J.J. Spaun Wins Grueling 2025 US Open at Oakmont, While Billy Horschel Questions Difficulty Comparisons
Oakmont Hosts Brutal 2025 US Open Challenge
The 2025 US Open, held at Oakmont Country Club, delivered one of the toughest tests in modern golf history. With a 156-player field, harsh conditions, and lightning-fast greens, the tournament concluded on Sunday, June 15, with only one player finishing under par. J.J. Spaun emerged as the champion, finishing at 1-under across 72 holes. The rest of the field struggled to keep up, all ending the tournament over par.
Masters Comparison Sparks Debate
US Open had 90+ more players over 2 days and 10–15+ more on the weekend. Give me a stat that takes that into account. https://t.co/cUEMjqU6i1
— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) June 17, 2025
Earlier in the year, the Masters Tournament at Augusta National concluded with far better scoring. Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a playoff after both finished at 11-under 277. The stark contrast in scoring between Augusta and Oakmont ignited discussions online about which course posed a greater challenge.
Putting Stats Highlight Oakmont’s Greens
Fueling the debate, a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy pointed out the dramatic difference in putting statistics between the two majors. According to Kennedy, players at Augusta recorded 238 three-putts, while Oakmont’s treacherous greens produced a staggering 536 three-putts. The tweet emphasized how extreme Oakmont’s conditions were, even when compared to the notoriously difficult greens of Augusta.
Billy Horschel Disagrees With the Narrative
Billy Horschel, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, responded to Kennedy’s post, arguing that the data didn’t tell the full story. He noted that the US Open had a significantly larger field—over 90 additional players during the first two days, and 10 to 15 more competitors on the weekend—making the raw numbers misleading. Horschel challenged analysts to consider stats that adjust for the number of players rather than drawing simple comparisons.
Horschel’s Recent Major Appearances
Although Horschel did not compete in this year’s US Open, he did take part in the 2025 Masters. Unfortunately, he failed to make the cut after shooting a 5-over 149 through two rounds, with the cut line set at 2-over. Over the past year, Horschel has experienced a mix of results in major tournaments, finishing 41st in the 2024 US Open and earning a runner-up position in the Open Championship. His best US Open performance remains a tie for fourth in 2013, when he finished 5-over—four shots behind the winner, Justin Rose.
2025 US Open Final Leaderboard
The final leaderboard at Oakmont underscored the tournament’s difficulty. Spaun’s 1-under was the only sub-par score of the week. Robert MacIntyre came in second at 1-over, followed by Viktor Hovland at 2-over. Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton, and Carlos Ortiz tied for fourth at 3-over.
Top Finishers:
Winner: J.J. Spaun (-1)
2nd: Robert MacIntyre (+1)
3rd: Viktor Hovland (+2)
T4: Cameron Young (+3), Tyrrell Hatton (+3), Carlos Ortiz (+3)
T7: Sam Burns (+4), Jon Rahm (+4), Scottie Scheffler (+4)
T10: Ben Griffin (+5), Russell Henley (+5)
T12: Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Chris Kirk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Thriston Lawrence, Adam Scott (All +6)
T19: Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox, Victor Perez, Emiliano Grillo (All +7)
Other notable names included Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Reed, all finishing at 8-over, while Tom Kim and Keegan Bradley landed at 9-over. The course was unforgiving even for the elite, with players like Tony Finau and Matt Fitzpatrick ending at 11-over and Hideki Matsuyama at 12-over.
Oakmont’s punishing setup left a lasting impression, and the debate over whether it outdid Augusta in difficulty may continue long after the final putt dropped.