We spent three hours with J.J. Spaun after his U.S. Open victory to find out what goes on behind the scenes after winning a major title.

On a day built for umbrellas, J.J. Spaun reversed his own free fall, took advantage of everyone else’s and hit two shots that turned him into a major champion.

JJ Spaun won the US Open with a two-shot victory over Scotlands Bob MacIntyre; Englands Tyrell Hatton tied-fourth after bogey-bogey finish; pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler five strokes back

Spaun rallied to win the 2025 U.S. Open with a dramatic final-round rally, and Sports Illustrated was inside the ropes for all of it. Here are SI's best photos from Spaun's victory.

Spaun, who up until Sunday had a grand total of one (1) PGA Tour victory to his credit, won the U.S. Open on talent, yes. But he won it on tenacity, too, and bend-but-don’t-break mental toughness. He won it because he hung around long enough to make exactly the right move at exactly the right moment.

It was a true Father’s Day triumph for J.J. Spaun, who revealed he was making a 3 a.m. CVS run on Sunday morning tending to his daughter’s stomach bug — just hours before winning the US Open.

As stats guru Justin Ray points out, nearly 90 percent of U.S. Open winners in the last 26 years were at or within four shots of the lead after the opening round. With J.J. Spaun setting the pace at 4 under, that means players likely want to be at even or better after Thursday.

As he stood on the ninth tee box in the pouring rain, it looked for all the world like J.J. Spaun had just played his way out of contention for the 125th US Open championship.