J.J. Spaun’s US Open triumph began with unexpected CVS detour

Newly minted U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun was essentially running on fumes before capturing the first major victory of his career Sunday.

When speaking to the media at Oakmont following a rollercoaster final round, where he bogeyed five times on the front nine and birdied the final two holes en route to a total score of 1-under par, the father of two revealed he took an early morning trip to CVS to tend to his sick daughter before teeing off around 2 p.m.

“Today I was running to CVS in downtown because my daughter had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long,” said Spaun, who shares daughters Emerson and Violet with wife Melody.

“I was just like, okay, my wife was up at 3:00 a.m., and she’s like, Violet is vomiting all over. She can’t keep anything down. It was kind of a rough start to the morning. I’m not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mold of what was going on, the chaos.”

It was a chaotic start for Spaun, who shot a 5-over 40 through the first nine holes — including a horrendous break on the second hole with the ball hitting the flagstick and ending up 50 yards from the hole — before turning things around on the back nine with four birdies.

Holding a one-shot lead over Robert MacIntyre on the par-4 18th, Spaun sank a 64-foot putt on the soggy green to win the 125th U.S. Open as Melody and their daughters watched nearby.

The family of four then embraced on the 18th to cap off a Father’s Day for the books.

“It was a very touching moment to see my girls there,” Spaun said afterward. “They’ve never — well, my oldest daughter, she was at the Valero when I won, and she was about the same age as my youngest daughter now. It was so cool to just have my whole family there on Father’s Day. It’s just incredible. I have no words to describe the moment and them being able to see me as the winner.”

Sunday’s win marked Spaun’s first since the Valero Texas Open in April 2022.