Mark McGowan at Royal Portrush
J.J. Spaun was asked what adjectives he would use to describe himself, and of the thousands at his disposal, he settled on one – “humble.”
The reigning US Open champion is making his Open Championship debut, and while Open debutants typically fly in under the radar, Spaun’s is a different story with a press conference to attend, autograph requests tripled, and a grouping with Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm to look forward to.
Self-confidence – at least outwardly – is a trait of most of the game’s top players. In order to be the best version of yourself, you have to believe in the best version of yourself, but Spaun bucks that trend.
“I feel like I’ve had to prove to myself that I’m worthy of just playing on the PGA Tour and winning on the PGA Tour,” he said in a lengthy and informative press conference, “and just trying to get into these events alone was sort of what kind of helped me — what sort of maybe lack that self-confidence. It’s hard enough to win in general on the PGA Tour, and you kind of get in your head thinking, well, if I can’t win a normal event on the PGA Tour, what makes you think you can win a major. Let alone I was struggling just to get in them.
“That’s kind of how my career has developed. I never really knew how far I could go, and whether it was playing Division I golf, getting to the PGA Tour, then winning on the PGA Tour, I don’t really know what’s in store for myself. Who knows? I don’t know what I’m capable of now. I know what I can do, and that’s all I can really rely on.”
Spaun is looking forward to the different challenge presented by links golf, and expects that the elements will be much more challenging than those he faced on Wednesday in particular where blue skies and sunshine accompanied a modest breeze.
“Links golf requires a lot more creativity, imagination, so learning to flight shots better and trying to guess bounces correctly is going to be sort of the challenge this week,” he sais. “Also, the elements. I don’t think the forecast is looking very great, obviously not perfect like today, but that will be probably the other battle this week.”
Victory at the US Open virtually guaranteed that Spaun would be heading to Bethpage for a maiden Ryder Cup appearance, but again, it’s a position he’d never envisioned himself in. The people he’s surrounded himself with, on the other hand, always believed in him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever thought of being on the Ryder Cup or imagining myself on the Ryder Cup, but I’ve been hearing that a lot throughout the last few years, from my caddie and my coach, like they’ve been kind of putting that out there and almost in a way manifesting it, which is kind of weird,” he shrugged.
“My caddie’s always believed in me, even when I was ranked outside the top 100. He’s like, I think you’re a top 10 player in the world. He thinks I could be No. 1, but honestly, let’s be real. He’s like, well, I at least think you’re top 10, and I was like, ‘okay, sure’.
“Here we are top 10 in the world. He always believed I could be on the Ryder Cup, and here we are looking pretty good for the Ryder Cup. It’s just weird how you kind of hear — you soak in those things that people tell you, and then it just sort of ends up happening. I think that has to do a lot with developing and believing it yourself.
“It was funny, like the week before the U.S. Open, I was sending my coach swings, and I was like what do you think? He’s like, ‘I think that’s the U.S. Open champ’,” Spaun said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘no, technically, what do you see, not just in the video?’ So it was pretty ironic, but I think there’s truth to be told about manifesting and telling yourself positive reinforcement for future success.”
Xander Schauffele, in his press conference, admitted that he had no idea where most of his trophies were, including the Gold Medal he won at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, but Spaun is not going to follow his fellow San Diego State University man’s lead.
“We all shared some drinks out of it on Sunday night after the U.S. Open in Oakmont,” he said. “Fun stories, no. We did the media tour in New York City, so it was kind of cool showing it off and beating everyone at the Today Show and all that fun stuff.
“I think Xander, I saw something today, he doesn’t even know where his trophies are. It is kind of a weird thing. You get the trophy, and you admire it for a day or two, and it just sits there or maybe it goes into a bank vault like he said. I’m going to have mine on display.”
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