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J.J. Spaun is not afraid to admit that he got a little bit of help on his walk-off U.S. Open-winning putt.
Paired up with Viktor Hovland in the final round, Spaun and Hovland landed their approach shots on the par-five 18th within inches of one another.
At that point, Hovland was pretty much out of the race, but Spaun needed two putts to win his first major.
Hovland was away and narrowly missed his putt. Spaun had practically an identical line, and he drained it from 64 feet out.
Sure, Spaun’s likelihood of winning the tournament on that green was relatively high, and maybe he didn’t need Hovland’s help at all. But Spaun admitted his plans to give some payback to Hovland.
“I’ve gotta give him a nice bottle of wine or something, whatever he wants,” Spaun told “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“That was a nice teach, and I think that is just one of the things that has to go your way to win not only a championship but a major championship, and I’m just happy to have capitalized on that little advantage.”
Spaun shot 66-72-69-72 to finish his week as the only player under par at Oakmont.
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Oakmont was as advertised this week, with some of the game’s best like Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and more, struggling to find answers for its tough greens, thick roughs, and the pouring rain that came down on Sunday certainly didn’t help matters for those vying for the championship.
Golf’s toughest test this year, though, was tamed by Spaun on Thursday when he left as the field’s leader after 18 holes, shooting a 4-under 66. He returned on Friday and didn’t see the same results, going 2-over, but he certainly wasn’t out of it.
After posting a 1-under on Saturday, Spaun knew he was in position to make a run at his first-ever major, but Sunday’s start wasn’t at all what he had in mind.
Spaun had five bogeys in his first six holes, as he started to tumble down the leaderboard. In the past, Spaun has said he would be discouraged with this type of performance, but as he was righting his Sunday ship, a weather delay put a halt on play.
When he returned to the course, a different Spaun emerged. The back nine was truly his, shooting par on the first two holes before birdying Hole 12 and then Hole 14 to get his round to 3-over on the day.
At this point, multiple players were in the hunt, separated by a shot, if not tied on the leaderboard. Spaun gave one back with a bogey on 15, but he was money on Hole 17 and 18 with back-to-back birdies to seal the win.
While his putt on 18 was nothing short of incredible, Spaun’s drive on 17 landed perfectly short of the green, and it rolled up for a chance at eagle. While he missed that putt, he would bury his next one just over three feet with a chance to win on 18.
Spaun also completed his Father’s Day with his daughters Emerson and Violet, as well as wife Melody, with a celebration at the 18th green.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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