PITTSBURGH — The precipitation Sunday wasn't limited to the skies.

After J.J. Spaun drained that 64 1/2-foot birdie putt to clinch a dramatic victory in the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, he fought back tears on the 18th green.

Actually, no. There wasn't much fighting.

Spaun let 'em flow — as he absolutely should.

While there's been nonstop talk about the golf course at this event — the lightning-fast greens, the pin placements, the bunkers, ditches and a whole bunch of other absurdly difficult things — an emotional Spaun offered a reminder of why we love sports so much.

It's the stories and the people who deliver them. There's no better reality TV, and Spaun delivered a doozy of an episode with his victory here.

It also reinforced one of my longtime pet peeves with sports media.

Many of us try to act like we know, and we don't. That's what makes it fun.

Spaun's first and only victory on the PGA Tour came in 2022. As recently as last year, the Los Angeles native felt his career stagnate and was considering retirement.

But on a flight to London last December, Spaun watched a movie called "Wimbledon," about a tennis player in a similar situation who surprisingly won the iconic tennis tournament and used that to reignite his career.

Could Spaun be that guy?

I certainly hope so for his sake.

A year ago at this time, Spaun had missed the cut four times in a five-event stretch. He had six top-25 finishes in 28 PGA Tour starts but also missed 11 cuts, withdrew once and placed 98th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Not exactly on-the-doorstep kind of stuff.

"Last June, it looked like I was going to lose my job," Spaun said. "That was when I had that moment where I thought, 'If this is how I go out, I might as well go down swinging.'

"If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. That's kind of the mantra I've been having all year."

Nothing against Oakmont or the test the USGA created, but I love how Spaun clobbered us over the head with his story.

How his daughter was puking at 3 a.m. Sunday and he had to go to CVS for medicine. How he had never before played Oakmont. How Spaun bogeyed five of his first six holes before closing with birdies on four of his final seven.

Examine the numbers behind Spaun's round, and it's incredible. That nuance is one of my favorite parts of this job. But the entirety of what Spaun did offers a simple reminder.

As much as we revere venues such as Oakmont, which is undeniably a Cathedral of the Game, it's always about people and stories.

"To have my own moment like that at this championship," Spaun said, "I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life."

Same, J.J. Same.

Among other post-tournament thoughts:

— It's probably Monday morning quarterbacking at its best. However, that term exists for a reason.

With heavy weather expected later Sunday, around the time the U.S. Open was expected to finish, I was surprised the USGA didn't adjust the schedule.

Move up tee times, play in threesomes, whatever. Anything to try and close out sooner.

As impressive of a job as the Oakmont grounds crew did, there was an easier available solution.

I'm just glad Spaun created the necessary separation, and we avoided the need for a playoff.

— The reason I wish they would've changed the Sunday format goes back to something the USGA likes to say about its national championship. It wants the U.S. Open to be a difficult and comprehensive examination of every club a golfer has in his/her bag.

Great. But it shouldn't become a crapshoot with the weather — who gets what lie, who gets relief from casual water and who does not, and who might be in the middle of a rainstorm while others were dry (don't laugh, this happened).

I just think by moving things around Sunday there was an opportunity to remove that element.

— How good was Spaun?

His 3-under 32 on the inward nine was the second-best such score ever by a U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, trailing only Johnny Miller's 31 in 1973 (part of a record 63 in the final round).

Spaun led the field this week in total feet of putts made (401.5), while his final one (64.5) was the longest by any player on any hole.

This is just the fourth time since 2000 the U.S. Open champion was the only player to finish under par.

— It was a bad week for the furniture — emblematic of the tough test at Oakmont.

McIlroy executed a tomahawk throw of one club, smashed a tee marker with another and nearly chucked a wedge, calming it down and instead pulling off some sort of absurd trick shot off his bag.

There was also the story of Wyndham Clark damaging a pair of lockers by seemingly kicking in the metal fronts.

It's probably to be expected with the inherent difficulty at Oakmont. I also feel differently about a player throwing his/her clubs than I do about damaging property. Especially with the Oakmont locker room, where the club has gone to painstaking lengths to preserve the past.

Clark should probably be fined. At the same time, when you're so open about wanting to frustrate players, what do you expect?

— Rory McIlroy needs a break.

That was my conclusion based on two interview sessions with him and after following McIlroy for large portions of the U.S. Open. His body language, what he said, how he said it ... I also don't blame the guy.

As he pointed out, he climbed his Mount Everest at the Masters in April by becoming the sixth player in golf history to compete the career Grand Slam. Competing that next week is very much unlike what happens in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB.

But like all of us when we're stressed or burned out, McIlroy isn't the best version of himself right now, regardless of whether he's able to round parts of his golf game into form.

The Open Championship is next July 17-20, at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. That should offer the perfect stretch for McIlroy to decompress and return to competition in an ideal spot.

"If I can't get motivated for an Open Championship at home, then I don't know what can motivate me," McIlroy said. "I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven't been there the last few weeks.

"Getting home and having a couple weeks off before that — hopefully feeling refreshed and rejuvenated — will get me in the right place again."

© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.