Jump to content

J. J. Spaun: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Updated short description
Tags: Reverted Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit App description change
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|American professional golfer (born 1990)}}
{{short description|American professional golfer (born 1990), Spaun Jr}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}

Revision as of 10:59, 17 June 2025

J. J. Spaun
Spaun in May 2015
Personal information
Full nameJohn Michael Spaun Jr.
Born (1990-08-21) August 21, 1990 (age 34)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceScottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
SpouseMelody Means
Children2
Career
CollegeSan Diego State University
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)
Professional wins5
Highest ranking8 (June 15, 2025)[1]
(as of June 15, 2025)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT23: 2022
PGA ChampionshipT35: 2018
U.S. OpenWon: 2025
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Canada
Order of Merit winner		2015

John Michael "J. J." Spaun Jr. (born August 21, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2025 U.S. Open, his first major championship.[2]

Early life and amateur career

Spaun was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 21, 1990. His father, John Michael Spaun Sr., is an American of European descent, and his mother, Dollie (née Rigor), is of Filipino and Mexican descent.[3] His mother's paternal grandparents moved to California from Victoria, Tarlac in the Philippines and spoke Ilocano. As of 2022, John Sr. was a hospital administrator, and Dollie was an office manager.[3]

Spaun's mother was an avid golfer and received a doctor's permission to continue playing golf while carrying him until she was eight months pregnant.[4] Spaun received a plastic set of golf clubs when he was three years old, and practiced from a young age by hitting balls into a net his father had set up in their garage. He did not receive formal lessons while growing up.[5]

After graduating from San Dimas High School in 2008, Spaun played collegiate golf for the San Diego State Aztecs. He was lightly recruited out of high school, and chose to walk-on at San Diego State University.[5] He subsequently became a two-time All-Mountain West Conference selection in 2010 and 2011, and Conference Player of the Year in 2012. He was named a third-team All-American in 2011 and second-team All-American in 2012, highlighted by three-straight individual wins his senior year. A social science major at San Diego State, Spaun turned professional following his graduation in 2012. His total of five individual collegiate wins tied the Aztecs record set by Lennie Clements.[6]

Professional career

2013–2016: Development tours

Spaun played his first three professional seasons on PGA Tour Canada, finishing 35th in 2013. After missing six of seven cuts and earning only $825 during the 2014 season,[7] he lost his playing privileges and went to qualifying school, where he finished tied-8th and regained his card for the 2015 PGA Tour Canada season. Spaun had his first professional win at the Staal Foundation Open in July 2015. This moved him inside the top three on the PGA Tour Canada (renamed Mackenzie Tour in 2015) Order of Merit, earning entry into the 2015 RBC Canadian Open. The Canadian Open was Spaun's PGA Tour debut, where he finished T41.[8][9]

With two events remaining in the 2015 season, Spaun broke the record in PGA Tour Canada single-season earnings. He made the cut in all of the eleven events he played, which included a tour-record four consecutive top-five finishes and six consecutive top-10s. Spaun finished as the PGA Tour Canada Order of Merit winner, which made him fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for 2016. Spaun also played in the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open in February 2016 at Riviera Country Club through a sponsor exemption reserved for golfers of a minority background,[10][11] where he missed the cut. Later that year, Spaun won his first event on the Web.com Tour, at the News Sentinel Open. He shot a tournament record 26-under 258 to beat Sam Ryder by one stroke. The win came on August 21, 2016, his 26th birthday, and ensured his promotion to the PGA Tour the following year.[12]

2017–2024: Early PGA Tour seasons

Spaun recorded three top-10 finishes during his rookie season on the 2016–17 PGA Tour, placing 97th in the FedEx Cup rankings. He had four top-10s, including a runner-up finish at the RSM Classic, during the 2017–18 season, and placed 62nd in the FedEx Cup. In the 2018–19 season, he placed 99th in the FedEx Cup rankings, with two top-10 finishes during the year.[13]

In the 2019–20 season, Spaun finished 185th in the FedEx Cup rankings, with no top-25 finishes during the year.[13] This would usually have caused a player to lose his PGA Tour card, but the tour relaxed its policies due to the season being shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] He stated, "I was just playing bad, like I was lost. I didn't know where my swing was, I didn't know what to do."[15]

Spaun officially lost his PGA Tour card during the 2020–21 season, where he finished 174th in the FedEx Cup rankings and dropped outside the top 500 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He immediately regained his playing privileges through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals by placing second at the Albertsons Boise Open in August 2021.[14]

After 147 PGA Tour starts, Spaun earned his first PGA Tour win at the Valero Texas Open in April 2022. He won by two strokes over Matt Jones and Matt Kuchar.[16] The win qualified him for the 2022 Masters Tournament the following week.[17] Making his Masters debut, he finished tied-23rd.[18]

Spaun had a poor start to the 2024 PGA Tour season, and in June was outside the top 180 of the FedEx Cup rankings. He recorded three top-10 finishes in the second half of the year, which was enough to maintain his playing privileges for the 2025 season.[19] During the early-season struggles, Spaun considered the possibility of ending his career if he failed to keep his PGA Tour card.[20]

2025: U.S. Open victory, Players Championship runner-up

In his first start of 2025, Spaun held the 54-hole lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but finished tied-third, one shot outside a playoff between Nico Echavarría and Nick Taylor.[21] At the beginning of March, Spaun placed joint-second at the Cognizant Classic after shooting a final-round 66.[22][23]

At the 2025 Players Championship in March, Spaun had a one-stroke lead after 54 holes. He shot an even-par 72 in the final round to tie the score of 12-under set by 2019 champion Rory McIlroy and entered a three-hole aggregate playoff, which was held the following day. In the playoff, Spaun hit his tee shot at the par-3 island-green 17th hole into the water and made triple bogey. McIlroy won with an aggregate score of +1. Spaun's runner-up finish moved him to a new career-high 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking.[24][25]

In June, at the 2025 U.S. Open, Spaun shot a final-round 72 to win his first major championship by two strokes ahead of Robert MacIntyre. He made a 64-foot putt for birdie on the final hole.[26][27] Spaun bogeyed five of his first six holes as part of a front-nine 40 in the final round to fall five shots back of 54-hole leader Sam Burns. After a 95-minute weather delay, Spaun regrouped and made birdies on the 12th, 14th, 17th, and 18th holes while Burns struggled on the back nine.[28] Spaun was the only golfer to finish under par at 1-under 279.[29] Prior to this victory, Spaun's best finish in a major championship was 23rd place, and he had missed the cut in his only prior start at the U.S. Open (2021).[28] With the win, Spaun moved to 8th in the Official World Golf Ranking.[30]

Personal life

When he was five years old, Spaun was hit by a car while skateboarding, but suffered only minor injuries. He later told his father he wanted to be a professional skateboarder, to which his father replied: "No."[5] Spaun also began playing the guitar as a child, and stated in 2018 that he can play "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin.[5]

Spaun was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2018 after a prolonged period of feeling run down, but the treatment he received was ineffective. He found out in 2021 that he had been misdiagnosed and instead had type 1 diabetes.[14]

In 2019, Spaun married Melody Means. Their first daughter Emerson was born in 2020, followed by a second daughter Violet in 2023.[31] While he lived in San Dimas, California, Spaun was a five-year season-pass holder at Disneyland.[4] In 2016, he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona,[32] where he continues to live as of 2025.[33]

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 3, 2022 Valero Texas Open −13 (67-70-69-69=275) 2 strokes Australia Matt Jones, United States Matt Kuchar
2 Jun 15, 2025 U.S. Open −1 (66-72-69-72=279) 2 strokes Scotland Robert MacIntyre

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2025 The Players Championship Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy Lost three-hole aggregate playoff;
McIlroy: +1 (4-4-5=13),
Spaun: x (5-6-x=x)

Web.com Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Aug 21, 2016 News Sentinel Open −26 (66-62-64-66=258) 1 stroke United States Sam Ryder

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2016 Air Capital Classic United States Collin Morikawa (a), United States Ollie Schniederjans Schniederjans won with birdie on second extra hole

PGA Tour Canada wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Jul 19, 2015 Staal Foundation Open −18 (67-67-69-67=270) 1 stroke United States Nicholas Reach

Gateway Tour wins (1)

  • 2013 National Series 7

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2025 U.S. Open 1 shot deficit −1 (66-72-69-72=279) 2 strokes Scotland Robert MacIntyre

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2019 and in 2020.

Tournament 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Masters Tournament T23 50
PGA Championship T35 T54 CUT CUT T37
U.S. Open CUT 1
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3
U.S. Open 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 1 0 0 1 1 2 9 6
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2025 Masters – 2025 U.S. Open, current)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (once, current)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
The Players Championship CUT WD C CUT CUT T64 2
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = canceled after the first-round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2023
Match Play R16
  Top 10

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 24 2025 Ending 15 Jun 2025" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  2. ^ Maese, Rick (June 16, 2025). "J.J. Spaun wins the U.S. Open for his first major title". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Bancod, Rey (April 6, 2022). "Spaun loves adobo, pinakbet". The Daily Tribune.
  4. ^ a b Jardy, Adam (May 31, 2018). "Memorial Tournament | J.J. Spaun was born to golf". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Romine, Brentley (February 1, 2018). "J.J. Spaun finds his bearings in second year on PGA Tour". Golfweek. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  6. ^ "Schauffele, Spaun to Compete at Farmers Open". San Diego State Aztecs. January 22, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Leighfield, Jonny (June 16, 2025). "From $825 In One Season To $4.3 Million In A Week - JJ Spaun's US Open Win Proved Just How Lucrative Perseverance Can Be". Golf Monthly. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "JJ Spaun". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Decker, Brian (July 19, 2015). "J.J. Spaun wins Staal Foundation Open pres. by Tbaytel". PGA Tour.
  10. ^ "J.J. Spaun earns 2016 Northern Trust Open Exemption". PGA Tour. January 18, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "J.J. Spaun selected for this year's Northern Trust Open Exemption". Orange County Register. Southland Golf. January 27, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  12. ^ "J.J. Spaun wins Web.com Tour's News Sentinel Open". Associated Press News. August 22, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "J.J. Spaun – Results". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c Berhow, Josh (May 4, 2022). "'Best thing for me': How losing his PGA Tour card fueled J.J. Spaun". Golf Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "J.J. Spaun wins Texas Open to earn trip to Masters". National Post. Reuters. April 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "J.J. Spaun takes Texas Open for first PGA Tour win". ESPN. Associated Press. April 3, 2022.
  17. ^ Schmitt, Tim (April 3, 2022). "J.J. Spaun wins Valero Texas Open, punches ticket for 2022 Masters". Golfweek. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  18. ^ "2022 Masters prize money, purse: Payouts, winnings for each golfer from record $15 million pool". CBS Sports. April 11, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Hodowanic, Paul; Martin, Sean (March 15, 2025). "Five things to know heading into final round at The Players Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "J.J. Spaun wins rainy US Open for first Major title". The Straits Times. June 16, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  21. ^ Milko, Jack (January 13, 2025). "Despite Sony Open meltdown, J.J. Spaun in terrific position atop PGA Tour's Aon Swing 5". SBNation.com. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  22. ^ Bradshaw, Joe (March 15, 2025). "The Players Championship: JJ Spaun leads as Rory McIlroy and others slip back in windy conditions". BBC Sport. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  23. ^ "Joe Highsmith goes from making cut on the number to winning Cognizant Classic". NBC Sports. Associated Press. March 3, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  24. ^ Schreiber, Max (March 17, 2025). "Rory McIlroy Wins Players Championship Playoff As J.J. Spaun's Hopes Sink at 17". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  25. ^ Scrivener, Peter (March 17, 2025). "Rory McIlroy wins Players Championship with victory over JJ Spaun in play-off at Sawgrass". BBC Sport. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  26. ^ Corrigan, James (June 16, 2025). "J.J. Spaun survives Oakmont to land US Open and win his first major". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  27. ^ Feldscher, Kyle (June 15, 2025). "J.J. Spaun wins the 125th US Open, outlasting a brutal course, a crowded leaderboard and Mother Nature". CNN. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  28. ^ a b Kalland, Robby; McDonald, Patrick (June 16, 2016). "2025 U.S. Open leaderboard, winner: J.J. Spaun drains walk-off 64-foot putt for miraculous major victory". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  29. ^ Schlabach, Mark (June 15, 2025). "J.J. Spaun captures first major title, wins 125th U.S. Open". ESPN. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  30. ^ Sarkar, Devlina (June 16, 2025). "JJ Spaun Takes Massive Leap Up World Rankings amid U.S. Open Win". Newsweek. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  31. ^ Walters, Jessica (June 15, 2025). "Photos: J.J. Spaun, wife Melody and daughters through the years". Golf Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  32. ^ Johnston, Garrett (May 1, 2017). "Southland native J.J. Spaun has been an early riser in his PGA Tour rookie season". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  33. ^ Walters, Tim (March 16, 2025). "J.J. Spaun to meet Rory McIlroy in three-hole Players Championship tiebreaker on Monday". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J._J._Spaun&oldid=1296033044"