BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 20, 2026

JJ Spaun

Wentworth Golf Club

Press Conference

CLARE BODEL: Well JJ, we're here at the end of the week in your first BMW PGA Championship and your first Rolex Series Event and you got to lift the trophy. Can you sum up how things feel right now?

JJ SPAUN: Pretty incredible, honestly. This is got to be up there with one of my favourite events. I probably have talked about dozens of tournaments, but I just think because of the love of this part the world, been coming here for holiday every December, this week has been kind of a way to end the season how I wanted to.

It was disappointing to end THE TOUR Championship withdrawn and disappointing not to be on the Presidents Cup team, and I wanted to come here end and my year because I had not planned on playing anything on the PGA TOUR for the rest of year.

I wanted to end my year right, and it just worked out perfectly.

CLARE BODEL: You said you love coming over here. Are you looking forward to playing more over in Europe? Do you want to be seen as a global player?

JJ SPAUN: I do. This was a way for me to get my feet wet honestly. I love playing The Scottish Open and The Open, so I think that there's a reason that I won this week, just to kind of push me over the line to come out here more often. I love just travelling and playing globally. I love going to Japan and stuff like that.

I think with the way the schedule on the PGA TOUR is going to work out moving forward, it will give us chances to come across and play over here and kind of experience difference golf in America. It was a really good way for me to start out this way.

Q. When you first watched the Clarkson Farm, did you think it would end up with his face to celebrate a win --

JJ SPAUN: My wife said something weird to me before I left. I came out Saturday night, and she stayed home and came Tuesday. She said, "I have a surprise for you."

And sure enough, Thursday morning, here she is and it's Jeremy Clarkson in the gallery, a cut-out face of his.

It's awesome. We are huge fans of Clarkson's Farm, and I think we really enjoyed it because we went to the Cotswolds before watching his show, and it gravitated to more how we understood the culture there, the community, and then obviously looking like an idiot trying to farm. It's a good laugh. We enjoy the show and we love the Cotswolds.

Q. I think there's a direct correlation to your love of the Cotswolds that kicked on to this week. Is that correct?

JJ SPAUN: Oh, totally. My wife has been the main contributing factor for always coming across here to holiday. Coming and encouraging me to play this event and The Scottish Open, The Open, and kind of turning it into like a family trip or holiday every time I play these weeks.

It was a fun way to end the year in a positive way, and I couldn't have drawn it up any better.

Q. How did you first hear about Clarkson Farm?

JJ SPAUN: My wife, I think she found it on Amazon. I think the first season might have been 2020 or something like that. But our first trip to the Cotswolds was 2023, and so we had no idea about it.

I think it was, you know, we wanted to visit and be familiar with the Cotswolds and after we came back and enjoyed so much, we started seeking out more Cotswolds things. And then Clarkson Farm popped up and we watched the season and multiple seasons quickly. We loved it and it's hilarious.

Q. Do either of you have a farming background, anything like that in your history?

JJ SPAUN: No.

But you want to know a funny story?

Q. Of course.

JJ SPAUN: So it was 2025, and after I lost THE PLAYERS, my wife, she wanted to make a bet with me. She goes, "If you win a tournament, like you're playing great, you finished second at the Honda, third, just lost in a playoff, I think you're going to win. If you win a tournament this year, you'll buy me a cottage in the Cotswolds."

"No. That's not a big enough accomplishment to buy a cottage in England."

"Okay. What about if you won a major?"

"Of course if I won a major, I'll do whatever you want." And fast forward, she's sending me listings on Zillow the following day. It's hilarious. We've come to a compromise. We don't own a cottage yet.

CLARE BODEL: Sometime soon, I'm sure.

Q. There's a lot of talk about potentially creating a schedule at this time of the year. The last three editions have been won by an American. Do you feel that other Americans can be encouraged by your success to embrace that new schedule?

JJ SPAUN: I would think. So I think there was a few Americans for the PGA TOUR this week. I think just with the schedule, how it's going to pan out, it gives guys the opportunity to come over here, and if you don't want to play anything because you're tired or whatever the case is, because you've had a long grind or long season on PGA TOUR, you don't have to play it.

But for me, like Ryan has played a lot, he played Crans and he played this week. I think he might be playing some more. With the fall schedule being opened up for guys that are kind of in my position, fully exempt for a while, don't have to play in these fall schedule events, it's a nice perk to come travel and play events and venture out.

I'm very glad I did that. A couple things needed to happen for me to be here but it did, and I ended up making the most of it.

Q. You're not going to be involved in The Presidents Cup. How determined are you to be playing in the Ryder Cup in Ireland in a year's time?

JJ SPAUN: Yeah, I was pretty determined this week to kind of prove for something. My whole career, I've kind of had to do that. I wasn't given scholarships. I had a walk-on. I had to earn my PGA TOUR card the hard way. I was never given a sponsor invite opportunities. I just had to do everything the hard way.

You know, being left off was obviously for a reason. I don't know what that reason was, but I'm here now and there was a reason why we're here. My caddie kept telling me that, and it's crazy how this has happened. You know, everything does happen for a reason. I'm just super happy.

Q. And the Ryder Cup?

JJ SPAUN: Qualifying criteria is a little bit now, starting in January. Not that it's a Ryder Cup atmosphere out here, but to come out and win on foreign soil is pretty good. I think what it does for me internally is giving me confidence, knowing that I can play and compete outside of America. That's one thing that I can take.

Q. How important do you think it is to be a global player?

JJ SPAUN: There's arguments for being a global player and not being a global player, I guess. For me, it's just another adventure, I guess. I think it's fun. My job is pretty secure on the PGA TOUR for a few years now and I wanted to just see what else is out there. I wanted to try different things. I wanted to experience different cultures. Because it's more than just golf, right. Like we are hanging out in England. We are hanging out in Japan, and we are hanging out in Dubai, whatever it is. My family and I, we enjoy traveling, and my season ended two weeks ago, 2 1/2 weeks ago. We just wanted to come out and play.

I think playing globally is just another kind, of I guess, treat that you can develop. Oh, this guy has won across the world. I think that's a cool thing to say.

Q. How did you find out that you weren't on the Presidents Cup team?

JJ SPAUN: Sneds called me Monday morning, and just landed to Phoenix. 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.

Q. Sneds, that's what --

JJ SPAUN: Yeah, he did. You can quote me on that.

Q. Did you think going into the process that you felt pretty good about being on the team?

JJ SPAUN: I'm not at liberty to say what was -- what my impression was or whatever. But I thought I was pretty good. I thought I was pretty good.

Q. Had you had conversations during the year with Snedeker?

JJ SPAUN: Yeah. Good ones.

Q. Did it lead you to believe one way or the other?

JJ SPAUN: It led me to believe that I would make the team, yeah.

Q. Getting back to the golf tournament for a second, you're on 18 and there's a guy behind you that just is still on your heels. Everybody is thinking Rory is done now, Scott's done now and it's yours to win but it really wasn't. So you can't be defensive, and yet you can't be too offensive either, right?

JJ SPAUN: Yes, totally.

Q. So can you talk about 18?

JJ SPAUN: I hit a good tee shot. It kind of drifted a little bit more right than we anticipated with the wind direction because it was bustling all day. I think it actually switched to just normal, which explains why my tee shot tailed a little bit more to the right.

The second shot was straight downwind. I had a draw lie. Had a down hole draw lie. Obviously the shot called for a draw but I couldn't draw it because there was a tree kind of like in my window for a draw. So I just -- my caddie gave me a really good club and ended up just hitting like a normal stock 5-iron. It was 196 to the front edge, 218 to the pin or something, I believe, and just to start at the front wheel of the BMW that was up there.

I just laced it, like just flushed it right at it. I knew as long as I got it on the green, that I would walk away with par at the worst.

But you know, the putt was a great putt, too. I just lagged it down there. I didn't think -- I think I would need to make it to win. I just assumed that at worst I would take a birdie and it would be a playoff at worst, and that's kind of what I did.

At the time I thought I would be in a playoff in the worst case, and eagle -- dang, this guy is probably going to beat me now.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't work out for him on 18.

Q. You talked about playing internationally more. Have you thought about being a Member of The European Tour? Because obviously you just won a lot of points that you're not going to get credit for because you're not a member, but if you were a member --

JJ SPAUN: Yeah, I did take a membership. But I think we're going to be out for something --

Q. Can you explain that?

JJ SPAUN: I took a membership -- does it say I'm a member? Okay. Yeah, we took a membership and then I think something happened that -- I don't know, we'll figure it out.

Q. But you planned on being a member?

JJ SPAUN: Yes. I plan on being a member.

Q. You sort of talked having to walk on in college and fight your way up. At what point did all you've achieved feel possible to you? Because you've become a Major Champion, Ryder Cupper and multiple PGA TOUR winner and now you've won the DP World Tour's Flagship Event.

JJ SPAUN: I believe this year was a tough year for me because internally I was fighting like all these expectations of being like a worthy Major Champion.

I felt like I still had to prove to everyone that I wasn't a fluke and I wasn't some money-in-the-bottle Major Champion. You hear things about that, and it kind of eats inside a little bit. I put way too much pressure on myself to start the year.

But once I kind of stopped caring so much, I mean, I know it's easy to say that, I mean obviously but that was kind of mantra all last season. That's why I played so well. I was on the verge of losing my job in 2024 and then I backdoored it to keep it, and I was like, Oh, this is house money, I wasn't even supposed to be here in 2025. That sort of attitude, along with obviously skill and developing and playing good, that was a breakout year.

And then here we are back in January and I'm back to this ball of pressure and expectation and thinking I have to be this perfect golfer and to validate whatever I did in 2025.

Once I kind of let go of that and stopped caring what other people think or what the media thought of me, I started relaxing and playing better. Then I won in San Antonio, and then once I won in San Antonio, okay, I'm pretty content with everything I've done. If I were to die tomorrow, I'd feel like I have.

It was just getting over that hump of expectation and mindset that I had last year and I started playing better. Like this week, I didn't have a ton of expectation. I couldn't play the Tour because I woke up with a stiff neck and couldn't turn it. So I had two weeks to get ready for this and I did it.

Sometimes no expectation is the best thing to have.

Q. Just based on your comments there, was there imposter syndrome after winning that event?

JJ SPAUN: Yeah, it was -- to me, it was like disorienting being this -- I've had like -- this is my 10th -- I just said it was my 10th year on the PGA TOUR.

But I flirted with Top-50. I kept my card. I went through some struggles in 2020 and 2021. But like I was never like "the" guy, you know what I mean.

And then all of a sudden, I won a major -- really it was after The Players that I was elevated to this bigger spotlight, and then I won the U.S. Open. And all of a sudden, I'm this guy that used to be lurking in the shadows, no one paid attention to him and no one putting any pressure on this guy, like he's not meant to do anything good. He'll probably have a good finish but he'll not going to contend to all of a sudden being a Major Champion, Ryder Cupper.

Now I step on the tee hearing U.S. Open Champion, I have these demons telling me I'd better win this tournament because you're Player of the Year, you won the U.S. Open, so why wouldn't you? I struggled with that for four or five months.

You know, winning in San Antonio really helped me get over that and kind of put those demons to rest.

Q. Coming back to the present event, if you look at the leaderboard at the start of the day, great leaderboard for a major championship. When you're in those situations now, do you wake up and feel, this is my day?

JJ SPAUN: Definitely feel more calmer. More at ease knowing what to expect. Knowing the ebbs and flows of a round. I feel like the first hole, I could have maybe thrown in the towel or end up shooting 75 or something like that. But I knew, based off this course, I knew if I got past Hole 3 around even par, that would be good. I think for me after that, it's pretty gettable as long as you hit good tee shots.

But yeah, today I felt really comfortable, and I think the experience at the Ryder Cup, winning the U.S. Open, all these experiences pay off.

And Manuel is going to learn so much from this. Unfortunately it was brutal to watch but he's going to know -- he's going to know what he's going to do from those mistakes. Rory said the same thing to me last year at THE PLAYERS when I lost in the playoff; that you have to go through these heartbreaks to eventually come out on top, and I think that's right.

Q. You said that you had no expectations this week. At what point did those expectations change?

JJ SPAUN: I would say after Friday's round. I made eight birdies and an eagle, and I didn't realise it. But then my wife said, "When you win, this is going to happen." And I know manifesting is a good thing but sometimes I just don't like to hear it because to me, I kind of translate that as like expectation.

So yeah, it was nice to hear positive things like that. But I didn't think too much about it. I knew after yesterday's round, I didn't think it was going to be a shootout. Someone is going to go low.

Next thing I know, I'm on Hole 5 and Andy Sullivan shot 8-under and Joost Luiten, and the clubhouse leaders are at 15-under, and I'm at 12 or maybe 11-under at the time. I knew there was going to be someone that was going to go low and post a number, which I think was kind of a good thing. It made me start playing aggressive instead of too cautiously.

Yeah, didn't have expectation, I would say, but I think today I started having -- not expectation. But I just felt like I was in the hunt and I was going to just use my experience at the U.S. Open as a way to give myself a chance on the last hole or the back nine. I just wanted a chance on the back nine. Expectation-wise, if I'm in the hunt going into the back nine, that's all I can ask for, and whatever happens, happens.

CLARE BODEL: It certainly worked out JJ. Well done.