During SiriusXM Radio's Sunday coverage of the U.S. Open, one of the voices relayed an anecdote about the sheer size and scale of a major golf tournament, saying twice as many broadcast personnel can be on-site compared to the Super Bowl. In football's crown jewel, there is only one ball whereas Oakmont featured 156 in play. A stadium centralizes things to a higher degree than the expansive challenge of having eyes and ears over eight miles of unforgiving terrain. Golf also presents a more nuanced test when it comes to storytelling and narrative arcs as the winning moment can come from any direction instead of two distinct teams.
On a weather-delayed Father's Day, that reality was never more obvious as contender after contender yo-yoed on the leaderboard. The course claimed championship dreams with brutal efficiency, offering 72 opportunities for catastrophe and nearly as many chances to rebuild the wreckage of a double- or triple-bogey.
The best-laid plans of J.J. Spaun were seemingly trashed with five missteps on his first six holes. It appeared to be a devastating opening act with little hopes of earning redemption after rain forced an intermission. And yet he did, one steely shot at a time, performing delicate surgery to extract victory down the stretch culminating in a never-to-be-forgotten 64-foot putt that snaked its way through soggy ground before colliding with history.
And credit where credit is due: NBC rose to the moment time and time again, adroitly pivoting and contextualizing the state of play leading up to Spaun's immaculate birdie. It was something that few could see coming yet the telecast left open the idea that it could happen. Gone were the unwelcome stops and starts that plagued the weekday coverage thanks to a commercial-free final hour. Dan Hicks has rarely been better than his expert narration and stunned call of the clinching roll. Viewers were able to understand what was happening and why it was happening when no one could say they knew what would happen.
“Don’t need to make it, two putts…HOW ABOUT ONE?!”
— Brett Marshall (@B_Marsh92) June 16, 2025
A perfect call of a Major-winning putt by Dan Hicks! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/p7J0CDiDK6
Perhaps the greatest compliment to pay them is how cathartic the release of emotion and loosening tension translated to the screen. The punishing course, even viewed from the comfort of a couch or sports bar, caused secondhand exhaustion from its white-knuckle ride. But it was the best kind of tired, the one that comes from hard and mentally draining work ending in triumph and satisfaction. It was impossible not to feel something for Spaun, who's been hard on himself as he's played into becoming a household name. NBC didn't overdo his Players Championship letdown yet casual fans had a good understanding of that story.
As soon has he stood on the reachable par-4 at No. 17 the scripting was clear. Snag a birdie, hold on for dear life and the greatest moment of his professional life would rise with the setting sun. It became a question as old is time, almost painfully simple. Is this guy going to do it? Is he really going to do it?
Rarely do we ever get an avatar for the audience on screen in the way that Robert MacIntyre, the clubhouse leader, embodied as he watched the action for the scoring room. The same setup that brought us Rory McIlroy's crushed response to Bryson DeChambeau's incredible up-and-down last year treated us a vignette of a runner-up realizing that the trophy belonged to someone else in real time. And yet MacIntyre, on the cusp of his whole life changing, could only react authentically, clapping his hands in amazement.
🚨Robert MacIntyre — Classy in defeat 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/5i6WRX15jH
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 16, 2025
The shot of MacIntyre felt like something out of The Truman Show. He reflected the audience at home who had been privy to every corner of human emotion—the good, the bad, the parts that are way more real than anything that could be written. That movie was as much about the audience as it was its unwitting protagonist. The question was just as much who would watch them do this to someone as what kind of sicko would engineer such a situation. And what they were rooting for to happen.
U.S. Opens are supposed to be like this. To have only the winner break par and everyone else fail to play the conditions to a tie is a testament to the impeccable setup and planning. They are about the setting for the first 98% of the weekend and yet the human condition wants to see someone emerge victorious. MacIntyre, the person who came next-closest to doing it, was left with only an honest moment of shock and awe.
So was everyone else.
More U.S. Open on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBC Rose to Occasion for an Epic U.S. Open Ending That Was Worth the Wait.
