J.J. Spaun battled through harsh course conditions, bad weather, and strong competition to win the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on 15 June.
Turning professional in 2012, Spaun had only one PGA Tour victory before this. Now, he’s earned his first major title on one of the hardest courses in golf, where even the top players struggled.
J.J. Spaun Wins U.S. Open Despite Tough Night Caring For Sick Daughter
Winning the U.S. Open was already a milestone for J.J. Spaun, but it came after an unexpectedly difficult night.
His two-year-old daughter, Violet, had been sick through the night, and his wife, Melody, was up at 3 a.m. trying to care for her. Violet was unable to keep anything down.
‘I ended up running to CVS in downtown because my daughter (Violet, aged two) had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long.
J J Spaun
Spaun had to make an early-morning pharmacy run, hardly the ideal start before a career-defining round.
Even though he had a difficult beginning, Spaun went on to win the tournament. His wife and their two daughters were there to cheer him on and celebrate his big victory with him.
JJ Spaun Overcomes Diabetes Challenges With Support From Wife Melody And Comes Back Stronger In Golf
Earlier in the season, JJ Spaun had a close match with Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship.
They ended up in a playoff, and although Spaun didn’t win, he showed he could compete at a very high level.
So when he finished the first round of a major tournament in the lead, it was surprising to some, but well-deserved.
JJ Spaun with his wife & little girl on Father’s Day after making a 64 foot birdie putt to win the U.S. Open! pic.twitter.com/GTwH7CKWqI
— Steve (@spacecoastgolf) June 16, 2025
In that round, Spaun played strong golf. He made four birdies in the first nine holes and then stayed steady with ten pars in a row, ending the day one shot ahead of everyone else.
A helpful change in his routine may be one suggested by his wife, Melody.
She set a limit of five hours a day for him to spend at the golf course.
This helped him stay focused and avoid spending too much time on things that weren’t useful.
With a set amount of time, he worked more efficiently and stuck to his plan without getting distracted.
JJ and Melody have been married since 2019. They have two children together, Emerson and Violet.
His family is a big part of his life and helps keep him balanced both on and off the course.
In 2018, J.J. Spaun began experiencing extreme fatigue and unexplained weight loss, leaving him uncertain and concerned about what was happening to his body.
Later, doctors found out he had type 2 diabetes and said he had a hard time for about two years.
He didn’t blame the illness completely, but it made things worse. He also found out he was taking the wrong medicine, which didn’t help control his blood sugar properly.
Even though J.J. Spaun tried to manage his diabetes with a healthy diet, exercise, and medicine, his health kept getting worse.
His golf game also suffered. In 2018, he was just outside the top 100 in the world rankings, but by the middle of 2021, he had dropped down to No. 584.
Luckily, in 2021, everything changed for J.J. Spaun when a specialist discovered he had late-onset Type-1 diabetes, not Type-2.
This meant the treatment he had been using wasn’t right for him. Once he switched to insulin therapy and started closely tracking his blood sugar, things improved.
Before the new diagnosis, he was eating minimal, under 1,500 calories a day, but still had symptoms from high blood sugar.
With proper treatment, he regained about 10 kilograms, increasing from around 75 kg to over 80 kg.
The PGA Tour also permitted him to wear a continuous glucose monitor during tournaments, which he now considers a key part of his gear to help manage his condition while playing.
During this difficult time, his wife, Melody, played a crucial role by supporting him and encouraging him to seek help.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- His dad, John Michael Spaun Sr., is American with European roots, and his mom, Dollie, has both Filipino and Mexican heritage.
- Dollie loved golf and continued playing while pregnant with J.J., with her doctor’s approval, until she was eight months along.
- J.J. started getting into golf very early. When he was just three years old, he got a plastic golf club set.
