Spaun’s magical moment

MANILA, Philippines — J.J. Spaun achieved his dream of winning his first major golf title by capturing the US Open. Doing it with a 65-foot birdie putt on the last hole was pure magic.

Spaun birdied four of the last seven holes to win at Oakmont on Sunday, firing a two-over 72 to defeat Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre by two strokes, clinching matters with his stunning putt at the 72nd hole.

“Just to finish it off like that is just a dream,” Spaun said. “You watch other people do it... you see crazy moments. To have my own moment like that at this championship, I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.

Spaun drove the par-four 17th green to set up the tap-in birdie that put him ahead to stay, joining a list of birdie-birdie finishers to win the US Open that includes Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson and Jon Rahm.

Spaun, whose only prior PGA Tour win was the 2022 Texas Open, was a runner-up at the Cognizant Classic and Players Championship this year.

“I was just in shock, disbelief that it went in and it was over,” Spaun said of his 65-foot putt. “I couldn’t even believe what I witnessed when that went in.”

Neither could his playing partner, Norway’s 14th-ranked Viktor Hovland, who settled for his best US Open finish at third on 282.