Oakmont Country Club has the label of “the ultimate examination of championship golf”.
In the first round of the 2025 U.S. Open, J.J. Spaun passed the test with flying colors.
Spaun set a high bar as he carded a four-under-par 66 to start the championship at a course that showed its teeth with defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, who lost out in a thrilling climax at Pinehurst last year, both finishing over par for their opening rounds.
DeChambeau posted a three-over 73, with McIlroy going round in 74.
By marked contrast, Spaun was faultless, making the turn in 31 having started at the 10th and producing the kind of disciplined play the course commands with its tight fairways and extremely thick rough.
He became just the eighth player to card a bogey-free round at Oakmont in U.S Open history. Only one player achieved that feat at the 2016 U.S. Open at the same venue, Dustin Johnson doing so in his opening round with a three-under 67.
Watch and learn! 👇👇👇
Every televised shot from J.J. Spaun's bogey-free 66, just the 8th flawless round in U.S. Open history at Oakmont. pic.twitter.com/fuQnyLMgL9
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025
Johnson went on to win the title, claiming a three-shot victory for his first major.
Spaun’s 66 also matched the lowest round-one score in U.S. Open history at Oakmont.
Los Angeles-native Spaun went agonizingly close to the biggest win of his career back in March, when he lost to McIlroy in a playoff at the Players Championship.
While there is a long way to go, Spaun will hope that joining Johnson in a select club is an omen that he will finish the week by ending his wait for a first major.
