Some golf shots are great because they were hit perfectly, and some shots are great because they took courage to try. Rare becomes something else entirely, changing from shot to moment. You don’t need slow motion or tracers to explain these things. Just say the word and everyone will remember it instantly and confirm it in their head. J.J. Spawn, who made a 65-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, fits into that category. It was wet and gray, and the green had become so soft that everything was uncertain. Everyone at Oakmont felt as comfortable as if their dentist had told them, “You might feel a little pressured.”
JJ Spaun plays his second shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the US Open at Oakmont Country Club.
Spaun was hit sideways earlier in the day and briefly collapsed, but was reset during a rain delay and managed to get back into position on one of the most difficult holes on the course. He didn’t need to make it. Two putts would almost certainly have gotten the job done. But Spawn never looked at the scoreboard. He didn’t want math. “I didn’t want to play defensively,” he said later. “I didn’t know if I had a two-shot lead or not. I didn’t want to do anything stupid by trying to defend a three-putt or something.” So he waited. Viktor Hovland rolled the putt first, and Spawn paid close attention. In addition to rest, pacing is also important. “Victor has helped me a lot,” Spawn said. “I was more focused on how hard he was hitting. I already knew the line.”
JJ Spaun and caddy Mark Carens.
Spawn was never known as one of the game’s great putters. He has fought it, tweaked it, trusted it, distrusted it, lived with it. The tour has a long list of players who shoot great shots and make enough putts to survive. Spawn has often lived in that space, honing his results knowing that his putter can betray him just as easily as it saves him. I made fun of him at TPC Sawgrass a few months ago. On the 72nd hole of the Players Championship, Spaun put everything on the line and made another long putt. It was a shortage. Close, but not close enough. He lost to Rory McIlroy in the playoffs the next day, and walked away with the familiar pain of being one roll away from the biggest win of his life. That’s why Oakmont was so important. It wasn’t just a shot. It was the context. The same man, feeling the same tension, holding the same putter, about to reach a completely different outcome.
About eight feet from the hole, Spawn finally convinced himself he might have a chance. “I went up to the high side to see if I had a chance to get in,” he said. “And it was just like going in. I couldn’t believe it went in and it was over, I was just shocked.” The crowd roared as the ball disappeared. Spawn crouched in disbelief. The US Open ended with a putt that almost no one expected. When asked later to put it into perspective, Spaun wouldn’t talk about technique or mechanics. he talked about history. About the moments he has watched growing up.
JJ Spawn holds up the U.S. Open trophy at Oakmont Country Club.
“I watch other people do it,” he said. “You look at Tiger’s chip, you see Nick Taylor’s putt, you see a crazy moment. To be able to experience a moment like mine in this championship, I’ll never forget this moment.” That’s what this year’s shots are about. It’s not necessarily the most athletic or the most impossible. In some cases, it may be the answer to a question that has been plaguing players for years. Can you be trusted when it matters most? On a sodden Sunday at Oakmont, JJ Spawn answered that question from 64 feet away.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Shot of the Year JJ Spaun’s 65-foot putt Oakmont US Open
