You think you know the U.S. Open. You've seen the Sunday afternoon drama, the pristine greens of Pinehurst or Oakmont, and the iconic trophy presentation. But honestly, the list of golf US Open winners is a lot weirder and more chaotic than the highlight reels suggest. It’s not just a roll call of legends. It is a graveyard of dreams where the "best in the world" often get humbled by guys nobody saw coming.
Take J.J. Spaun. Before June 2025, if you’d told a casual fan Spaun would be etching his name alongside Jack Nicklaus, they’d have laughed. But that's Oakmont for you. Rain, mud, and five bogeys in his first six holes during the final round. Most players would have folded. Basically, he looked like he was heading for a weekend of early flights and regret. Instead, he drains a 64-foot birdie on the 18th to win by two. That is the U.S. Open in a nutshell. It’s brutal.
The Mount Rushmore of the List of Golf US Open Winners
When you look at the all-time greats, only four men have managed to win this thing four times. It’s a short list. A very short list.
- Willie Anderson: The original king. He won three in a row from 1903 to 1905. Nobody has done that since. Think about that—over a century of technology and training, and his record still stands.
- Bobby Jones: The ultimate amateur. He dominated the late 1920s, winning his fourth in 1930, the same year he took the Grand Slam.
- Ben Hogan: The man was made of iron. He won in 1948, 1950, 1951, and 1953. Some people even argue he won a fifth if you count the 1942 Hale America Open, but the record books are stubborn.
- Jack Nicklaus: The Golden Bear. He holds the record for the longest gap between his first (1962) and last (1980) U.S. Open wins. 18 years. Most golfers' careers don't even last that long at the top level.
Honestly, it's kinda wild that Tiger Woods isn't on that specific list. He "only" has three. But those three? Man. His 15-stroke victory at Pebble Beach in 2000 is arguably the single greatest performance in the history of the sport. He didn't just win; he deleted the rest of the field.
The Guys Who Doubled Down
Winning once is a fluke for some. Winning twice? That’s a statement. Bryson DeChambeau joined this club recently, bagging wins in 2020 and 2024. He joins guys like Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018), Retief Goosen (2001, 2004), and Payne Stewart (1991, 1999).
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The list of multiple winners is actually quite small. Only 23 men have done it since the tournament started in 1895. It’s a club that includes Lee Trevino, Ernie Els, and the legendary Walter Hagen.
Young Guns vs. Old Guard
The age gaps on the list of golf US Open winners are massive. You've got kids who can barely vote and veterans who are basically ready for the senior tour.
John McDermott is the name most people forget. In 1911, he won at just 19 years and 10 months old. He’s still the only teenager to ever do it. People talk about Jordan Spieth being a young winner in 2015, and he was—he was 21—but McDermott was a different breed of prodigy.
On the flip side, you have Hale Irwin. In 1990, at the age of 45, he became the oldest winner ever. He didn't just cruise to victory, either. He had to survive a playoff against Mike Donald. It just goes to show that if you can keep your nerves steady while the course is trying to kill you, age doesn't matter as much as you'd think.
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Recent Champions (2010–2025)
The last 15 years have seen a mix of dominant forces and complete shocks. It’s been a rollercoaster.
2025: J.J. Spaun (-1) - The "Mudder" of Oakmont.
2024: Bryson DeChambeau (-6) - A masterclass in power and putting at Pinehurst.
2023: Wyndham Clark (-10) - Held off Rory McIlroy in a tense finish at LACC.
2022: Matt Fitzpatrick (-6) - That 9-iron from the bunker on 18? Pure filth.
2021: Jon Rahm (-6) - Finished with back-to-back birdies at Torrey Pines.
2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-6) - Bludgeoned Winged Foot into submission.
2019: Gary Woodland (-13) - The iconic chip on 17 at Pebble Beach.
2018: Brooks Koepka (+1) - Surviving the Shinnecock "massacre."
2017: Brooks Koepka (-16) - Tied the scoring record at Erin Hills.
2016: Dustin Johnson (-4) - Won despite the USGA's weird rules controversy on the greens.
2015: Jordan Spieth (-5) - Capitalized on Dustin Johnson’s heartbreaking three-putt.
2014: Martin Kaymer (-9) - Total dominance at Pinehurst.
2013: Justin Rose (+1) - A grind-it-out win at Merion.
2012: Webb Simpson (+1) - Emerged from a crowded leaderboard at Olympic Club.
2011: Rory McIlroy (-16) - Set the 72-hole scoring record (268) at Congressional.
2010: Graeme McDowell (E) - The first European winner in 40 years.
Why Some Legends Never Made the List
Golf is a cruel game. You can be one of the greatest to ever swing a club and still never see your name on the list of golf US Open winners. Phil Mickelson is the poster child for this. Six runner-up finishes. Six! He’s won everything else, but this one title remains his white whale.
Sam Snead is another one. He won seven majors, but never the U.S. Open. He had chances, but it just never clicked. It highlights a weird truth about this tournament: it doesn't care about your pedigree. It cares about who can handle the most stress for 72 holes. Sometimes, that’s a guy like Orville Moody (1969) or Lucas Glover (2009), and sometimes it’s a titan like Tiger.
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The Hardest Test in Golf
Why is the winner list so unpredictable? Because the USGA likes to make players suffer. They grow the rough until it's like wading through a hayfield. They make the greens so fast you can't even breathe on your ball without it rolling off the surface.
In 1901, Willie Anderson won with a score of 331. That’s not a typo. 331! That's basically 82 or 83 every single round. Even in the modern era, we see years where the winning score is over par, like Justin Rose at +1 or Angel Cabrera at +6. Most PGA Tour events are birdie-fests where you need to be -20 to have a chance. The U.S. Open is a fistfight in a phone booth.
What to Watch for Next
If you’re looking at the list of golf US Open winners to try and predict the next champion, stop looking for the best ball-striker. Look for the guy with the best "scrambling" stats.
Basically, you want the player who can hit it into a bush, hack it out to the fringe, and still make a par. That’s how you win this tournament. It’s about damage control. Guys like Scottie Scheffler or Viktor Hovland are always threats because they don't beat themselves.
Actionable Insights for Golf Fans:
- Study the Course Profile: Don't just look at who's playing well. If the course is long and open (like Erin Hills), favor the bombers like DeChambeau. If it's tight and penal (like Merion), look for the precision players.
- Ignore Round 1 Leaders: History shows the wire-to-wire winner is a rare beast. Only eight players have ever led from start to finish without ties. Expect the winner to come from 3-4 shots back on Sunday.
- Check the Weather: As J.J. Spaun showed in 2025, a rainy, windy forecast favors the "grinders" over the "showmen."
- Value the Amateurs: Don't sleep on the low amateur. Guys like Viktor Hovland (2019) used a strong U.S. Open finish as a springboard to superstardom.
The list of winners will keep growing, and it will keep surprising us. It's the one week a year where par is a great score and "survival of the fittest" isn't just a cliché—it's the strategy. Look back at the names from 1895 to now. Every single one of them had to go through hell to get that trophy.