he not drained those two long putts on 12 and 14. He gained more than 10 strokes on the field putting despite averaging more than 30 putts around! Wild statistic! Was I surprised he beat out guys like Burns, Scott, Hatton and Hovland? Absolutely! I thought he was done after starting with five 5s, but I guess 55 is a lucky number for Spaun. Awesome major championship finish.

It was a chaotic Sunday at Oakmont, with a lengthy rain delay followed by wet conditions and several players battling for the trophy. Who are you surprised didn’t come through?

Sens: From the start, I thought Viktor Hovland was going to pull it off. He’d been in the hunt in majors so many times, and his all-around game seemed solid the first three days. Funny game. Anyone who tells you they can predict it is lying or fooling themself. 

Melton: Adam Scott. It seemed like destiny that his career would get a punctuation mark with a U.S. Open win at Oakmont. Alas, he just didn’t have anything today. A final-round 79 was not what I (or anyone else) expected. 

Schrock: It’s Hovland for me. He was the best player at the top of the leaderboard, and I thought he’d be able to pull off the shots under pressure that I assumed would doom Spaun and Sam Burns. Instead, he hit just seven fairways and lost over a stroke on the greens to finish T3. The search continues for Viktor.

Hirsh: It was Scott for me, too. Maybe it’s bias because he is golf’s ultimate gear nerd and I cover gear. Maybe it’s because I was 15 when he won the Masters, and his career was right behind Tiger and Phil for me growing up. Maybe it’s because it’s always fun to root for the 40-year-old in the field of 20-somethings. Scott has been good at closing the deal for much of his career (aside from the obvious exception at the 2012 Open), and this seemed like it would have been a dream-like cap to a hall-of-fame career. I guess I’m happy he proved he still has what it takes. Like 188 mph ball speed at 44? SHEESH.

Several players were frustrated by the soggy conditions, which made an already difficult Oakmont even tougher. Do you think the tournament should have been delayed to Monday? Or was the Sunday finish the right decision by the USGA?

Sens: It was the right decision. If play were stopped every time modern Tour pros were unhappy with playing conditions, no event would ever get completed.

Melton: In the words of Scottie Scheffler, it is an “outdoor sport.” Let the boys play.

Schrock: Absolutely the right decision. Let’s see who is the best at getting the ball in the hole when everything isn’t optimized. Tip of the cap to the USGA.

Hirsh: That was fantastic theater. Right decision. Next question.

It was an odd week for Rory McIlroy, who declined to speak with the media after his first two rounds — “It’s more a frustration with you guys,” he said Saturday — and who finished in a tie for 19th place and failed to contend for the fifth straight start since his Masters win. He also reiterated that it has been difficult at times to stay motivated following the career Grand Slam. How would you unpack McIlroy’s week, and why do you think he’s still struggling so much with finding that motivation?

Sens: McIlroy came across as mentally unready before the week began, and he proved that he wasn’t in a great head space when his opening round on Thursday started coming unraveled. In one sense, it seemed odd. In another, it seemed very typical of McIlroy: when he’s on, boy is he on. But when he’s not quite right, he’s not going to contend in the way that, say, Scottie Scheffler does when he doesn’t have his A game. As for motivation, McIlroy has said it himself. It is tough to keep grinding at that level when you’ve achieved everything you’ve always dreamed of. I can relate. As a child, my greatest ambition was to someday take part in an online forum offering armchair analyses of lavishly paid professional athletes. And now here I am, so satisfied I can barely bring myself to finish typi . . .

Melton: It seems Rory has some post-achievement depression. After over a decade of trying to accomplish one of his life goals, the comedown seems to have him in a funk. It’s a bit odd how he’s handled the media during this slump, and I can’t help but wonder if there’s something more to the story than he’s letting on. I’m sure we’ll all find out one day. 

Schrock: I think because as human beings we aren’t wired to have just one purpose, one goal that leads to everlasting actualization. David Duval famously won The Open and wondered if that was “it” on the flight back. Kevin Durant hoisted a trophy with the Warriors and was more lost than ever. It’s up to Rory to find, as he put it, another “Everest” to climb. He will. It might take time. He’s human, just like the rest of us. Has it been “disappointing” that his post-Masters run has been so flat and filled with an unnecessary feud with a golf media that has given him almost two decades of glowing coverage? Absolutely. But eventually, Rory McIlroy will finish digesting achieving one lifelong dream and move on to the next pursuit.

Hirsh: Schrock, I think you hit the nail on the head here. The last few weeks, McIlroy’s struggles have me thinking back on a chapter from one of Bob Rotella’s — who is also McIlroy’s mental coach — books. In the first chapter of Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, Rotella talks about how wonderful it was to work with Pat Bradley — Keegan’s aunt — because she always was focused on qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, which is one of the most difficult halls of fame to qualify for. Once Pat won for the 30th time in 1991 to qualify for the Hall of Fame, she asked Rotella what she should do to find her next dream. She didn’t win again until 1995, which was the last of her career. It’s ironic that McIlroy works with the same coach now. Do I think it will take him four years to win again? No. But, it seems like he is having trouble identifying what his dream will be moving forward now that he has checked off the Masters, which he was trying to nab for 11 years. It will take time.

In its 10th time hosting the U.S. Open, Oakmont Country Club allowed just one player to break par and only two players shot 66 or better the entire week. What did you think of the venue for this week? And did it prove to be too hard, not hard enough or just right?

Sens: It’s a great venue. Not the most telegenic of the U.S. Open anchor sites. But it’s my favorite of them. Have you ever seen so many short putts missed by so many great players. The course is a beautiful bear, and the greens are beyond belief in their subtlety and severity – in ways that TV can’t quite capture.

Melton: Perfect difficulty. If every U.S. Open could finish with just the winner finishing under par, I’d absolutely love it. A war of attrition is fun to watch once every year, and Oakmont is the perfect venue for that.

Schrock: This is what the U.S. Open is supposed to be about. A complete mental examination that is about grit and grind, not getting on the Trackman and golfing in a dome. It might not be my favorite U.S. Open venue, but Oakmont always rocks. Had it not been for the rain, the carnage would have been off the charts. 

Hirsh: I think the dichotomy of how J.J. Spaun and Sam Burns handled bad breaks was a perfect example of what a U.S. Open should be. Yes, was there some luck involved in whether you could advance the ball out of the ridiculous rough? Sure, but J.J. Spaun put together the best final nine holes at a U.S. Open since Tiger Woods in 2000. You can’t tell me he wasn’t a fitting champion. And it was great theater till the end. All at a course that was short of 7400 yards. We honestly should just have the U.S. Open there every year. Having played it, I know it’s also a blast despite being the most difficult course in the world.

Who won the U.S. Open week without winning U.S. Open week?

Sens: Hmm. I think I’d have an easier time coming up with the guys who had it within their grasp and couldn’t quite put it away.

Melton: Robert MacIntyre! He braved the conditions better than anyone and it damn near earned him a U.S. Open title. He’s one of the more earnest players in pro golf and I can’t help but root for his success. Honorable mention to Carlos Ortiz for earning a career-best major finish at T4. 

Schrock: Despite the poor final round, I’m going to say Adam Scott. Like Justin Rose at Augusta, I love seeing uber-talented pros who are past their prime but still love the grind. Scott talked about how winning a second major would fulfill his own self. At 44, with all the money in the world, to still be relentlessly pursuing who you dreamed you’d be is admirable. I hope he gets another major.

Hirsh: I would say Scott or MacIntyre, but since those are taken, I’ll go with Scottie Scheffler. He had a couple of brutal short misses, but ended up having a back-door top-10 with his C game. Feel like he had his B game at the PGA Championship, so really wonder what his A game is looking like right now. Scary for the field!

Finally, what did you learn this week?

Sens: It wasn’t a new lesson but an old one reinforced. At the elite level, in the most pressure cooker of situations, the game is 90 percent mental and 10 percent mental. They all have all the shots. But what matters most is how they cope with the results.

Melton: Oakmont is the hardest golf course on earth. Despite a deluge of rain in the leadup, and a couple proper soakings during the week to soften the course, just one player finished under par. Imagine how high the scores will be if there’s ever a week where it gets baked out and there’s a little wind. Ten over might win the thing!

Schrock: A lot of the game’s elite players are finding their form with one major remaining. Jon Rahm gained strokes everywhere except the greens this week. Same with Collin Morikawa, who led the field in SG: Approach (2.21) but lost it all putting. Brooks Koepka showed signs of life and Jordan Spieth played well outside of a brutal nine-hole stretch on Friday. Rory McIlroy led the field in SG: Driving, which is a good sign given his recent woes. Xander Schauffele was positive in all four strokes gained categories. Scottie Scheffler arguably should have won the tournament if not for a handful of missed putts and an uncharacteristic driving week. Many of the elite are trending (with McIlroy being the big question mark). It all sets up for fireworks at Royal Portrush in a month. 

Hirsh: Sens, I like to say that it’s 95 percent mental and the other five percent is in your head. Oakmont is amazing, but I think we already knew that. I think I learned that if you really want to challenge the best players in the world, you have to actually penalize them for missing the fairway. Even with soft greens, Oakmont proved that you can play a reasonable length golf course and still hold up against the best players in the game as long as they are truly penalized for missing fairways and missing fairways in the wrong spots.