OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 15: J.J. Spaun kisses the trophy on the 18th green during the final round of 125th U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club on June 15, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Winning a U.S. Open championship puts your name in the history books. Winning it the way J.J. Spaun won it? That puts you in a conversation with the legends.
Spaun, San Diego State alum, drained a 64-foot birdie putt on the final hole, the longest made putt by anyone for the entire tournament, for his first career Major championship.
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WATCH HERE“You watch other people do it, you see, the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor's put, you see crazy moments. And, to have my own moment like that at this championship is … I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life,” says Spaun.
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SIGN UP His is one of the more improbable victories you’re going to find. Spaun only had one other PGA Tour win, the 2022 Valero Texas Open. He was not a phenom destined for golfing greatness.
“I wasn't really groomed to be, like, a professional golfer,” says Spaun. “I didn't I didn't get put through academies, I didn't play the AJGA. I played local stuff.”
San Diego State University head coach Ryan Donovan saw Spaun in a couple of junior tournaments and made sure to bring him down to Montezuma Mesa.
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“I just thought he had great hands. He did have a good demeanor, kind of a chip on his shoulder, kind of fighting against the world, and we like those kinds of kids,” says Donovan. “So, he had a great opportunity. He just got better every year. He won five times in college and came in as a walk-on and left as a two time All-American on a full ride (scholarship).”
For nearly a decade, Spaun was a journeyman on Tour, struggling to find consistent success. At a crossroads, he dialed up the man he still calls Coach Donny.
“Literally a couple of years ago, he called and was like, I've got a family now. Hotel life isn’t that exciting. I'm thinking about just hanging it up and being an instructor,” says Donovan.
The advice he gave his former pupil? Start believing in yourself.
“I think he was just in a state where he was kind of lost and didn't have a lot of support system around him and just wasn't certain,” says Donovan. “He wanted to put food on the table, obviously, for his family. And I just said, you’re one of the most talented guys I've ever seen. I said, if you can continue to do it, do it. But you gotta love it. You gotta love what you're doing, and obviously he did that.”
Now, that would be a great story by itself. But, as major as Spaun’s Major win is, he was not the only Aztec in the U.S. Open spotlight. 21-year-old Justin Hastings, a recent SDSU graduate, won low amateur honors. It’s the first time both the winner and the low amateur have come from the same school, and it could not have come at a better time.
“Yesterday was the first day we can call 2027 recruits so those phone calls are a lot easier,” says Donovan.
Hastings, much like Spaun, didn’t have college recruiters knocking his door down. He grew up in the Cayman Islands, where he only had nine holes of golf available to him. He was average his freshman year at SDSU but eventually the talent blossomed.
“Just a great leader, on and off the course. He was our captain all year. Everyone looks up to him,” says Donovan. “It was a good fit for him because you're right, he’s coming from the Cayman Islands. Nine holes, the weather is similar, and he just wanted an opportunity to play. That's kind of what we do, is we get guys, sometimes under the radar that say, well, you guys have got a great schedule, a great city, and I think it's a good fit for me.”
In case you’ve noticed a pattern here, yes, Donovan and the Aztecs have a type. And it sure seems to be working.
“They're hungry. They're excited. They don't take anything for granted and just roll up their sleeves and work hard,” says Donovan. “We just have that mindset of that bulldog, you know, not the favorite in the field, but we're going to be competitive and compete at a pretty high level.”
At this point I don’t think anyone would be surprised if one day Hastings joins Spaun and Xander Schauffele as Aztecs kissing Major championship trophies.
