He took four birdies in his final holes – plus a devastating one collapse of 18 holes from his last challenger – but JJ Spaun emerged victorious at Wentworth in his first BMW PGA Championship.
And he sent a message in the process.
First, the good vibes: All week Spaun devastated about the opportunity to play in England, at the flagship event of the DP World Tour, on a top-class golf course in front of a massive crowd. Spaun and his family frequent the UK on pre-Christmas holidays, he added, but apart from the Open Championship he hasn’t played many golf tournaments there.
(Side note: Just saying “vacation” is an understatement. Here’s Spaun on how he and his wife almost ended up with a cottage in the Cotswolds:
“After I lost The Players (in 2025), my wife, she wanted to make a bet with me. She says: “If you win a tournament, as you played great, you finished second to Honda, third, just lost in a playoff, I think you will win. If you win a tournament this year, I’ll buy me a cottage in the Cotswolds.
“(I said) no. It’s not a big enough success to buy a cottage in England.”
“Okay. What if you won a major?”
“Of course, if I win a major, I will do what you want.”
“And fast forward (to winning the US Open), she’s sending me listings on Zillow the next day. It’s funny. We’ve come to a compromise. We don’t have a house yet.”
Then came this week.
“The stars were aligned this week for me to come out on top, and I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to play and play well and give it a shot and come out with a W,” he said.
Those stars aligned for a bittersweet reason: Spaun came on the disappointing end of a Presidents Cup decision by American captain Brandt Snedeker, who left Spaun off the team after a lackluster season finish plus an injury-riddled WD at the Tour Championship. However, Spaun – who had finished 10th in the list of points and he also played well at last autumn’s Ryder Cup – admittedly his omission came as a surprise. And when it came time to tee up this week, he drew on that as fuel.
“We haven’t talked,” Spaun said of Snedeker, asked if the win had sent a message. “But yeah, I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week. But everything happens for a reason. I’m so happy to be here and also to play this event.
“I always wanted to play for the longest time. The extra motivation, I think is the willpower you have. And being left out of the Presidents Cup team a couple of weeks ago was very disappointing, and I wanted to prove that I deserve to be in that team. I took care of my business this week. So all the best to the team next week in Medinah, and I’ll be watching.”
He was in his immediate post-round interview. In his press conference he detailed his specific frustration with this exchange:
Q.How did you find out you weren’t on the Presidents Cup team?
JJ SPAUN: Sneds called me Monday morning, and just landed in Phoenix. It was like a 45 second phone call. I just said I wasn’t on the team, and I said I was the odd man out and I wished them luck and that was that.
Q.Sneds said that’s what –
JJ SPAUN: Yes, he did. You can quote me on that.
Q.Did you think going into the process that you felt good enough to be on the team?
JJ SPAUN: I’m not at liberty to say what it was – what my impression was or whatever. But I thought it was pretty good. I thought it was pretty good.
Q.Did you have any conversations during the year with Snedeker?
JJ SPAUN: Yes. Boni
Q.Did it lead you to believe one way or the other?
JJ SPAUN: It led me to believe he would make the team, yes.
Spaun represents the US overseas instead; he became only the third American to win the BMW PGA after Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel.
“You know, being let go was obviously for a reason,” Spaun said. “I don’t know what that reason was, but I’m here now and there was a reason why we’re here. My caddy kept telling me that, and it’s crazy how this happened. You know, everything happens for a reason. I’m super happy.”
Interestingly, this marks the third consecutive season that the BMW PGA has been won by a player who had missed a spot with their respective team. In 2025, Alex Noren’s victory was a reminder of how close he was to playing on Europe’s Ryder Cup team. And in 2024 Billy Horschel won the week before the United States played the Presidents’ Cup in Montreal, where he had not made the team.
It’s a consolation prize for Spaun.
“It means so much. You know, I’ve blossomed into this player that I never thought I could be,” he said.
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