It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for J.J. Spaun. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, he was running around an Oakmont CVS getting medicine for his sick child. Then he bogeyed five of the first six holes of his final round to all but shoot himself out of the tournament. After a weather delay helped him re-center, however, Spaun came storming back with a three-under inward nine, including miraculous birdies at 17 and 18, to win the 2025 U.S. Open in dramatic fashion.
Since then, it’s been a parade of media appearances for the first-time major winner, who landed in New York City on Tuesday morning for the morning-talk-show rota. That unfortunately (HEAVY sarcasm) meant missing a mandatory PGA Tour players meeting, which a fellow pro was quick to point out.
I thought the player meeting was MANDATORY for all players in the field. Guy wins one major and starts breaking rules https://t.co/RJ4dA0E1vG
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) June 17, 2025
RELATED: Watch a smile break through on Tyrrell Hatton’s face after J.J. Spaun’s walk-off putt
If you follow Kim on X, you know this is all in good fun. Unfortunately, some of the commenters didn’t get the memo.
Get some class and cut him a break….
— Ray Wilson (@RayWilsonUSA) June 17, 2025
https://twitter.com/tonyc920/status/1934984900702081493
Are you serious bro? He is representing the PGA tour and media is essential to that. I hope this was a joke.
— Marz 2050 (@t_mars_2050) June 17, 2025
I bet that's where you'd be if you had won. But you didn't. So you're not.
— Buddy's Mom (@CatLvr5303) June 17, 2025
RELATED: First-time U.S. Open qualifier reveals how much he made (and how much he paid) to compete at Oakmont
Perhaps all these well-meaning folks are ALSO being sarcastic, but if not, let us set the record straight:
Kim is JOKING. There is no beef. There are no sour grapes. He’s just having a little fun with a co-worker who happened to luck out of the dreaded team meeting this week. This week, it was Spaun’s turn. Next week it will be someone else’s, and on and on the world will spin. Plus, as far as absences go, winning a U.S. Open is a much better excuse than another “check-up” with Dr. Chipinski.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
