JJ Spaun: The Journey From...a Movie to the Top of the US Open

TPO - Less than a year ago, JJ Spaun was thinking about retiring. Now he is leading the 2025 US Open at one of the toughest golf courses in the world. And the amazing thing is that it all started from... a movie.

JJ Spaun entered this year’s US Open with modest expectations, given his less-than-stellar experiences. He shot 77-75 and was cut early at Torrey Pines in 2021, which should have been an advantage given he played college golf at San Diego State.

This week, the 34-year-old golfer tried his hand at Oakmont Country Club, a course known for its "hazards," and had his first practice session with a short-game coach just a few days ago.

Yet early in the race, Spaun took the tournament by storm. He shot a bogey-free, 4-under 66 to take the lead in the standings.

How good was Spaun's opening round? His 66 was the best opening round in US Open history at Oakmont. In the previous nine US Opens at the course, there have been only seven bogey-free rounds. Dustin Johnson was the last to do so in 2016.

Spaun started on the 10th hole, immediately causing a stir with a 20-foot birdie chip. He added three more birdies in the first seven holes, finishing the first half of the round with a score of 4-under 31, an achievement never achieved in US Open history at Oakmont.

What's Spaun's secret? “On social media, everyone says Oakmont is hell,” Spaun laughs. “I get scared too. But I use that fear to focus. It feels like I'm in peak performance mode and everything is in place. Without the pressure, I can easily lose focus.”

If the first chip shot started the day perfectly, it was Spaun's putter that kept the day remarkably consistent, adding three more birdies from under 12 feet.

In particular, when he missed the green, Spaun was excellent in saving par in seemingly impossible situations: a putt longer than 5 meters and many other putts in the range of 2 - 2.5 meters. It is not surprising that this performance helped him lead the entire tournament after round 1.

Spaun is probably pleased with his decision to work with a new putting coach earlier this week. He has known Josh Gregory since his time at San Diego State in the early 2010s, when Gregory coached at Augusta State. Gregory has helped Spaun get his short game back on track in just three short sessions.

“He and I met again last month,” Spaun said. “He said, ‘Meet me at the US Open, I’ll show you some exercises. No contract, no strings attached, just brotherhood.’”

The small changes seem to have sparked a new version of Spaun: more confident, more courageous and ready to take on challenges. It's a stark contrast to the Spaun of last season, when he was so down that he considered hanging up his clubs because he was in danger of losing his PGA Tour spot.

“I was playing so badly, my health was not good, I was sick all the time and I had a virus,” Spaun recalls. “I started thinking: I’ve had eight years as a professional, a great family, I’ve won a championship. If this is the end, it’s not so bad. And that thought made me… relax.”

Then, on a flight to England last December, Spaun happened to see the movie Wimbledon (2004) - a romantic sports comedy about an aging tennis player who, seemingly out of his prime, decides to play one last tournament and then unexpectedly wins.

“I was moved to tears watching it,” Spaun said. “I wondered, ‘What if I am like that?’” Since then, the faith has returned.

Though he hasn’t won a tournament since the 2022 Valero Texas Open, Spaun finished third at the Sony Open, second at the Cognizant Classic, and narrowly defeated Rory McIlroy in a dramatic playoff at The Players Championship. He’s currently sixth in the FedEx Cup, a near-certainty for the Tour Championship, and has renewed his Ryder Cup hopes with a 13th-place finish in the U.S. points table. This could be Spaun’s best season since turning pro in 2012.

“I was so scared of being in the lead and being chased,” Spaun admitted. “Three years ago in Memphis, I was in the lead and then played really badly in the final, and that still haunts me. Since then, I haven’t really competed for the championship many times, until earlier this year at the Sony Open. That’s when I told myself to stop hiding. If you want to be successful, you have to dare to follow the path of successful people.”

There are three rounds left at Oakmont. But for now, JJ Spaun—who almost gave it all up—is writing one of the most inspiring stories of the 2025 US Open. And sometimes, it only takes a well-timed movie to spark an extraordinary journey.

Rory McIlroy had a rather disappointing day.

Candidates are out of breath.

While JJ Spaun shined in the leading group, the world's top three golfers Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele encountered many difficulties on the opening day of the 2025 US Open.

Xander Schauffele, the recent PGA Championship champion, finished with a 72 (+2). Although he made two consecutive birdies on the last two holes to make up for a double bogey on hole 7, it was not enough to put him in the top group. He temporarily finished T34, 6 strokes behind the leading group.

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one golfer and the favorite, did not have a smooth day either. Despite 3 birdies, 6 bogeys scattered throughout the round forced him to close the round with a 73 (+3). He temporarily finished T52, equal with defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who also shot 73 in round 1.

The most unfortunate was probably Rory McIlroy. He started off promisingly with a bogey-free first nine holes and a score of -2, putting him in the top group. However, things quickly went off the rails in the first nine holes after he repeatedly missed the fairway, inaccurate approaches to the flag, and inconsistent putting led to Rory making 4 bogeys. He finished the day with a 74 (+4), falling to T66 and facing the risk of being cut.

Trong Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/jj-spaun-hanh-trinh-hoi-sinh-tumot-bo-phim-den-dinh-bang-us-open-post1750756.tpo