When 2025 U.S. Open champion JJ Spaun teed off at Wentworth on Thursday, the 36-year-old had one thing on his mind: proving a point to U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker, who had left him off the team because of Spaun’s injury and withdrawal from the Tour Championship. By the time the BMW PGA Championship wrapped up on Sunday, Spaun had done exactly that, winning the tournament at 17 under par.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“No, I have not. We haven’t spoken,” Spaun said when asked whether he had sent a message to Snedeker. “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 delighted to be here and just to even play this event. I’ve always wanted to play [in the Presidents Cup] for the longest of time. The extra motivation, I think, is the willpower that you kind of have.
“And being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple of weeks ago was very disappointing, and I wanted to prove that I deserve to be on that team. I took care of my business this week. So all the best to the team next week at Medinah, and I’ll be watching.”
But perhaps he would have made it on the team had it not been for what happened in late August. Spaun withdrew during the first round of the Tour Championship at East Lake after just five holes. He was 4-over and cited a right shoulder injury, sharp pain near the shoulder blade, which he described as feeling “like a knife.” He traced it to a poor sleeping position that started bothering him a couple of days earlier.
Spaun tried to play through it but stopped to avoid making it worse. At the time, he was high on the U.S. Presidents Cup points list, and reports put him around 8th. Of course, the top 6 automatically qualify, and the rest are captain’s picks. Nevertheless, Snedeker was set to announce his six picks right after the Tour Championship.
And Spaun was widely viewed as a strong candidate since he’d also been on the 2025 Ryder Cup team and had a solid 2026 season that included a win at the Valero Texas Open. However, Snedeker left him off the team. The timing of the shoulder issue clearly played a big role. Captains are understandably wary of taking someone who just withdrew from a major event with an injury when the Presidents Cup was only a few weeks away.
Spaun himself had said he wanted to be cautious and hoped the team would still consider him, but the injury made him a risk in the captain’s eyes. So, the 36-year-old proved during the BMW PGA Championship that Snedeker had made a mistake and that he was healthy and deserving.
JJ Spaun opened the event with a steady 2-under 70 in the first round, then surged with a strong 6-under 66 on Friday. The one-time major winner followed that with a solid 4-under 68 on Saturday to stay near the top of the leaderboard heading into the final day. And on Sunday, he carded a 5-under 67, recovering from an early bogey and closing with four birdies over his last five holes.
In any case, what made the situation even more heartbreaking was the way Spaun found out that he wouldn’t be on the team.
JJ Spaun was told he was the odd man out
Throughout the year, Spaun and Snedeker had maintained good communication, which led the U.S. Open champion to believe he had a genuine chance of making the team. However, the reality turned out to be very different. After proving he belonged on the team, Spaun recalled how he was told he had been left out of the Presidents Cup squad.
“Sneds called me, and just landed to Phoenix,” Spaun said. “It was like a 45-second phone call. Just said I wasn’t on the team and said I was the ‘odd man out’ and I wished him luck and that was it.”
Naturally, a reporter followed up on the “odd man out” comment and whether those were the exact words. Spaun confidently responded.
“He did. You can quote me on that.”
For now, JJ Spaun is happy that he ended his year with a win. Rather than with a withdrawal at the Tour Championship, especially since he doesn’t plan on competing for the rest of the year.
“I wanted to end my year right, and it just worked out perfectly.”
JJ Spaun may not have gotten what he so badly wanted, but he appears content with the results he has produced. Unfortunately for him, he will have to wait a couple more years to make his debut on the Presidents Cup.