Can you really blame JJ Spaun? Probably not because of the special place in his heart that this particular device might hold.
At the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the 2025 US Open champion was asked if the USGA – the organization that runs the US Open – has ever asked him to keep a meaningful club from his win for its archives.
Yes, Spaun said, but he wouldn’t let them have it.
“I said, ‘Unfortunately I can’t do that,’” Spaun said. “That thing isn’t ready to retire yet, especially after that putt.”
That wellYou may remember that he is the 65-footer who won the 125th U.S. Open in walk-off fashion at Oakmont Country Club last June.
“Victor [Hovland]“We got a good line, a good understanding of the speed,” Spaun said after his victory at Oakmont, as he drained the birdie attempt to secure his first major title. “I was more focused on how hard he hit it. I already knew the line, but it looked like he gave it a good hit because it started raining there in the last 10, 15 minutes. I was just trying to pick my line and get a good shot at it. I knew it was going to be a little slow. About 8 feet out, I went to the high side to see if it had a chance to go in, and it was like I was going right in. I was just in shock, disbelief that it went in and it was over. Yes, here we are.”
“The second probably most valuable club, I think, was my driver, and I had actually switched to a newer head, which meant the club was probably getting close to its limit,” Spaun said on Wednesday. “It ended up being a bit unusable, so I donated that, and I think they were pretty happy.”
Last week we found out that Rory McIlroy has also lost one of his key clubs via donation. McIlroy’s most memorable shot from his 2025 Masters victory was the 7-iron he hit into the par-5 15th green on Sunday for an easy two-putt birdie.
“I didn’t know this, but I flew back the next day on Monday and I actually hadn’t seen my golf clubs since just after the playoff, and I noticed my 7-iron was missing,” McIlroy said last week at Pebble Beach. “I thought, that’s a pretty important club, Sean.” [O’Flaherty, my business manager] had already given it to the club, but he didn’t tell me. That’s fine, I’ll get a new 7 iron. If I were to give one to the club it would probably be this one.”
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