OAKMONT, Pa. – It got a little soggy – even a little muddy – but in the end, J.J. Spaun did enough to beat par (and a field of 155 players) to win the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.

Spaun’s 64-foot birdie putt on the final green left him as the only player in red figures on a demanding and water-logged layout, as he finished two shots clear of Robert MacIntyre for his second win on TOUR and the biggest of his career.

A +12000 longshot at the start of the week, Spaun bolted up the odds board after taking First Round Leader honors and started the final round one shot off the lead. He played his first six holes in 5 over, though, to seemingly fade from contention before a stirring rally after a rain delay that included four birdies over his final seven holes.

With three majors now in the books in 2025, here are five betting takeaways from a wild scene at Oakmont as the scene shifts to the Travelers Championship, with The Open Championship still on deck.

When conditions become a storyline, bank on the chase pack

Oakmont was always going to be a difficult test, but heavy rains over the weekend took things up a notch. The course was on the brink for the final stretch, with the leaders playing their last 11 holes in sopping wet conditions.

The U.S. Open always operates on a razor’s edge, but the extra variable was a reason to ride with those tailing the leaders as the leaderboard continually shifted and at one point included a five-way tie for the lead. While Spaun started the day as third favorite on the board at +330, he ballooned out to as high as +4500 at FanDuel Sportsbook as he stood on the 12th tee 5 over for the day and four shots behind Sam Burns.

Burns and Adam Scott both lamented the difficulty of Oakmont’s finishing stretch given the conditions, and while Burns dipped as low as -200 in live betting on the back nine, his fall was swift. At the end of the day, it’s hard to rely on chalk to hold the line when the leaderboard is that crowded – and when the course conditions add an extra layer of volatility.

Viktor Hovland will eventually get his major title

It was another near-miss for Hovland, who has now finished T7 or better in each of the four majors at least once since 2022, a span of 12 major starts. He has all the shots and can handle the demands of top-tier tests ranging from Augusta National to Oak Hill to Oakmont.

“I keep progressing in the right direction,” Hovland said. “To have a chance to win a major championship without my best stuff and not feeling very comfortable, it’s super cool. So I’m going to take a lot of positives with me this week.”

A seven-time winner on TOUR and former FedExCup champion, Hovland’s notable weakness has been around the greens – but this week he excelled while scrambling, finishing second in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green on a venue that afforded thick rough that limited options from close range.

Hovland held the 54-hole lead at The Open Championship three years ago, and he’s now priced at +2900 to lift the claret jug next month. But whether it’s next month, next year or a few more down the line, Hovland is too talented and has been too close to major glory not to eventually get his hands on a trophy.

Even with major winners, Father Time (usually) wins

Yes, there are the notable outliers: Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters, Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship. Even throw in Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters. Sometimes we’re gifted a throwback victory from an aging champion, knowing this might be the last time.

But more often than not, we are left with the results we’ve seen this year from a pair of accomplished veterans. Born two weeks apart in the summer of 1980, Justin Rose and Adam Scott won consecutive majors in 2013 and both nearly added to their ledger this year. But Rose was outlasted by Rory McIlroy at Augusta National, while Scott’s chances were swept away with a series of errant shots in sloppy conditions and missed putts on undulating greens.

Scott was the second-shortest favorite on the board overnight, but he picked a bad day to have a bad day: His 9-over 79, a score aided in large part by playing his final 11 holes in what he called “borderline unplayable” conditions, beat only one player in the 66-man field.

“Unfortunately, I think the course just couldn’t take much more water, really,” he said. “I didn’t adapt to those conditions well enough.”

He’ll make his 97th consecutive major start at Royal Portrush next month, but whether he’ll get this close again to major No. 2 remains in doubt.

Scottie Scheffler will be the man to beat at Royal Portrush

Expect Rory McIlroy to get plenty of billing as the scene shifts to his native Northern Ireland next month, but make no mistake – Scheffler will tee off as the betting favorite.

Despite not having his best stuff all week, Scheffler still got to within two shots of the lead with his birdie on the 71st hole. He ultimately signed for his second consecutive round of even-par 70 and at 4 over tied for seventh place.

“I felt like I did some good things out there. A few more putts drop today and I think it’s a little different story,” Scheffler said. “My first three days, I felt like I was battling the whole time. Today I hit some shots. … I was just right on the edge today.”

Scheffler and McIlroy each have one major to their credit this year, but it’s Scheffler who has been the more proven product this summer – and even though McIlroy has more experience on links golf, Scheffler will have top billing and likely a monster piece of the handle and ticket figures. Updated odds at FanDuel list Scheffler at +470 for the year’s final major, with McIlroy next on the board at +650.

Expect odds to shorten around Robert MacIntyre

The Scot won twice last year on the PGA TOUR, but he was still relatively passed over this week at Oakmont after opening as a +10000. Now, both casual and core bettors alike have taken notice of his game, with the schedule pivoting to links layouts in the coming weeks.

He’ll be the defending champ at the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club next month, and likely a trendy pick when The Open heads to Portrush after more than answering the bell with rounds of 69-68 over the weekend at Oakmont.

MacIntyre opened at +3700 odds for Portrush, and that price had dipped to +2900 before this week. Now he’s down to +2200 and behind only six players. If you thought you’d be avant-garde by taking the lefty in Europe next month, you may have some company.