The 2025 U.S. Open is done, and JJ Spaun won his first career major by winning one of the most difficult tests in golf at Oakmont Country Club. After the roller coaster tournament concluded, there are a lot of thoughts running through my head, and it is time to get them down on digital paper.

There are 18 holes on a golf course, so here are 18 thoughts after the 2025 U.S. Open has concluded, in no particular order:

1 – Was Oakmont unfair?

A common question I’ve received since the end of the U.S. Open was if Oakmont Country Club was unfair to the players this past weekend. Was it unfair? I don’t think so. Was it punishing? Absolutely. There are some changes I would like to see the next time Oakmont will host the U.S. Open, mainly having a first cut, second cut, and third cut of rough which doesn’t penalize those 5-yard misses as much, but I thought the course was fair…just extremely difficult.

2 – Player outbursts reaching an all-time high

Where do we begin? Do we talk about Rory McIlroy throwing his club multiple times? Wyndham Clark damaging two lockers in the Oakmont locker room? I’m not even talking about players dropping the F-Bomb when they get frustrated, I’m talking about physical outbursts. They seem to be at an all-time high, and you have to wonder when, or if, the PGA Tour will step in and start punishing players for their actions.

3 – Rory’s comments regarding the media

Rory McIlroy seems fed up. Not with golf, but with the media. The guy who was the face of the PGA Tour during the LIV break-up has now turned into an individual who has soured on talking with the media. It isn’t a good look, but when he has spoken his answers have become short and terse. As I said earlier, Rory seems fed up, and you have to wonder if it is impacting his preparation for tournaments.

4 – NBC coverage is awful

NBC’s coverage is absolutely atrocious. I understand how advertising works, but I would love to hear an explanation on why they choose critical moments in the tournament to “Play Through” or to go to a commercial break. I realize a lot of shots are already on delay, but the timing was awful. Sadly, it is a common trend with NBC, compared to CBS and their coverage.

5 – Players who missed the cut

This is customary for every major, but when you saw Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, and several others not even make it to the weekend it was stunning. Oakmont was challenging, but I was still shocked to see some of the better players on tour struggle the way they did and miss the cut.

6 – Oakmont was making players lose their minds

Anyone else see Shane Lowry forget to mark his ball and pick it up to hand it to his caddy? Lowry looked the most flustered of the pros who were high profile names in the field, and this moment just signified how the course was taking its toll, both physically and mentally, on these players.

7 – JJ Spaun was impressive all week

I started crafting this list on Saturday during the U.S. Open, and I wrote this down on Saturday. I was impressed with Spaun’s play well before he won the tournament. His driving was amazing, but it was his putting which was truly stunning. He continued this style of play, and it resulted in his first major win of his career.

8 – Weather a big-time factor

Could you imagine if Oakmont had been experiencing brilliant sun and highs in the 90s all week? The course would have dried out to the point where it would be nearly impossible to hit a fairway or hold a green. While the rain also provided a new set of circumstances, it could have been worse for the golfers, and that’s hard to fathom.

9 – Scottie Scheffler done in by his driver and putter

Everyone assumed Scottie Scheffler would win his second major of the year, but it wasn’t meant to be. Scottie didn’t play horribly, but he was done in by two things: his driver and his putter. His inability to hit a fairway and missing a ton of short putts ultimately ended his chances earlier than we all would have thought.

10 – This will be the one that got away for Scottie

Sticking with Scheffler for a second, this was a tournament he’ll look back on and know it got away from him. If he didn’t miss so many putts inside 6 feet, and his inability to hit a fairway, he absolutely would have been in the mix on Sunday. If I’m being honest, he was on the fringe of “the mix” on Sunday, and that is with playing poorly, by his standards. Don’t worry though, Scottie isn’t going anywhere.

11 – Adam Scott, the Renaissance Man

Adam Scott refuses to age, and I’m here for it. The man is 44 years old, and continues to put up tremendous numbers in terms of swing speed and keeping up with the younger players. While Scott was on the cusp of his second major championship, it wasn’t to be. That shouldn’t deter people from recognizing how his T12 finish was an amazing feat.

12 – Sam Burns collapse, is he a choker?

After Sam Burns lost the RBC Canadian Open in a playoff to Ryan Fox, some called Burns a choke artist. He hasn’t won a stroke play event since 2022, but has been in contention on many occasions. His +8 final round Sunday crushed his hopes of winning his first major, and the label of choker will continue until Burns finally breaks through again.

13 – Should Burns have been awarded relief?

Speaking of Burns, everyone is wondering if he should have gotten relief from the fairway in the waning holes of the final round. I’m no rules expert, but there did seem to be a lot of water in the area where his ball came to rest. Nonetheless, he asked two rules officials for an opinion, and neither agreed with his personal assessment. Would it have changed things? Maybe, but I still think Spaun comes away victorious either way.

14 – Spaun’s Round 4 bounce back was memorable

Everyone will talk about Spaun’s play on 17 and 18 on Sunday, and rightfully so, but can we talk about his bounce back in Round 4. The man strings together bogies on 5 of the first 6 holes, getting some awful breaks along the way, and is able to bounce back and win the tournament. Not enough is being said about how well he played all four days of the tournament.

15 – Spaun’s clutch putts weren’t just on No. 18, but also No. 12 

Of course the attention will be made to Spaun’s amazing final putt on No. 18, but he had clutch putts which aren’t getting noticed. His putt on No. 12 was another lengthy putt which started to give him some hope he could pull off the unthinkable comeback. I still believe he would have won by two-putting on 18, but his putting was phenomenal all weekend.

16 – JJ Spaun’s Players Championship loss equated in this U.S. Open win

When I watched Spaun win the tournament, I couldn’t help but think about the 2025 Players Championship. Spaun, who most hadn’t heard of before that event this spring, crumbled in the three hole playoff vs. Rory McIlroy. He might not say it publicly, but that experience helped him with the nerves surrounding a big moment. In other words, the loss at the TPC Sawgrass helped build him into the eventual U.S. Open champion.

17 – Oakmont lived up to the billing

Oakmont Country Club was brutal for the players, but is also a phenomenal venue. Easy to access and gives the attendees some beautiful opportunities to take in a lot of golf. Them taking away all those trees has really opened up the course, and makes the course even more manageable from a walking perspective. In other words, Oakmont lived up to the hype.

18 – Next up…

Next up is the Open Championship at Royal Portrush on July 17–20. This is one of Rory’s favorite tracks overseas, and it will be interesting to see if he can hoist the Claret Jug once again.

Jeff Hartman is the host of the Fairways & Dreams podcast, and the latest show can be heard in the player below: