US Open: Who is JJ SPAUN? Presentation of a regular competitor of the PGA Tour and the first major American leader in Oakmont | News Golf
While Bryson Dechambeau and Rory McILroy made slow departures to their challenges of the US Open title, JJ Spaun continued his season which changes his career by taking a head of history.
Spaun set the goal of the clubhouse with a superb 66 under the age of four Thursday morning, where he carded the only Bogey round of the day and equaled the best start for a US Open in Oakmont Country Club.
There was no Tour without Bogey in 2007 in Oakmont and Dustin Johnson was the only player to manage him during his victory here in 2016, while the impressive start of Spaun – in a wave where only five players finished under the peer – was the first round without Bogey in his great career.
“I have sort of come here without history prior to Oakmont, not really knowing what to expect even to us,” admitted Spaun. “This is only my second. I don’t know if it freed me in one aspect, but I just tried to follow what the course gave me.
“I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalize on all the Birdie opportunities, which are not very numerous here. But I rushed very well, which is a huge component to play a US Open well, and even less to pull a turn without Bogey. I am too satisfied with the way I started!”
Spaun’s warm departure was a better blow than the closest challenger Thriston Lawrence after the morning wave, with Dechambeau Seven blows after an opening tour of 73 and McILroy has a blow behind after having dropped six shots in a section of eight holes.
Is Spaun’s fast start-up a surprise?
A chip -in at the 10th per four – its opening hole of the day – was one of the four birdies for Spaun, which brilliantly scrambled and converted six putts from seven feet or more during its first round.
Spaun has never displayed a major top-20 and is unit of PGA Tour since the Valero Texas 2022 Open, his only victory to date, although he jumped from the outside of the world 100 inside the Top 25 after an impressive start to the season.
“JJ SPAUN is a very good player and is a guy who improves each year on the PGA Tour,” said former Captain of the Ryder Cup, Paul McGinley, Sky Sports. “He tends, with two seconds and a third place this year, so it’s not a springer of nowhere.
“He is a good player who has a very good season. He kept the ball in front of him, which is important, and did not get trouble. He led beautifully and was one of the best putters in his first round.
“He will drag and I do not think he will move away from the ranking, just as he did at TPC Sawgrass when he pushed Rory McILroy on the right on the line and in playoffs.”
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Protective facts from the end of Monday among the players, where McILroy retained the Spaun to win the victory of the playoffs
“ I have always been there ” – The season of Spaun so far
Spaun took an advance at a time in the last round of the Sony open in January, where a penultimate Bogey Holes and the peer closure on a par-five left it equal and a shot outside the play-off.
He finished the second tied a few weeks later at the Cognizant Classic, after having carded a 66 without Bogey on the last day, before a brilliant performance among the players saw him dragged McILroy in a Monday dam match.
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McILroy thought about his triumph against the players, where he beat Spaun in a play-off
Spaun held an advance of 54 holes at TPC Sawgrass and recovered from an oscillation in mid-turn to Birdie two of his last four holes, taking him to a play-off when Mcilroy blew his late head, but a triple Bogey on the second additional hole ended his hopes.
The American also made solid departures with opening cycles of 66 and 67 respectively at the RBC Heritage and Trist Championship, both of the signature events on the PGA Tour, while he took a 66-68 start on the way to a semi-finals on equality at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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Highlights of the last round of Charles Schwab Challenge, where Ben Griffin won a PGA Tour victory
“I have always been there,” said Spaun. “Everyone knows that the more you go, the better you will have results and the better you will play, then end up transforming one of these nearby calls in victory.
“The players were a kind of spring in self-confidence because it was not as if I worked. You may be simulating it at the Sony and Cognizant or anything, but to do it to the players, a course where I had never done well historically …
SPAUN Cardé an underpaid round in an adult at the 2018 PGA championship
“To go face to face with Rory on Sunday, then the play-off was great for my confidence. Unfortunately, I did not win, but it was great for me to look at this experience and know that I can play on the biggest stages and manage it with pressure.”
“I have nothing to lose” – SPaun could he claim Maiden Major?
The last three Winners of the US Open in Oakmont opened with a round subparameter, while 23 of the last 26 US Open champions were less than four of the head after the opening day, with Spaun ready to rely on its form and its challenge at the start of the season for a first major title.
“It really makes me feel good, makes me feel confident that I direct the tournament,” added Spaun. “But yes, there are many more golf courses and this route will only become more difficult.
“I just think that I try to feel as if I have nothing to lose. It was a bit of my mantra among the players when I played this tournament very well and that I entered the head on Sunday. It was like, I feel that I have nothing to lose.
“So I’m going to ride with that this week, and I hope it will happen more in my favor.”
Who will win the United States Open? Look throughout the week live on Sky Sports. The live coverage continues Friday from 12:30 p.m. on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or disseminate without a contract now.
