"Unfortunate Stumble for JJ Spaun in the US Open's Final Round - Witness His Heartbreaking Bogey"
On the 2025 US Open's final round, it seemed like Lady Luck wasn't on JJ Spaun's side. This unfolded at the opening hole of the fourth round, where he was a stroke behind 54-hole leader, Sam Burns.
Spaun's bid for his first Major started off rocky after finding trouble in the rough on both sides of the fairway at the first and making a bogey. Determined to bounce back, he found the fairway at the 352-yard second, leaving him just over 90 yards to the hole.
What followed was nothing short of heartbreaking. Spaun took dead aim at the flag and seemed to have aced the shot as it sped towards the back-left pin. But, after one bounce off the lightning-fast green, his ball smacked off the flagstick and veered away from the hole. Given the green's back-to-front slope, the ball rolled further and further before meeting a severe false front.
In essence, it traveled over half its original distance and ended up 50 yards from the flag. The broadcast on Golf Channel called it "one of the worst breaks we've seen all week," while David Howell on Sky Sports Golf labeled it "the worst break of Spaun's life."
Still having a chance to save par, Spaun chipped to eight feet but sadly missed the par putt by a hair's breadth, leaving him two-over through two holes on Sunday. Things got even worse at the very next hole.
Preparing to tackle the 459-yard par-4, Spaun hit a 266-yard tee shot down the right, but an under-hit second left him in a familiar predicament, unable to complete the necessary up-and-down to save par.
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Remember the infamous Tiger Woods' Masters moment where his ball struck the flagstick? Well, Spaun's bouncer-off-the-flagstick incident had a similar charm, albeit with a unique trajectory and extended roll following the flagstick contact. This unfortunate event showcased the fine margins in golf and the mental grit needed to overcome adversity on a major championship stage[1][2][3].
In the 2025 US Open's final round, Spaun encountered a string of misfortunes similar to Tiger Woods' infamous Masters moment when his ball struck the flagstick. This was evident at the opening hole of the fourth round, where his ball, after hitting the flagstick, rolled over half its distance and ended up 50 yards from the hole, resulting in a missed par opportunity.
