El golf, like life, rarely offers straight paths. In the case of J.J. Spaun, the new champion of the US Open, the path has been full of twists, bumps, and lessons. But this Sunday at Oakmont, the 34-year-old Californian reached the pinnacle of world golf with a victory forged through struggle, faith, and extraordinary resilience. “I’ve been digging deep all my life,” confessed Spaun. And this Sunday, he dug deep enough to lift the most coveted trophy in American golf.
Golf without filters
“My approach was that, no matter how bad things were, I had to commit to every shot. I kept fighting, digging. Fortunately, I did it on the back nine, things aligned… and here we are with the trophy,” summarised Spaun in a press conference marked by emotion and humility.
He was not the favourite. He did not come from elite academies. He did not play the best junior circuit in the United States. Spaun honed his skills by participating in local tournaments and qualified for his first major tournaments on his own merits. “I wasn’t prepared to be a professional. Everything happened step by step. Junior golf, college golf, I turned professional… and now I’m here with the U.S. Open trophy.” Everything step by step. Stone by stone.
A chaotic… and revealing start
This Sunday began nervously. His daughter suddenly fell ill and forced him to rush to a pharmacy in downtown Pittsburgh in the middle of the night. “She vomited all night. It was a chaotic start to the day. I don’t blame it for my bad start, but it fit with everything that was happening,” he said with a resigned smile.
And yes, the day started off wrong. On the 2nd hole, his ball hit the flagstick after a perfect shot and went off the green. “Everyone went ‘oooh!’ instead of clapping and I knew something strange had happened. It was a two-shot situation,” he recounted without bitterness. His reaction: a simple gesture of resignation. No tantrums. “It’s the US Open. You can’t let frustration take over so early.”
The break, a gift from heaven
When the rain suspension came, many frowned. Spaun saw it as an opportunity. “It already happened to me at THE PLAYERS. It did me good. I reset everything. I changed clothes. I started from scratch,” he explained. And so it was: as soon as he hit the driver on the 9th hole, he felt he was back in control. “I nailed it. And I knew I was back.”
From there, the resilient Spaun took charge. Without looking at scoreboards. Without making calculations. “I didn’t want to play defensively. I didn’t know if I had a two-shot lead or not and I didn’t want to protect against a three-putt.” On the 18th, his final putt —with help from the line left by Viktor Hovland— dropped in the centre. “I went up to look from the high side and saw it was going straight to the hole. I was in shock.”
Inspiration from Tiger and at home
Spaun’s mental strength solidified this year. His secret, according to him, is not technical, but vital. “Max Homa told me a story about Tiger: that you don’t have to do anything crazy in a US Open, just stay there. And today I remembered it: I was four shots behind before the break and in four holes I was already tied at the top.”
But beyond Tiger, his true anchor is at home. “After every round, I go home and my daughters are there. I don’t have time to overanalyse or stress. It helps me stay calm.” On Father’s Day, his eldest daughter didn’t have to ask if he had won. “She always asks me ‘were you the winner today?’ And this time she saw it. It was very special.”
A human champion
A year ago, Spaun was on the verge of losing his card. Today, he is the US Open champion. The key? “Accepting that if this was going to end, I was going to go down fighting. That’s what my coach tells me: ‘if you’re going to fail, do it trying the shot you want. Go all the way.’”
And that’s how it was all week: from the chip holed on the 1st hole on Thursday to the decisive putt in the rain on the 18th. Nothing was perfect. But everything was authentic. Pure heart.
“This is a story of overcoming”
In the end, when asked if there was something spiritual in his feat, Spaun reflected: “It’s like a tale. Everything happened as if it was written. In the middle of the fog, with my family there… simply magical.”
J.J. Spaun didn’t just win a tournament. He won the respect of the golf world for his authenticity, composure, and ability to never give up. At Oakmont, he wrote a story that goes far beyond sport: that of a man who, in the midst of chaos, remained true to himself. And won.
