The last 12 months had a bit of everything – a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
no. 15 – Impeller motion with zero torque
no. 14 – ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ takes the golf world by storm
no. 13 – Joaquin Niemann’s big 2025 (and crucial 2026)
Stories of 2025 No. 12: JJ Spaun’s key moment
It was raining, and leaning against the green, my battle to keep my notebook dry while at the same time scribbling thoughts onto it had just begun. Eighty yards away from me, JJ Spaun had bigger things to worry about. Spaun faced a 64-footer for birdie on Oakmont’s par-4 18th with a US Open trophy on the line.
Do it and he wins, but no one expected this – not even in this weather and not from the parking lot. But a good late putt here was a possible tie and one-shot victory Robert MacIntyrewho expected to score.
It had been a long and hard day at Oakmont. Weather delayed the final round of the third race of the year by 96 minutes and Spaun, who started the day just one shot behind leader Sam Burns, entered the dressing room reeling. He bogeyed five of his first six holes and the tournament was slipping away. It was easy to start thinking about the Players Championship from three months ago, when Spaun was a big loser in a playoff with Rory McIlroy and dropped one into the water on the iconic par-3 17th. McIlroy easily won the overall playoff by three holes.
Despite the loss at TPC Sawgrass, Spaun saw only positives in his close call. He used the same mindset during the weather delay at Oakmont. He changed his clothes (“I’m done with those clothes,” he said) and reset everything. He emerged refocused and recharged.
“Everything I was thinking, even my whole team, my coach, my caddy, they were like, ‘Oh, man, this is exactly what we need,'” Spaun said. “And it was. We went out and capitalized.”
Spaun made pars on 9, 10 and 11 before making birdies on 12 and 14. He birdied 15, but got it back with a birdie on 17. Around him, competitors were falling down the leaderboard on a tough US Open Sunday. Then came the 18th and Spawn needed just two shots to win.
You know what happened next. He drained it. But do you remember what happened elsewhere? While I was joking about the position among members of the overwhelmed media and as the fans around the green turned their attention to Spaun’s celebration, some of the best moments after the win came elsewhere.
There was Spaun’s wife and children, celebrating on the platform above the green. It wasn’t MacIntyre, looking at the note. He needed Spau to thrive to make the playoffs with him, but he didn’t seem to care at the time. He looked up from the TV to score and let out some hearty and hilarious applause. “Wow,” he said.
Off the record, there was Tyrrell Hatton speaking to the media. He had finished bogey-bogey and was particularly upset with some of the questions he received about his finish. But his mood changed mid-answer as he watched Spaw finish on a nearby television.
“Oh, he’s choked it,” Hatton said. “Unbelievable.” He paused, then smiled. “What a shot to win. That’s unbelievable.”
Between Scottie Scheffler’s two majors, McIlroy’s green jacket and Spaun’s winner, golf fans were spoiled by the 2025 majors.
And sometimes even the players realize how good the fun is.
