Spaun wins US Open at Oakmont for his first major title. Ciganda ends LPGA victory drought

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.

First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.

That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.

And it made Spaun, the 34-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second U.S. Open. He finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career.

MacIntyre birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead. Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup. And then the final putt — no one made a longer one all week.

BELMONT, Mich. (AP) — Carlota Ciganda birdied the final two holes to win the Meijer LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour victory in more than 8 1/2 years, while Lexi Thompson had two late bogeys to dash her bid to end a long drought of her own.

Ciganda hit to a foot to set up her birdie on the par-4 17th, then made a 4-foot comebacker on the par-5 18th to avoid a playoff with playing partner Hye-Jin Choi.

Part of a six-way tie to start the day at Blythefield County Club, Ciganda shot a 5-under 67 — her fourth straight round in the 60s — to finish at 16-under 272 on the tree-lined layout in the final event before the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Ciganda won for the first time since the 2016 Lorena Ochoa Invitational, a span of 8 years, 7 months, 2 days. The 35-year-old Spanish player has three LPGA Tour victories and has won eight times on the Ladies European Tour, the last in December in the Spanish Women’s Open.

Choi finished with a 68, also shooting in the 60s all four days. Fellow South Korean player Somi Lee was third at 14 under after a 65.

Thompson had a 70 to tie for fourth with Celine Boutier (67) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (70). Thompson, the 2015 winner at Blythefield, won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in June 2019.

Stanford sophomore Paula Martin Sampedro of Spain won the Women’s British Amateur with a 2-and-1 victory over Texas sophomore Farah O’Keefe at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland. The victory gets the Spaniard into the Women’s British Open next month. ... Riley Smyth won the Great Lakes Championship for her second Epson Tour victory of the year. She closed with a 6-under 66 for a a one-stroke victory over Erika Hara and Isi Gabsa at The Highlands in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Smyth also won the season-opening Central Florida Championship. ... Shaun Norris closed with a 6-under 66 to force a playoff and beat Yusuke Sakamoto on the second extra hole with a birdie to win the Hana Bank Invitational, his eighth career title on the Japan Golf Tour. ... Palmer Jackson, who played his college golf at Notre Dame, closed with a 7-under 64 for a six-shot victory in the Raiffeisenback Golf Challenge, his first Challenge Tour victory. ... Sayaka Takahashi closed with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory over Eri Okayama in the Ai Miyazator Suntory Ladies Open on the Japan LPGA. ... Dongeun Lee won the DB Group Korea Women’s Open on the Korea LPGA with a 3-under 69, one shot ahead of Shihyun Kim. ... Peter Baker won his eighth Legends Tour title with a 6-under 66 for a six-shot victory in the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy in Greece.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

J.J. Spaun speaks during a news conference after winning the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

J.J. Spaun celebrates by hugging his caddie, Mark Carens, after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

J.J. Spaun celebrates after sinking a birdie putt to win the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)