Spaun Buries Sawgrass Demons Taking Lead In Matching Oakmont Low Round

5 months ago by Comments Off on Spaun Buries Sawgrass Demons Taking Lead In Matching Oakmont Low Round

American JJ Spaun proudly took Route 66 to match the lowest score at a Oakmont US Open to be the clubhouse leader early on the opening day of the 2025 US Open in Pennsylvania.

We recall Spaun as the American experiencing a gut-wrenching play-off loss  to Rory McIlroy earlier this year at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

In contrast to last March, Spaun felt comfortable with the idea of contending and winning a big event. That he was good enough and deserving enough to lift the trophy in the end.

It’s a level of self-belief many assume pro athletes innately possess, an irrational confidence born of supreme talent that got them to the TourBu – a level that only a fraction of golfers reach. Spaun needed to learn it, and the fruits of that labor bore out Thursday at the U.S. Open.

Despite his recent hot-and-cold form and an historically difficult Oakmont Country Club that admittedly had him “pretty nervous,” Spaun summoned the best major round of his life – a bogey-free, 4-under 66 to take the lead in the U.S. Open lead through the morning wave.

“I don’t know why this is happening … at this point in my career,” Spaun said afterward, a pro since 2012.

It begins with that belief. There’s no faking a lead at a major championship, particularly one as exacting as the test Oakmont presented in the first round. In previous seasons, Spaun was uncomfortable being chased. Round 1 of a major isn’t exactly the back nine on Sunday, but it’s a start.

Spaun spent pretty much his entire round alone at the top of the leaderboard. As others fluctuated around him, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau included, Spaun stayed rock solid. He chipped in for a birdie on his first hole, No. 10, then took advantage of the lone hole that was playing under-par at the time, the par-5 12th, and added two more birdies to turn in 4-under 31.

It was the best opening nine holes of the 10 U.S. Opens held at Oakmont. Then Spaun made all pars on the front nine, the harder of the two sides, to preserve a 4-under round.

The star of the show was Spaun’s putting. He made five par putts of 7 feet or longer to maintain his momentum, gaining nearly four strokes on the greens, the best mark in the field.

“Today was one of my best putting days I’ve had maybe all year,” Spaun said.

A short-game lesson he received on Monday also played a factor in his flawless scrambling. Longtime friends but never work partners, Spaun and Josh Gregory linked up this week at Oakmont. Gregory believed he could help Spaun solve a few of his issues, and Spaun was receptive to learning more.

Over the course of one lesson, they shortened Spaun’s backswing, and Gregory gave him tips on how to play the brutal lies that players regularly face at Oakmont. When Spaun chipped in on the first hole Thursday, his caddie Mark Carens turned to Spaun and said, “Nice chip, Josh.” Spaun ranked inside the top 10 of strokes gained around the green on Thursday.

“He’s got some great hands, just needed some guidance,” Gregory told PGATOUR.COM via text.

The first round is just the latest in what’s become a career year for Spaun. He began the year with a T3 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii, finished a distant runner-up to Joe Highsmith at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, then did what he did at The Players Championship.

He nearly ended the tournament in regulation, just missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole that would’ve won him the tournament. Spaun added another top-10 finish last month at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

“I can perform on the biggest of stages and handle it with the pressure,” Spaun said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure this week, too, and hopefully I can rely on those experiences.”



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