J.J. Spaun breaks down his incredible U.S. Open victory

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by 2-time PGA Tour winner J.J. Spaun for an exclusive, in-studio interview. The 2025 U.S. Open Champion talks the amazing finish he had Sunday at Oakmont, the gift he received from Tony Hawk following his win and what Rory McIlroy said to him before he went to a playoff at the Masters Par 3 Contest.
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[Music] All right, here we go. Welcome back to another episode of Golf Subpar with Colt Nost and Drew Stotz. And as always, it’s brought to you by Fanatic Sportsbook. And it’s the final major of the season, and Fanatic Sportsbook is your place to bet on all things golf. You can now parlay multiple players like combining the overall winner with top five, 10, and 20 finishes or whole scores and making the cut. For the next two weeks only, opt in and bet a $20 or more threele or more same game parlay on the final major of the season and get a 50% SGP profit boost token for golf. Plus, we’re still dropping our weekly subpar picks in the Fanatic Sportsbook app, where you can ride along with us. So much great golf, so many ways to bet, and all in the Fanatic Sportsbook app. Join America’s fastest growing sportsbook and start earning today. Not available in all states. Terms apply. See Fanatic Sportsbook app. Gambling problem? Call 1800 gambler. Connecticut residents call 888-789777. Massachusetts residents call 800 327-50. New York residents call 8778NY. Maryland residents visit mdgamblinghelp.org. All right, sleeves. One of my favorite events of the year is in the books. The John Deere Classic. Brian Campbell is your winner over Ameliano Grio in a playoff. I’m sure everyone out there had Brian Campbell picking up his second win of the PGA Tour season. I knew it. I had it. I had it him verse Ameliano in a playoff actually. Um, truth be told, I did not have that cult. But damn, tip of the cap to Brian Campbell. I mean, I don’t think anybody saw this year coming from him. He kind of joins, you know, like Ben Griffin, I think Andrew Novak on like surprise breakout years. this year. Um, how about this first win at arguably the biggest bombers paradise on the PGA Tour down in Mexico and then this one doing it a little bit different. But, you know, his distance Colt gets a lot of talk. I went up and uh just checked exactly where he stands on the PJ tour in terms of driving distance. Uh, 174 out of 174. That’s not good. 276 27 yards uh per pop off the TE. That’s crazy. That is crazy impressive. I mean, Cole, you know, like you were out there for a long time. That’s around the world where you lived right there. It’s hard to make cuts. It’s hard to do everything when you’re behind these guys. And now he’s done it two times on the year, beating everybody. Yeah, you got to give him a lot of credit. I mean, to go out there and give up 40, 50 yards on so many holes out there and be able to win multiple times. It’s It’s incredibly impressive. Um, I don’t think he saw it coming, judging by his interviews. I don’t think any of us saw it coming. He’s got two top 30s on the year and they’re both wins. So, he’s missed a number of cuts. Um, but when he gets in contention, he seems to be able to get it done. And I know this tournament means so much to him. This was his first ever start on the PGA Tour back when he was in college at Illinois. He had a lot of support out there. Um, good to see him get the win. And I just want to give some love to John Deere as well. You know, it’s a tournament that’s had some tough times over the years with not the best field in the world. They had a really good field this year. They’re such a loyal sponsor and they put on such a great tournament. I mean, the fact that they get Dirks Bentley, Zack Brown Band to come play concerts there on Saturday and Sunday. The place was packed on a Fourth of July weekend, it was awesome to see, man. I I just love that tournament. You know how I feel about Duck City, Chef Jeremy and all the folks there that took good care of us all week. Um, we shut the the place down most evenings, but um it’s just always a special week, man. And I just want this tournament to get the love it deserves. Yeah. Also, I love how well they take care of like the top amateurs. You know, Jackson Kovven this week finished 11th damn near played his way into another start. Preston Summer Hayes, Michael Isusa, like they they’ve historically done that. And then these guys, you know, they get some loyalty. Chris got her up, you know, coming back this week. Brian Campbell, as we mentioned, you know, he’s back. This was his first start as an amateur. They do a great job with that, too. So, cool spot, cool stop. Obviously, Duck City in the house. And yeah, props to Brian Campbell. I mean pretty like awesome story Colt in the world where like superstars are coming out and just you know beat taking over the world right away. He was a rookie in what 2016 17 uh fell lost his card then spent seven years trying to get back close to being done with golf now two-time winner 55th in the world um and doing it from like we said way further back uh from where a lot of these guys are playing. So, props to Brian Campbell. Two-time winner like we all like we all had pegs to start of the year. Absolutely. And it was also good to see Max get back in contention. He finished tied for fifth. First top 10 on the PGA Tour in almost 15 months. I I walked with him out there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At one point early in the round on Sunday, had a two-shot lead when he birded two, three, and four. Um, you know, struggled a little bit coming in, but for the most part hit the golf ball fantastic all week long. Putter went a little cold on Sunday. He went into this week with a little bit of a different approach. He played Zack Johnson’s event on Monday. Said his goal this week at the John Deere is just to go out and have fun. He’s like, “I got a cool job. I got a great family. I need to start enjoying this a little more.” He’s like, “I’m tired of sitting in my hotel room being pissed off and beating my head against the wall. I’m going to go out, have some fun, have some nice dinners. Have maybe a beer or two at night and see what happens.” And he went out there with that relaxed mindset. came to Duck City every single night, had dinner, went home, woke up the next day, smiled his way around the golf course, and it led to his best finish in a very long time, man. So, I’m pumped. Good to see him back playing well. I think he’s on the right path. Um, I told you this on our Sirius XM show, like I I just think golf is better when Max is playing well. He’s one of the most popular guys out there. He had so many people on his side in the gallery, and good to see him out there having fun, smiling, and hitting great golf shots. Yeah, I know he’s probably disappointed not getting the job done, but that’s his first time in that spot in a long time. And after he came out the way he did, Colt, I was like, “This is it, dude. He’s going to keep going. This is going to be Max’s day.” Didn’t work out that way. But I think the positives, like, he’s been saying, you know, for for a little while now, like I think I found something. I’m getting close. I’m getting close. He hit the ball plenty good enough to win that golf tournament. And if I was going to lose one, I’d rather be on the back of my putter, you know, not making putts than just not being able to hit it where I’m looking. and he hit it where he was looking over and over. So hopefully this is kind of the, you know, turning the corner for Max. Also cool, like it, coincidence or not, when he tries to like when he lightens up on himself a little bit, tries to have a little more fun, goes out, has a few pops. Also mentioned, you know, gave the interview earlier in the week about getting off Twitter and stop paying attention to that and all the energy and time and just how toxic it is and stuff like that. Um, yeah, he’s made a a serious, you know, change here and it’s working out for the better right now. But yeah, really good to see Max back in the mix there. Um hopefully that that keeps going for a while. Yeah. So, I obviously spent a lot of time with him last week and we talked about a lot of this and the social media thing where you know he used to have so much fun with it and he became very popular because of it. More so that than the way he played golf at the time where he would have fun roasting people’s swings. Like people would send them they would ask. It was never mean or anything like that. It was just fun little jokes that people asked for. Well, it’s turned into now where Twitter X, whatever you want to call it, is just such a toxic place. People will say whatever they want. The good news is though, SE Max looks like he’s back to playing some good golf. Hopefully has a strong finish to the season and gets this thing turned around. But man, it was an awesome week at the John Deere. Um, we got some big events upcoming. We got Tahoe, which I’m very sad we’re not at this year. the American Century Championship. Um, where all the celebrities are out teeding up, including our man Charles Barkley, whose finish position has moved because they’re starting to get a little impressed by this man. It used to be top 70, now up to top 65 for Chuck this week in Tahoe. That should be a layup. Coming off a top 60 last year, by the way, 58th for the Chuckster. Back toback ain’t cheating. So, I This is a good This is a fun little tournament to bet, too. By the way, I’ll be I’ll be putting a little something on on Chucky. Um 65 or under. Well, you know, I always go against him. Um I have to. That’s what I do. As you should. That’s what I do. And I’m two and one the last three years. So, I hope he plays well. I hope he’s right around it to make it a little fun to watch. But I also do enjoy putting his cash in my pocket. And it’s time to put some cash in y’all’s pocket, which at least I finally picked a winner last week. The streak is over. Buddy, I think I’d missed like six in a row. You did it easily, too. Denny McCarthy with room to spare. Denny McCarthy, my man. Top 20. Got the people paid out there. So, let’s keep this thing rolling. Let’s make sure you go over and download the Fanatic Sportsbook app. Follow along with us. We’re going to give you same game parlays this week as well as our favorite bet of the week. And SL, it’s the Scottish Open. It is uh always interesting to see what the weather’s going to be like that. Some little preparation before you head over to the Open Championship. And with my favorite bet of the week, okay, I’m gonna stick with my top 20 play. And I’ve gotten to know this guy a little bit over the season, and I just think he’s fantastic. I love him. I want to have him on subpar because he’s just a he’s just a dude. And he’s going off at plus 250 for a top 20. And he’s won twice this year. Ryan Fox, my favorite Kiwi. Come on down. Let’s keep this thing rolling. I love that pick. Actually had the same pick. Uh, I’m gonna audible out because last time we’ve had the same pick, you audible out. Didn’t win, by the way. It was Luke Clanton, I believe, a few weeks back. But I got another one that I love. Should be noted. Michael Fjöson T21. Yeah. Or 21 solo, I think, with a double on 17. Although, he did shoot like 800 in the final round. So, it’s hard. He was kind of out of it. But I was like I was like, dude, oh my god, he’s going to do it. He’s going to do it. And then dub on 17, which is most guys were making bird on that thing. But I’m going down the list. It’s not quite the plus 250 you got, but a guy that’s playing some damn good golf right now. Sam Burns. I’m going to stick in the top 22. I need to pick one off here. He’s going at plus 180 Colt. He’s had five straight top 20s. Top 20 in seven of his last eight starts as you know, in contention right till the very end at the US Open. Lost in the playoff in Canada and making a push for that Rder Cup team right now. Just on the outside looking in. Needs a few good weeks. Give me Sam Burns. Top 20 plus 180. I actually feel pretty good about this one. Okay. All right. Which is scary. Well, we’re going to give you a same game parlay this week. So, if you follow along, you bet $20 or more, and it’s a three team same game parlay or more, you can uh get in on some of the action here with us. And for me at the Scottish Open, I’m going to go all three to finish in the top 20. This thing is juicy, sleeves. I had no idea it was going to be this much. So, dear God, I hope it wins. I can get back in the plus column here. But, u I’m going Colin Morawa with a new caddy, Billy Foster on the bag. Aaron Ry who is extremely consistent and my man Daniel Ber all the top 20 plus 3250 my man plus 3250. Let’s go for that. That is a juicy juicy burger right there. God, come on. Daniel Burgerer. I’m rooting hard for him for the RDER Cup. Uh let’s make a little push there. That’d be a nice one to hit right there. I’m also doing all top 20 bets here. Uh you got to you got to crawl before you can walk here. So, give me the following. Tommy Fleetwood, top 20. Rory Maroy, top 20. And the man I was going to take in the indie bet, Ryan Fox, top 20. That bad boy plays out at plus,200o. Okay, just do your job. Everybody do your job. Everybody gets paid. Everybody comes away happy. Got a little extra coin going into Open Championship week. All right. Go download the Fanatic Sportsbook app and follow along with us. And if you’re out there playing some golf and you’re struggling with your putter a little bit, I highly recommend switching your grip sleeves. And if you haven’t tried Golf Pride’s reverse taper putter grip yet, you’re seriously missing out. The slightly larger lower hand helps quiet your wrist and keep the putter face square through impact, so your stroke stays stable and consistent no matter your grip style. It comes in three different shapes, and now they’ve added a smaller size, so there’s really something for everyone. right here, this bad boy in my hand. You can get 20% off a full set up to three swing 13 swing grips and one putter grip at golfpride.com with code subpar 20 now through August 31st. Sleeves put this on there. Start hooping. Buckets. Buckets for days. All right. Well, uh, our man that’s on the show this week, he made a few buckets at the US Open at Oakmont just a couple of weeks ago. He brought the trophy in studio. Here he is, JJ Spawn, the US Open champion on Golf Subpar. All right, here we go. The champ has arrived. And he brought some hardware with him, too. Man, this thing’s only been around for a few weeks for you, and it’s already seen some wars, but we have the 2025 United States Open Champion, JJ Spawn. Good to have you, buddy. Jar Jar, what up, boys? Good to see you guys. Yeah, that’s a nice looking trophy. It smells a little bit, though. Yeah. Having some fun with it. Yeah, I tried to de disinfect it, sanitize it after the last couple weekends, but uh you know, it’s still shiny. It’s got its glitz to it still. And you know, there’s still more fun to be had out of it. When did uh when did it all hit you that hey, I’m a major champion? I don’t think it really has, honestly. Um you know, I think it’s cool. I think actually when it first hit me was when I teed it back up at the Travelers and they announced me as the US Open champion. I teed off first in front of Scotty and it was just a cool like standing ovation, cool moment to like actually hear it and you know be on the course to to hear the support and all the the cheering and then everyone’s called me champ all week long and all this stuff. So yeah, that’s kind of when it’s set. Um but I still wake up every day and and see this trophy and I still like have to pinch myself. I thought it’d be when you turned us down to come on our SiriusXM show when you absolutely big timed us for all these other shows the following day. Oh, and we have McAfee and Good Morning America took priority. Uh, you did foreplay. By the way, thank you for bearing Frankie. That was great. I had to. I mean, if I’m going to let them go ahead of you guys. I got to at least throw some shade. But dude, my morning was 6:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. like, and they had it all laid out. I had like one 10-minute break to take a leak and eat some breakfast and that was about it. So, I would have fit you in, but you know, the you know, it wasn’t it wasn’t my choice. It wasn’t my choice. That’s a big day. our first episode with him. You know, he’s calling, begging us to have him on and Yeah. What do you mean on it? Was after Valero. We thought that was cool. By the way, finally I got on. I had to do something good. Things change. What’s been the like biggest pinch me moment? Like, have you heard from someone? Or maybe it was during the New York deal. Yeah, the New York deal was still kind of like I slept 3 hours the night before. I was just still kind of riding the high and the adrenaline. Um, but just getting like tons of letters and and mail. Like I got a signed skateboard from Tony Hoff. Yeah, that’s that was you. Like I was not expecting that. Are you friends with him or how did that come about? No kidding. I mean obviously you know grew up playing his video games and idolizing his skating and stuff. Um, so like that and you know, Jack Nicholas wrote me a letter and it’s just really cool to to kind of get all that stuff and that’s kind of when it sinks in and you know th those are the interesting moments so far for me. I would have loved to have had a video of when you open the box of the skateboard cuz you probably like what the hell is this? Like did it say from Tony Hawk on the like label? Yeah, the shipping label it said Tony Hawk like Enterprises or something. I was like what? And uh I thought maybe it was just like a deck, but then he like signed it like congrats on the US Open. I didn’t even know he followed golf like at all. I haven’t seen him in any of this. Or maybe someone just told him like, “Hey, a kid that like idolized you growing up just won the US Open or something.” It might have been his son, Riley Hawk. Um cuz he like DM’d me and you know, he’s been getting super into golf and I’ve never met him or anything, but I know who he is and I know it’s his son and um so I don’t know, maybe he facilitated it. But yeah, it was it was a pretty sick surprise to get that in the mail. That’s sweet. That’s awesome. I don’t know if you know this, but you were flying up to Oakmont with some good friends of ours. Rigs was on there. Todd Martin from Peter Mar. Did he tell you that the text exchange back and forth? No. No, I haven’t seen him since. So, this is great. So, um the week before Canadian Open Sunday, Todd watches all the golf. He’s texting me during the playoff of the Canadian Open and he’s like on a bird with JJ Riggs and JJ’s family. I was like, “Bird?” I was like, “What bird?” I was like, “I know JJ’s cheap ass didn’t pay to fly private up there.” and he’s like, “Oh, no. American Airlines.” Haha. And then you go out and you win the [ __ ] tournament. Southwest. Southwest. That’s unbelievable. C32. Yeah. Know, it was cool. Yeah. It’s just Yeah, you never know who you’re going to sit next to or see on these planes, especially coming out of Phoenix. But, uh, yeah, it was cool. It was, you know, kind of running into a lot of people and saw Todd and Rigs and they were just like, “Have a have have a good week.” Yeah, I would love to have a good week. I also heard Yeah. I also heard your confidence was riding really high at the gym the week before. Or you said you were just hoping to break 80. Yeah. Carson was like, “Oh, this course should be pretty good for you.” And even my coach Tribes was just saying like, “Dude, this course is going to be good for you.” Like blah blah blah. I was sending him swing videos and I’m like, “What do you think?” And he’s like, “I see the US Open champ right there.” And this is like the week before. It was pretty cool. But um but yeah, I was telling Carson, I’m like, “Dude, I’m hitting like [ __ ] I’m trying to like figure out my back swing. I’m probably just going to miss the cut. Like whatever. It’s the US Open. Like, you know, it exposes everyone.” But uh yeah, didn’t miss the cut. No, you definitely didn’t. Yeah, we played right before you left or whatever and you were I wouldn’t say you were optimistic going in. You’re like, “Dude, I don’t know. Oakmont’s such a beast.” And then I think there was a text sent Monday like, “How’s the course where like I don’t think I made a par today.” That was on Monday. Yeah. For your practice round. Yeah. I was I still hadn’t made a par. I don’t think I hit a green. Um but it’s just like [ __ ] you get you can kind of get in your head with any sort of US Open venue and um you know seeing all the videos of people freaking out like oh the [ __ ] rough is 12 in long and it’s 20 on the stimp and people are like oh you going to go out before and I said [ __ ] that like I don’t want to go before and like start losing confidence and freaking out before I’m going to just go there and see it when I see it. But um yeah, man, that place is a beast. And you know, it’s it’s one of those places where, you know, no matter what condition it is in, it’s going to be tough. Yeah, it is going to be tough. And I mean, with the rough the way it was, you actually did have to hit fairways that week. And I mean, that’s that’s what you do. But I mean, just looking back on your career, your best finish in a major before was tied for 23rd. Like you didn’t have a ton of success. And you mentioned you didn’t feel great about your swing leading in. At what point in the week did you like, okay, we’re on to something here? Um I think like Tuesday and Wednesday I got some good work in Monday with Shriber and did a lot of short game and putting and uh you know was was hitting a lot of good tea shots finding my lines were my lines were really good off the tea and and just trying to like narrow in in the practice where you can practice you can kind of just spray it whatever you’re just trying to see the course but I really wanted to like tighten it up try to hit my start lines and finish lines and I started doing that I was like okay maybe maybe you know I’m not you know as as off as I feel like I am. Um, but yeah, we just got some good work in and kind of, you know, got the got the swing to where it needed to to be where I didn’t have to think about much on the course. It was more of just like a a small feel and uh that’s it’s always re reassuring having just something simple out there to to lean on when you’re playing. and you started walk with uh Gregory with Josh Gregory that week and like it was you had a few days of work and then you went out and chipped it really really well on a golf course that’s I think like percentage- wise one of the hardest to chip on on the PJ tour. What did you guys do in like a few days that like made that difference? Yeah. So Josh reached out um the week of Colonial in Memorial. I was just thinking, you know, I might need some eyes. Like I don’t know how to practice my chipping. I don’t know, you know, how to get better in that area. I mean, I’ve had hot and cold seasons where my my scrambling’s been well and uh I just need some more consistency. So, uh we plan to to get together Monday of the US Open and we just did a lot of, you know, some minor technical stuff. Um shortening up my back swing on my chips cuz I kind of we get long and del messes with contact and and sort of uh the prediction of like how how you’re how far you’re going to hit it. Obviously, deselling is not great, but uh yeah, it was funny. The first round uh first first hole of the tournament, I start on number 10, and the pins front right, and I’m in the middle of the fairway. Perfect. The last place to miss it is right of this pin because this this green is sloped front to back, right to left. And uh of course, I miss it right in the rough. Not in the bunker, which would have been way worse, but the pin was probably four paces off the right. and sitting in the rough and uh [ __ ] chipped it in and it was just kind of like a nice like start and then Karen’s like he’s like nice shot Josh Josh because of Josh Gregory but um yeah it was it was a good week to he’s really good at teaching you how to read lies in the rough and grain or whatever. So you know my my thinking on how to attack chips out of the rough were just pretty pretty basic but it wasn’t really the right way. and he kind of taught me the secret on, you know, how to approach those chips to have them come out more predictable. And uh it worked all week long. You said you told him uh you’re hired after the celebration. I’m so good for him. He got the job. Yeah, exactly. He’s like, I think I’m hired, right? I’m like, yeah, you’re you’re good. We’re we’re I got everything I need for good. Yeah, it was a trial anyway. Yeah, we’re good. We’re good. Before we get back to JJ Spawn, this portion of the podcast is supported by Carile Companies, a leading supplier of innovative building envelope systems. With buildings responsible for nearly 40% of total energy use and energy demand on the rise, Carile is meeting the challenge head-on. Carile’s advanced energy efficient and laborsaving solutions help reduce strain on the grid while reducing labor for contractors. We have a lot of great events in our area, but hands down one of the coolest events in the Phoenix area is the Carlile Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. The this Epson Tour golf event, which is a feeder tour for the LPGA, has the largest purse on the Epson Tour and attracts some of the best talent in women’s golf. The Carile Arizona Women’s Golf Classic at TPC Scottsdale every spring, reflects Carlile’s commitment to the support and advancement of women in business and athletics. Now, back to JJ Spawn. Well, you go out there round one, you shoot 66, bogey free, got the lead. You go out second day, shoot 72. Now you’re one back, but in the final pairing on Saturday. What were the nerves like Friday night leading into Saturday knowing that, hey, you’re in contention for a major championship for the first time in your career? Yeah, I was pretty nervous, but I felt really comfortable um leading into Saturday. I knew, you know, to I could have I could have easily backed up that 66 with like a 76 or even like an 86, honestly. like like you know what I mean? Like you’re you’re out there and you’re thinking to yourself, you could literally like the spread for a round out there is so wide and um you know it’s nice. I had my family there, my girls and my wife and there’s such a good distraction to have off the course. So, you know, you’re not sitting in a room all by yourself like letting the wheels spin and thinking about whatifs and watching coverage instead of we’re watching freaking Bluey or some [ __ ] you know, like just kind of keeping your mind off golf. So, um, yeah, that kept me pretty calm going into Saturday. And, uh, you know, once that first T- shot, once you get that off, it’s it’s pretty easy to kind of go from there, especially if you had a good one. You looked comfortable. I’m sure you’re freaking out on the inside like anybody at a major championship. But going back to like your success this year, you’ve been in contention a bunch of times. Could have done it at Sony. Obviously, the players without those experiences, do you think you’re you can close the way you did this past week? No. I mean, I used to when I used to get in contention, I used to be afraid of failing. And I think the theme that we’ve gone on with this year was like giving myself permission to fail. As long as I commit to everything that I’m doing and as long as I’m playing committed golf, uh making right decisions. I wasn’t I wasn’t worried about the outcome, you know, uh especially after the results I’ve had. And I started that with Sony. you know, I you know, I struggled last first half of last year and kind of fought back really well to end the season, but um going into SOD, I was I had the lead going into Sunday and I was pretty nervous cuz I hadn’t been in that position in a while. So, uh you know, I didn’t win, but I still had a chance there going into 18 and you I kind of just build off that and you know, all the close calls that I had and uh just really tried to lean on that experience and and also allowing myself to to fail like you know, don’t be afraid to win. Don’t be afraid to fail, but as long as you, you know, give yourself the chance and commit to everything, that’s that’s all you can ask for. Well, you go out there Sunday and obviously you have a chance to win next to last group. And I mean, for someone to hit it as well as you did to be five over par through the first six holes, I mean, it had to be a little shocking like, holy [ __ ] maybe it’s just not my time. I don’t know. But how did you bounce back after that start? Because really, you didn’t really hit too many bad shots in those first six holes. Yeah, I mean the the first hole is a pretty tough hole. probably one of the tougher ones on the course and I made a pretty good bogey. I mean I drove it in the rough, pitched out in the rough and then you know made bogey and then hit the flag on two and then hit a couple like shaky drives to kind of you know give myself chances for par but still making bogeies and you know for a while there I was just thinking am I ever going to make a par? You know like I was like I’m probably going to bogey every hole at least. But um for a while I just I tried to just dig deep and just think you know like there’s still playing golf left and obviously the rain delay hit and that was kind of a pivotal moment in the tournament for me to where I can just go back inside regroup just you know reset because the same thing happened to me at the players on Sunday where I was kind of you know letting the field come back or I was giving up shots to the field on Sunday on the front nine and then we had a 4-hour rain delay and I came back and just charged it. So, I had that fresh in my mind. Um, thinking, you know, I’ve had an instance where, you know, I had a big delay where I wasn’t playing well and I came back and fought back. So, I was like, why why can’t I do it again? And, you know, fortunately turned the round. Did you change clothes at the players as well during the delay? I did not. That’s the problem. That’s why you know, you learned. That’s right. So, yeah. Next time Sunday, brain delay. I’m in contention. Outfits every day. Yeah. Well, you know, Shiv, she’s got me dialed. will have whatever you need. Yeah. Why did you have an extra? You should just change out the turn every tournament. Anyways, I had um I had she sends me practice round outfits, tournament round outfits, and uh Monday my my my shipment of clothes didn’t get there. So, I had one extra shirt and that I didn’t need cuz I already wore something that I brought. And so, yeah, I was all wet and [ __ ] and I even I had pants, too. So, I was like, I’m going to change everything and just wanted to feel like completely fresh. And that that was not really like ever in my strategy to like have an extra pair of clothes, but it was just there. I was like, “Maybe we should do this.” Yeah. Just wipe the slate clean. Shout out Shiv Howard. Go back to the start again cuz you mentioned the break on two, which that’s a two- shot swing. That ball is going to bounce past, come back, you’re going to kick that thing in. And then three. It was three, right? With the drive where you ended up having the brutal stance and all that stuff. At that point, like you hear so many people when they win a golf tournament say, “I got a good break here. You need a little bit of luck to win these things.” After those two early ones, you’re like, “Damn, dude. Maybe this an omen. Maybe it’s just not my day. Yeah, especially after two. I didn’t really know what happened. Like from that second shot, that approach to that that green, that back left, you can see Well, me, I’m 57, maybe 5’8, but you can see like the top two3 of the flag. So, you can’t really tell where it’s landing or how close it’s landing. And just from the sound of the gallery, I knew it like had to have done something like unpredicted, you know, like hit the flag. And, you know, of course, I see it coming all the way back. There’s no way that shot was spinning, you know, more than three feet with the flight and all that. So, uh, yeah, I was fixing my pitch pitch mark and everyone’s like, “Oh, that that hit the that hit the pin. You got fucked.” And I was, “Thanks. I see it rolling back.” And it took 32 seconds to roll back, by the way. Yeah. And then, but it was funny. I thought to myself, you know, where the ball ended up, I was like, “Ah, it could be worse. I could be in one of these one of these 60 divots that are right here with the collection area.” So, I tried to do the mental coach positive thinking side of that and end up hitting a pretty good shot there. Have you watched the replay? Cuz they were like panning to the ball and then your face and then the ball and then your face. Have you seen that yet? It was like I mean it felt like it took an eternity. I saw one it was like on Instagram and people were like I thought it was just like a a constant replay of like him going back but it was the ball rolling 60 yards down the front of the green. So that was nasty. Speaking you couldn’t see the green. I don’t know if you saw Jim Mlan on Twitter, the longtime golf instructor, Hall of Fame golf instructor, put out there, he goes, “The last two major champions have been 5’7 and 5’5”, talking about Rory Mroy and you. And I was like, Jesus, who’s 5’5? He was talking about Jory. He dunk on Rory. Dunk on Rory’s head. I was like, damn Jim 58. He just said 57. I’m sure he said something else along with it to talk about golf. But I just I was like, god damn, he just called JJ. Rory’s more than 5’5. Come on, man. Come on, Jim. Come on, Jim. Yeah, all these athletes. Um, we got to talk about 17 and 18. Obviously, I mean, the T- shot I heard in a lot of your interviews afterwards because you did so many of them before you did ours. You talked about the drive and the practice round on 17 was pretty much the same one you hit on Sunday when you needed it the most. Yeah, I was playing uh with Tony and Jacob Bridgeman and someone else and uh yeah, I just I I kind of was thinking, you know, it was the first time I saw that hole in the practice round and it kind of fit like my shape like a little cut up the hill. The green kind of goes, you know, diagonally left to right. And I hit a really sick T- shot in the practice shot into literally like 20 ft. And uh you know, I just kind of always had that that shot, that image in my head all week long during the tournament. And I I think I hit pretty good T- shots there every single day. But um yeah, on Sunday that kind of came through my mind one more time and and it was the perfect wind and uh just yeah, nutted it and just ended up you know, you can’t another hole where it’s blind. You can’t see anything but the top of the flag stick stick, but you could hear the crowd just like building and building and like right when I hit it, I knew it was going to be pretty good and it was going right at it. Yeah. And uh all you hear is like oh and then you hear like oh you know like the build and I was just thinking I’m about to make a hole in one here but you know I thought it was I thought it was pretty good but not that good. It’s such a sick hole too to have second to last especially with a jammed up leaderboard like that. Like cool stuff like Tier kind of got [ __ ] He kind of lost it there. you end up doing that and ended up winning it. It’s a love having that driveable par4 like where it was in the round late in the game. It was nice. Um obviously your putt on 18 gets all the attention, but I want to know about the one on 12 because that is that the fastest putt you’ve ever had in your life? Yes. And considering it rained an inch for, you know, 2 hours prior to that, it was slower than it would have been. But I literally tapped it like as if it was a 1T putt and it just 36 ft or something like Yeah, it was. Yeah, something like that. Close to 40 ft. And it just it was a pretty pretty easy putt to read. It was just about getting it started on the right spot. And uh me and Karen’s we just kind of picked I think we played it like inside right like it was just one of those right down the fall line cuz I was right on top of the ridge and I just said, “This is downhill, right?” He’s like, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? This is downhill firm.” Like I ask stupid questions when I’m like like trying to zone in. But uh Everest. I just Yeah, literally down at double black diamond and it was just creeping and creeping. I couldn’t tell if it was going to be short. I couldn’t tell if it was going to gain speed and go 8 ft by. Like it was just one of those putts that, you know, luckily I hit the perfect line with the perfect speed and it just caught in, you know, on that right side and went in. When you hit it, I was like, “What the hell is he doing? He just left this 12 feet short.” You can’t tell. And he just kept going and going and going and I’m like, “Oh my god, that putt took 45 seconds to get there.” Yeah, that’s the crazy thing that the TV doesn’t do justice with a lot of those grains out there. Like number one, number 10, 18. It didn’t even on your winning part. I mean, come on. Just missing the the Mickey Mouse clown. There was one dude that filmed it with like a phone or something that has a you can see the ball like disappears and it get like it shows just how it cuz from the other one it just looks like it breaks left to right. Yeah. Like if you’re reading the putt like crouching behind it, it’s pretty gnarly. Like there’s there’s a swell in front and then a ridge and then literally if I block weaksided this putt. Like I could have caught the ridge and gone literally maybe off the green. Like that’s how gnarly it is. I wish they would have done a better job of that because like every time, not that it matters for you cuz you [ __ ] won the golf tournament, but every for the viewers at home like every time someone’s putting it’s from the up high camera above and so the slopes you can’t tell. You got to be ground level. The one he’s talking about on 18 was a journalist and you could see like how big that slope was and then your ball disappeared and then all of a sudden boom it came back up again. Uh I wish they would have shown like the ninth green. I was like you can’t even tell how nasty that green is. When you shoot it from above it just takes away all the undulation. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. The journalist video is a cool one. Like we talked about earlier sometimes you need good breaks. You finally got one on 18 with Victor’s putt coming a foot whatever two feet away from yours. Watching him play and he had a great [ __ ] putt by the way. How watching him putt, did it change? Did you change anything from the way you were originally planning on playing it? Either break or speed. I was more paying attention to his speed, like how how hard it sounded like the contact that he made was huge. Um, just cuz it’s just really started pouring, too. So, the greens are starting to get a little slower. Um, but yeah, I mean, I don’t I don’t know if I had 60 ft all day, so it’s hard to really judge, you know, how hard to hit it. Um, but yeah, he fortunately for me too, like not only was I lucky to get a read from from him, but for him to also hit a really good putt too was huge cuz how many times you get someone on your line and they like hit a shitty ass putt and you’re like, “Really, dude? Thanks.” So for him to hit it, you know, five, six feet by that was like a good little, you know, image for me to see. And honestly, I I don’t even know if I started it where I wanted to. I don’t even know if I hit it the speed I wanted to. It just like was such a blur. And um I just remember creeping up to the high high line, you know, as the putt was rolling and it’s probably 12 ft out. I’m like, “Okay, like that’s good. That’s good. That’s good. That’s really good.” And then it just [ __ ] disappeared. And you black out. Blacked out. Karen’s freak out. Karen’s with his umbrella. Mary Poppins out there jumping around and uh yeah, it was it was pretty surreal and a cool way to, you know, end the tournament. Have you seen the video of KZ and Dan Hicks in the booth? I just saw it today. That’s cool. Me too. I saw it for the but it got 20 feet out and KZ gives him the thumbs up like he knows the speed’s money and then obviously it goes in. Before we get back to our interview with JJ Spawn, a quick message presented by Enterprise Mobility. The road to opportunity is often the road overlooked. That’s why Enterprise Mobility offers news roads to help drive your business forward. With mobility solutions like fleet management, flexible truck rental, and an unmatched global network, they can help your business find the right solutions. Their mobility experts can find smarter ways to scale your business so you’re not just growing bigger, you’re getting bigger. The more ways we all have to move forward, the further we’ll all go. Find your road at enterprisemobility.com. Now, back to the champ. Take us through because I I loved ask this at the uh at the Ryder Cup when he had the putt to extend the RDER Cup to keep from losing it. He’s like, “It felt like there was a million cell phones strapped to my leg and they were all vibrating at the same time.” Yeah. Like what did your body feel like when you were getting ready to hit that putt knowing you had two putts to win a major championship? Yeah, I was super nervous. Um I just remember kind of trying to breathe like it felt hard to breathe and I just tried to take some deep breaths. Um tried to almost psych myself out that this is this is just another 60footer like not only for the US women but it’s just another 60footer. And that’s, you know, I mean, you hear about athletes and, you know, them the repetitions they put in, all the all the shots they’ve taken that, you know, whether it’s to win the World Series or, you know, NBA Finals or the US Open, it’s just you got to dumb it down to being just another putt. And as hard as it is to do that, I I did a really good job, you know, kind of trying to put myself in the moment and not letting the moment take, you know, too much of an advantage of me, you know, as far as pressure goes. And it’s cool because I’m not even joking. I thought this right before I stepped into the putt. Um like when I play my practice rounds, whether it’s my buddies or just me and Karen’s, we we like to go to like the longest part of the green during a practice round and do $100 makes. So like 40, 50, 60 footers. If you make it, you get 100 bucks from everyone and you know, so on. And I literally stepped in the putt thinking like $100 putt. $100 putt. Yeah. But really like $4 something million. Yeah.$4.3 million. So, uh, yeah, it was it was, you know, one little thing that I think just, you know, I don’t work with any mental coaches or anything. I just think from having these close calls and these really pressure-packed, you know, rounds that I’ve had to play that I’m just learning myself more and how to approach these high intense situations. And that’s what I did. I just tried to just make it so routine as possible. That was the fact that that went like that’s probably a putt. What do you say? 30% three putt. It’s got to be a 1% make. But like how often are you people three putting that putt? Not to mention 70 to win a major championship. I’m talking like Thursday through you know any day of the week. That’s got to be a 30enter or something like that. Yeah. Easily. I mean it’s just just one of those putts you’re really just trying to get it within five feet honestly in in two putt. But then yeah not have the five or six footer to win US open. Oh my god. I mean to hit that thing dead even is is super small. I’ll tell you was that moment was sick. I don’t know if you got to see this. You may have seen it since. It was really cool after that cuz Bobby McIntyre was in there signing his card watching it and Turo Hatton was given a press conference. Have you seen Ti? Like dude it was so good. It was like he was happy then he was pissed off at some question he got. Then you hold he’s like oh he’s hold it. He’s holding it. It’s amazing. You know it was it was such a cool moment. By the way he and Bobby I thought like classy the way they handled it cuz I mean that was close. Adam Scott, that was cool, too. Yeah, that’s probably Tur’s um video is probably my favorite. Not because of his reaction, but but yeah, the way he talks and like but the cool thing about that video is that interview spot or whatever you want to call it was probably 100 yards from the green and it the that roar is so [ __ ] loud. Like you can really tell like how loud it was in that video. You don’t even have to see it. You’re like that’s a make. Yeah, that’s like, you know, walk-off home run [ __ ] And uh yeah, it’s pretty cool. But yeah, they’re good sports, you know. Uh I was, you know, cutting it up with Bobby Mack in the trailer before and, you know, we were calling it Pittsburgh cuz he’s from Edinburgh. You know, it’s spelled like Berg, but the way they pronounce it, it’s like weird. So, I just kept calling it Pittsburgh to him and he loved it. He loved it. So, he’s a good dude. What was uh the celebration like? Obviously, you have the trophy ceremony. Your man Mark Karens already had a beer in his hand. We got the got the Caddy trophy. Like, really? Mark couldn’t wait maybe 5 minutes but on national TV pounding an IPA getting his caddy plaque. Yeah. Um it was fun. No, we uh you know I had to do some the formality of some interviews and sign a bunch of stuff. But USJ put us up in the top of the locker room in our own little room and just me and my coaches. My kids were already in bed because by the time it was, you know, 10 11:00 at night and we just sat up there and and drank and just enjoyed the moment and looked at the trophy and um just enjoyed, you know, being together and, you know, it’s a team effort and we were all just kind of enjoying the fruits of our labor and, you know, we didn’t we shut down Oakmont at like 1:00, you know, we we were there till 1:00 in the morning and uh had an early day next week or the next day in New York City. So, I was like, “All right, it’s time to go to bed.” So, I didn’t even go to bed till probably 3:30 and then woke up at 6:30 like ready to go again. Like, it was weird. Got to do some shirt shopping for the media tour. You know what I mean? I had to go get some. Where’d you pick up that bad boy? Where can we get one of those? Where’d I go? North. So, it was I think it was like a Tommy Bahama clearance rack. Yeah, it was Nordstrom Rack uh in Manhattan or something. But rack. Yeah, the rack. But everything 4.3 million. You couldn’t go to the real one. There is nothing. The highest end retail of the world. Give me that Nordstrom rack. All the nice places were like closed at 7:00. Like true. You know, we went to dinner and I was like, “Oh, there’s like a Gucci store. Maybe I can get a shirt there.” And I was like, “Gucci would have been a nice.” Yeah. Like, “Oh, okay.” But it was closed and um you know, but the latest thing the latest things open were like a Target and a Nordstrom Rack. So, I was like, “Ah, let’s let’s just That’s the one you went with.” Yeah. I thought you looked pretty good. I thought you look good for what it’s worth. I got that shirt for you, though. Yeah. Let me get that one time. We joked on radio. Have you seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Yes. When the guys with the belt and Makunas comes walking over, he goes, “God, I wish I wouldn’t wear this [ __ ] shirt.” Yeah. I was like, “Is this good? Should I wear this?” And I was just like, “Fuck it. Let’s go.” He pulled it off. All right. Big big boy question here. I mean, all you got to do is rewind a year last June and you were like, “I need to play good to keep my job, keep my tour.” Now, you fast forward major champ. You’re going to be on the Ryder Cup. If you had to point to one thing and say, “This is what led to the change and the and the boost in play, what would it be?” I think uh kind of like my perspective, my mental approach. I was kind of I was freaking out a little bit earlier in the year last year when I wasn’t playing well and uh I think I made like three or four cuts until like literally this year, this time last year and uh I just like, you know, I’ve had a pretty good run. I went on tour um you know, played eight years. if this ends up being how I’m going to go out, then I might as well just like just give it everything I got, you know? Um, and I think just just kind of pushing through and and committing to more of my my structure, my regimen, and and just playing more fearless golf, honestly. Like, it it was it was easy to kind of think, okay, I just need to make a cut. I need to make a cut. Um, but I just shifted to like, I need to [ __ ] win. Like, cuz honestly, making cuts ain’t going to do it either. So, um, I started trying to win more because I needed to to, you know, if you try to win, you end up top 10. Like, those add up. And that’s kind of what I did. You know, I played great at, uh, the Rocket Classic last year. And that kind of just, you know, springboard me or springboarded me to to better big more momentum and then bigger confidence. And that just kind of like creeped into this year. And it’s just I’ve been running with it. Yes, you have. And you’re going to be running up to Beth Paige Black for the Ryder Cup. later in September. I mean, when you hear that, I mean, because this is, you just talked about a year ago, you’re like, I don’t know how this is going to end. Now, you’re going to be playing in the big one of the biggest sporting events in the world in the RDER Cup wearing the red, white, and blue representing your country. What does that mean to you? It means a lot. I mean, I would have never dreamed of Well, I’ve I’ve dreamed of being on the Ryder Cup, but I never thought I would actually be on it. Um, but it’s just it’s just been a crazy ride this last year where, you know, I’ve been working so hard and and also like getting the reinforcement from not just like my team, but like other players and even Keegan, you know, and Kizner like they’ve all and Sneds too. Sneds last year told me like, “Dude, you’re so [ __ ] good. Like, like what do you like?” I was like, “Dude, I got nervous. Like, what are you nervous for? Just [ __ ] go out there and keep doing what you’re cuz I had played with him a few times last year when I kind of turned it around and started playing well. And uh I think it was just more getting this like self-belief that I can do it. But, you know, to to be a part of these writer cup dinners as you know, prospective uh members, it’s just really inspiring. And uh it was actually cool. Keegan put uh like a a printed out picture of of the US RER Cup bag with my name on it and he did it to all the other guys that were, you know, um you know, potentially can make the team at the at Oakmont and it he put like bring your ego and like signed like just put KB. He didn’t give me an autograph, but um stuck it in my locker and it was just something I every time I open my locker, I saw it there. I just every day open the locker, see it there. And it was just one of those things that just kind of kept kept kind of being, you know, pinged into my brain that just like, all right, like Ryder Cub, let’s go. Like, bring your ego. And, you know, I mean, I’m not an egotistical person, but I think that more tapped into like my self-belief in myself. I heard an interview with him recently talking about that, how I believe he got that from Bill Bich, and he was like, every great athlete has an ego and the fact that people say check it at the door is totally wrong. Like, you know, you bring it and together we’re going to put it all together and we’re going to be successful. I I thought that was cool. I’d never heard that before. Yeah. And it was cool for him to do that like at the US Open. Like he’s still wanting to beat us, but he’s trying to make us make us play the best that we can and be, you know, tap into our max potential. And, you know, I think that that shows what a great captain he’s going to be. Okay. Let me ask you this. I’m going put you on the spot here right now cuz you’re going to be one of these top six guys and it’s going to come to six captain selections and he’s the captain and he’s going to come to y’all and ask, “What do you think? The man’s playing some great golf right now. Is he going to be teeing it up at Beth Page? I think he deserves to be. Um I think it’s just going to boil down to what what type of responsibility he’s going to want to have cuz it’s already a lot. Like it’s he says he thinks about the Ryder Cup 24/7 like you know let alone being a dad trying to you know play for himself on tour. Um to be a captain too is a huge responsibility. So, personally, I think if he doesn’t qualify, he should give himself the nod. You know, how do you give yourself the nod? Look in the mirror and nod, I guess. But bring your ego. Bring your ego. I mean, dude, he’s and he’s got all the experience. He’s playing great. Um, it’s just it’s just going to boil down, I guess, to how much of the captaincy responsibility that he’s going to want. But I think as a player, he’s earned it. Yeah. If you look at the list, like you go, you just said, “Hey, SE, you’re the captain.” That could happen. You got 12 people going. He’s going to be one of those guys. There’s no doubt. I almost think like whether people vote for him or not, I think every guy that’s in the top six going to say, “We want you cap.” Barring some crazy just dry stretch of play where he plays if he plays terrible for the next couple months, right? But it’s almost like, “All right, you’re the captain. One a job of the captain is put the best team you can get on the field, right? I don’t know anyone out there that would argue like he’s not one of the top 12 Americans and then we’d be better off without him playing.” Whether that means defer your duties to someone else and just tap out and be a player um or try to do both at the same time, which may be a lot to ask, but playingwise it it’d be hard to argue against him right now. Yeah, that’s a good point. I mean, I think even if he was like top 12, it’d be kind of hard for him to not take a pick. But if he’s going to linger around seven, eight Yeah. like like if he has another good week and Yeah. He might even qualify. He could. He easily can qualify. Mhm. Yeah. I mean, you got the open championship and the playoffs. Playoffs. I mean, [ __ ] So, yeah, it’s it’s going to be a tough decision and he’s he’s already got a lot on his plate. So, either way, I mean, he’s going to be an unbelievable captain. Like, I know how much he cares and he’s putting everything he’s got into it and I’m sure he’s going to do everything he can to make sure you are successful. But, it’s going to be awesome to see you up there at Beth Page, man. That’s going to be that’s going to be fun. I can’t wait to hear about You’re going to be in that [ __ ] no matter what. I know. I kids already texted me and and I was like I was like, “Yeah, I’m pretty [ __ ] nervous.” He’s like, “Dude, we’re going to tell you all about all the stories how we were all nervous how guys are switching up, you know, walking to the first te switching because they don’t even want to hit the first T- shot.” He’s like, “Dude, we I” And he’s like, “I have the best speech for you right before you tee off.” And so, I can’t wait. It’ll be fun. And I think that’s the cool thing. And and that’s what Keegan was saying, how, you know, the past vice captains have been guys that are a couple generations older and no one that we’ve really played with, you know, like Freddy and no discredit to them and who picked them, but it’s like him picking kids, web, SNES, like we’ve all been around long enough to where we’ve developed relationships and connections with these guys to where we actually can like, you know, get along with them and and you know, connect with them. So that was a good play on his behalf. Yeah, there was guys on the Ryder Cup last time in Rome that had never met some of the vice captains, you know what I mean? And I I like what they’re doing like getting youthful and stuff. I mean, Keegan when they announced him like [ __ ] dude, he could have played the last one. You know, he wouldn’t have been captain if he would have made the the Rome team, right? Um and now here we are. Have you ever been to one? Nope. Get ready, my man. It’s going to be so cool to make your debut. The first T Friday is one of the coolest things whether you’re playing or not. I mean, you got to be out there for that opening t-shot. It is so [ __ ] cool, dude. I’m just glad we’re on home soil. You have more of the support. You’re gonna have more support in New York. Maybe too much support. Yeah. My favorite Beth Page story actually is I played there at the PGA first round. I was like 6:45 tea time. The PGA at Beth Page, the range where they had set it up or whatever was probably like a 300 yard walk to the tea. And I’m like a pretty notoriously like late person. Like I don’t like getting to the tea with like 5 minutes. I like getting there with like 2 minutes max so I can just get my scorecard and just go. Like I don’t like sitting there like oh banking like I just want to go. So, we’re walking up there and then all you hear is like these, you know, there’s a big grand sand built up on the first tea at the PGA and everyone’s counting down 20 19 and I guess I was like almost going to miss my tea time, but the whole [ __ ] crowd was chant like counting down and I made it there with like 12 seconds. I started running, got my scorecard. Luckily, I wasn’t the first one to hit, but like I literally almost missed my tea time. Damn. Nice. Someone will be there to remind you for the RDER Cup. I’m pretty sure they like to hear themselves up there. And the good news is if y’all do happen to go play bad and lose, they’re very understanding. Oh god. Reasonable people, right? I’m on the other side of the country. There be a lot of Philly people there. They’re notoriously forgiving. Good news about Beth Ba first is a driver. Yes. The last thing I’d ever want in the world would be like a 3-wood off. Who was it? Web that popped it up or something. Yeah, Webb’s talked about it like that the pop fly he hit the one year with the 3-wood over in Europe. Just te that [ __ ] high. just swing up. Oh, dude. I just want to give me the the diesel, the double. I get a new driver that’s bigger. Dude, my first Phoenix Open actually on 16, my first time playing 16, I teed this eight iron like that high. Just so I was like just please hit the ball first like just swing up on it. Just like get in the air. That’s the fun swing. Like just get it anywhere out there and get me the [ __ ] off this airboard. Yeah. All right. Well, let’s get to the E9 and we’re going to have some fun with this one. And this is not a shot at Billy Andre. This is more having fun with your caddy Mark Karens because look, y’all are major champions now. And if anybody that’s played golf with Mark knows it’s a little dramatic out there and uh now you’ve got other professional golfers now trying to swing like Mark Karens after your performance at the US Open. Check this out. Just hopefully Bill’s okay. But is that not your guy? That is my guy. That is identical. That might be better than my guy. By the way, the shot kind of does exactly Yeah, Karen Hill do that [ __ ] and it ends up 15 ft somehow. He did it at the players a few years back. I remember like you posted or somebody posted it literally looks identical to that on the closest to the pan, the caddy deal and he hit it like a good shot. Yeah. Yeah. He hit it to about like 12 feet this year. Yeah. Yeah. Looks like he’s getting shot in the back [ __ ] all day at the the pro scratch at Whisper Rock. Lord Yeah. It’s like, “All right, drama queen. You can stop the act, but it’s Hey, Billy. I hope you’re okay, but you swing just like Mark car.” Yeah, he’s the only guy comes off with grass stains after a round of golf, sliding into third base. It’s physical. He plays a physical game. Um, all right. Which one I want to start with here? I’ll give you just a little easy little funsy here. Better putt to win a national open, yours or Nick Taylor? Well, hold on. Go ahead and tell tell him the text you sent to Nick Mick Taylor after he congratulated you. I saw the video he sent. Yeah, he congratulated me. He said, “Congrats.” And I said, “Thanks, bro.” And I said, “My putt was cooler.” I didn’t say my putt was better. I think I got taken out of context, but I put like a wink face below. But, you know, it was pretty cool. like actually thought of him not as I made the putt, but looking back that you know I watching him make that putt was really special and really cool to win his national open and then to do something pretty similar to win the US Open was was pretty sick but definitely was a little flashback to his putt. Yeah, you guys will always share that. You can argue over which one was better. All you needed was a friend that could get body bagged by security. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Or Karen’s get body bagged. That would have been sick. Yeah. Get this guy out of here. All right, next one. Mine was going to be I wanted to hear about the Nick Taylor text cuz he told me about it and I thought that was great of him. Both of y’all’s putts were unbelievable. I was there for the Nick Taylor. They’ll both be on the montage for forever. I mean, just insane to do it in that arena. I mean, they changed the logo to him because of that. That’s sick. He’s the logo. He’s sick. All right. Uh I don’t know if you’ve played in the game at Wisrock since you’ve won a major championship, but are you okay with being a plus eight now? Yeah. No, that really the question doesn’t matter. You are we’re You are a plus a the commissioner Dr. Stoz would like you to know that you are a plus a dog. He’s always Yeah, he’s going to find a way to get in these pockets. But you know, it’s fine. When we played the right before you left, we flipped TE’s. It ended up being me and JJ and Chz was wanting shots from JJ. I was like, what has the world come to? There was a time where CHZ was like the hardest dude to beat at this golf course. And I was like, he’s playing, you still play on tour. There ain’t no shots going on here. They were like adamant about it. He’s taking shots. Thunder’s like, it’s fair. It’s fine. That’s fair. Of course, dude. Yeah. Well, welcome to the plus eight club. Yep. You got to play real nice. Hey, no pressure. Rom strokes on five and 14 of the lower, just so you know. Yeah, you Rahm only gets one from you probably though. We’re being fair, man. He’ll ask for one. That’s a pretty straight up game, more or less. All right, listen. It involves one of your our frequent partners up at the Rock. How much of your US Open win do you owe to Windham Clark for inspiring you to switch to the lab putter? As he noted in his presser, I did see that quote. I didn’t know that he inspired me, but maybe he did. Maybe he inspired me to try it just from watching him putt or something. You know, with with a nonlab using the lab, he inspired you to use it. Like maybe I should use it. But I did see that. It was that was strange. Maybe there’s some sarcasm there. But, you know, Dub’s he’s Dub. I’ve seen him putt with the lab like on the I’ve never seen you use it in a real tournament and then all of a sudden you win like hey did were you inspired I saw you switch putters were you inspired by your boy JJ Spawn to do this actually I inspired him I read it I was dying it’s like such a Ron Burgundy like freaking I mean like good if it was a good putt but like honestly he watched me first and so then he probably just copied me never used it until Detroit I know I literally he’s used a 100 putters he has tried lot many things if he has used it it was for like a round at home I’m just like try this and he’ll like look at it. He’s like, “Oh, it was pretty nice.” But it was never the other way around, right? Maybe. I don’t remember. He didn’t put it in your hands. Not that I recall. All right. So, 0% is that what we’re going with%. Okay. Zero. While we’re on that subject, because you know, winning the US Open at Oakmont, you become a member of Oakmont. Is it true you’re having Windham Clark as your member guest partner the next time y’all te it up at Oakmont? Yeah. Yeah. Run up the flag pole. might have to change his shoes in the in the down the parking lot. Yeah, we we might have to make some calls, make it happen. Maybe in 10 years or something. Oh man, Dub’s taking shots right now. We love you, Dub. Love you, Dub. We love you, Dub. You get in that member guest. All right, here’s an easy one for you. Ryder Cup, we were just talking about comes along. You’re up in New York. The Yankees call you and say, “We would love to honor your US Open win by having you throw out the first pitch at our stadium, but you have to wear a Yankees jersey when you do it. Would you accept?” Oh man. Oh, as a diehard Dodger fan. Yeah. I mean, after everything they went through last World Series that fifth inning, I could give them a little bit and wear the jersey. Put it on just for a moment. Yeah. Just to, you know, let them have their moment. Wouldn’t be the worst. Make it we can make it work somehow. But, you know, they they gave us the World Series by that fifth inning. So, are you going to get a nod, you think, for Dodgers first pitch? They know your love for them and you’re friends with some of them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We should get that. Yeah. No, we’re we actually are trying to plan something for that. So, that’d be sick. That’s Can you throw? Yeah, I was actually practicing up at the rock the other day cuz Bobby was watching me hit balls and he asked me the same thing. I Yeah, we’re trying to figure out like a day or a game to come out and I put a [ __ ] alignment rod like 30 yard 20 yards away is like 60 ft, right? And I was like chucking a ball. I was like, “See, I can do it.” I was like missing by like 10 feet and but I was like, “No, well, the ball’s like, you know, bigger, heavier. It’ll be easier to control.” Like, I’m whiffing it with the golf ball. But tell that to Joe Burrow. I don’t know if you saw him throwing a baseball. That’s kind of brutal. But yeah, kind of not a crazy different motion, but I don’t know. Tom Brady threw one before him and he looked like he played in the [ __ ] bigs, so he got it figured out. Goat. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll I’ll definitely get some practice in. Joe Bro’s got enough good things going on for him. The ball that he gets paid to throw, he throws very well. Yeah, he does a good job. It doesn’t matter for him. He’ll be just fine. I look forward to seeing that. Um, all right. All right, next one. We know you you love your cars. You got you used I don’t know if you still have you have some like green Need for Speed looking thing. Green? Didn’t you have a green one? No. Who has the green one at Whisp? That’s uh Timmy McAdam. Oh, I thought it was yours. No, I told everyone that with me I was like that’s [ __ ] JJ Spons. Look at that ridiculous thing right there. I don’t need that much attention. No. Yeah, I do. We have the same car, uh, GT3 RS, and that was actually my incentive for my first win, and it only took two years to get it. So, yeah, she’s that’s been my baby. All right, so what do you got your eyes on next? I mean, US Open Champ, got to have something fancy. I’m actually Yeah, I I’d like to get more of a dad mobile um as like my daily driver. And, you know, something more more cruiser, more more comfortable, like an Escalade or something would be sick. A Maybach. Maybach. What am I? Get a driver. Something subtle like a Maybach. You can hire Harrington be your driver. Harington’s got nothing SUV is a good kid mobile. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Harrington’s got not a lot going on. He can drive me around. He lives four doors down. You can just walk over and drive my Maybach. I got to go to I got to go. Yeah. Take me to to Safeway real quick. I got to buy diapers. Pick me up in five. God, that’d be great. Then your Porsche almost gets smashed by like a enormous mirror or something in your garage. Yes. And like the grace of God saved it. Yeah. So it’s Yeah. We came back from Hilton Head and uh we bought this house uh about a year ago and there’s these big like two 12 foot tall mirrors mounted on the the third car garage side where I park my Porsche. Did you buy it from Diddy? I don’t know if Diddy was around here. Lot of mirrors. I don’t know. Apparently people owned it were weird from the neighbors that have told me. So, we haven’t found anything weird yet. We gutted it. It’s fresh. Okay. Um, but yeah, I came back and you know, a couple I don’t drive that car every day, so it’s kind of on that side of the garage. The entrance to the house is on the other side. And I was taking my daughter to school and she noticed like the wall looked different. And so, there’s these two mirrors side by side glued on there. And all you see is like the glue residue just on the wall. And uh apparently, you know, I look over there and it’s just one mirror and the other mirror is missing. Oh no. And I’m like I freak out and I run over there and this huge mirror is just laying on the side of my car. And uh it didn’t shatter. It probably weighed 200 lb. I try to like pull it off, but then I was freaked out that like the mirror was going to snap and just slice my fingers off. I need those. And uh so of course I you know called over the neighborhood Yeah. helper. No, Scott was busy probably losing money to you and stuff. Uh James Han, who lives a few doors down, he came over and we pulled it off and there was a scratch like this big on it somehow. Like this 200lb mirror, fell, didn’t hit the car that hard, left a minor scratch. Um but I think having these I had my st my my old staff bags kind of lined up on the wall and that kind of softened it. But um it’s just my year, dude. Can’t guys. Little scratch on that could have been disaster. Could have been completely totaled. And Harrington came over and asked for the mirror. Yeah, you’re in that mirror. Yeah, you use that anymore. What are you doing that mirror? Uh, okay. It’s my last one here. Have you ever received any words of wisdom from Rory Maroy before the start of a playoff? You [ __ ] Well, I just curious, dude. I feel like I don’t know. I have. I have. Oh, you have. I have. What? What did he What did he tell you? Where was this? So, it was it was a playoff for the par three contest at the Masters. It wasn’t obviously it wasn’t anything crazy, but I wanted to win a Crystal. I wanted to Mark Mr. Tony Robbins, Mark Karens was like, “You got to be I was like, “Dude, we got I don’t want to win this.” Like, he’s like, “You want to be a [ __ ] champion? A champion’s a champion.” Like at the part three contest, right? He’s like, “I don’t give a [ __ ] You be the first one to break this curse. Like, who cares?” I agree with that, by the way. I like that. Yeah, that’s good. I didn’t know they had a playoff for that thing. Oh, yeah. Me neither. So, luckily the playoff was like 30 minutes after I finished. So, it wasn’t like I was waiting there all day and uh I’m walking back to the par three course and Rory’s like leaving the range and we’re kind of crossing paths and he he’s like, “Are you doing a playoff for the par three contest?” I was like, “Yeah, I guess.” He’s like, “Better get the club right this time.” And I was just like, damn, too soon. And that that hurt. That that hit me deep. And Shane Lowry, he’s like, “Fucking hell, Rory.” Like like even like Yeah, granted it was just like a little rinky dink par three. Like doesn’t matter. But it was still a little too soon to hear that. Yeah, but the players matters. Yeah. I mean that wound is open. It was It was not healed yet. Good story though. Did you win the playoff? No. Oh, [ __ ] Nico, right? No, Nico won. Yeah, Nico won. But well, I’m 0 for two in playoffs. That’s okay. You got this bad boy right here sitting next to you, man. Congratulations. 2025 US Open champ. Thanks for joining us here today. Thanks, boys. I appreciate it. Love it. Thanks for going, brother. See you in New York. 2026. That’s right. I don’t want to celebrate yet, but next year’s mine. All right, that was the US Open champ Spawn live and in studio with the trophy. So cool to see. I know you drank a few out of it a few nights ago at his party here, but man, I’m so pumped for this guy. And you hear it from all the guys out there that play. When when JJ Spawn won the US Open, not many were surprised because all the guys that play alongside him like he is so good. Like he is one of the best players in the world. He just doesn’t realize it yet. Now winning this first major title, I think we’re going to see a different JJ Spawn. I mean, hell, he’s going to be putting the red, white, and blue on up at Beth Page here in a couple of weeks. Yeah. Yeah, I mean rewind a year ago when he was thinking about maybe this he might be done now. Look how quickly stuff’s changed. I meant to bring this up to him just to show like what his fellow players think. But there was a time early this year, Cole. It was like January. We were just getting going in the year. We’ played at the Rock. JJ wasn’t there, but there was like three or four tour players in our normal group, right? We’re all sitting around a table at the end and one of the guys asked to the PJ tour players, who’s the best player that nobody knows about or the most like underrated player on the PJ tour? And like almost in unison, one after JJ spawn like no doubt, no hesitation, no nothing. So like the guys that have been around him, the guys that see him week in week out have known this was coming. I don’t know if JJ necessarily knew it was coming, but everyone around him believed it was and they were right. I mean, dude, he is fractions away. He is a Rory Maroy lip in away from being a major champion and a players champion this year. I mean, this stuff that he’s doing, it might be, you know, out of left field for some people, but this is not by accident. It’s over and over and I think this just man just I I think for the first time now JJ Spawn believes that he’s one of the best players in the world which is a big hurdle to get over I feel like. Yeah and so much cool stuff comes with winning a major. I thought that Tony Hawk sending him the personalized autograph skateboard was awesome. Like that’s just so cool Tony to do that. Um also getting to go on the whole media tour up in New York City other than that shirt he had on. Everything went really well. Yeah. I hope he got a uh penicellin shot after taking the trophy to the rooster cuz any disease that you can get from drinking out his same cup, he’s got it. And I think we all got it there. But that was a cool moment too, Colt bringing that thing in there. It’s not a huge golf crowd, but everybody in the place wanted to come over and and talk to JJ, get a picture with JJ and it’s like, man, this guy’s not like a a guy that soaks up the spotlight or is looking for the spotlight. But it was kind of cool to see him like have that, you know, and all his hard work coming together going from Canadian tour making $830 for an entire season to now major champion rider cuper is pretty sweet. Yeah, I love it. And he’s making making so much money right now. I think he should go get some Birdie Juice gear. He would look good in it. Way better than that shirt he wore on Good Morning America. But custom gear just hits differently. I recently made some Birdie Juice TE’s and the whole process was quick, easy, and the results were legit. You can create your own, too. Custom polos, hats, hoodies, and more from top golf brands, all with your favorite logos. Skip the generic stuff. Head to shop.golf.com and make something that’s actually yours. All right, sleeves. A lot of fun sitting down with JJ. Heck of an episode. Um, shout out to you being up there in Flagstaff enjoying the nice cool weather. It’s hotter than hell here in Scottsdale. I got two weeks off, dude. I’m so pumped. That’s nice. Try to enjoy yourself a little bit. Get outside. Go hit a couple balls this afternoon. Yeah, I got dialed in Scottsdale. It’s a good It’s a good time to grind. You have the range to yourself. All right, my man. Well, that was a lot of fun. Hope everyone enjoyed it. We’ll talk to you on next week’s subpar. [Music]