Scottie Scheffler heaped praise on JJ Spaun after the reigning US Open champion sealed his spot on the US Ryder Cup team.
Spaun emerged as the unlikely winner of the third men’s major of the year with an electric birdie on the 72nd hole at Oakmont to deny Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
His win came months after a heart-breaking play-off defeat to Rory McIlroy at the flagship Players Championship on the PGA Tour.
The 34-year-old will now make his first appearance for Team USA at this year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.
Despite losing in a play-off to England’s Justin Rose at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the result earned Spaun enough points to ensure he doesn’t have to worry about relying on a captain’s pick from Keegan Bradley.
Xander Schauffele has also secured automatic qualification.
Scheffler told reporters after finishing in a tie for third in the first leg of the PGA Tour’s playoffs in Memphis that he is very happy to see Spaun’s success.
“He’s a great player,” Scheffler said. “He’s got a ton of talent. He hits it really, really solid.
“To win a US Open you’ve got to grind really hard, and he’s a guy that he gets the ball in play, hits it really solid and he holes a lot of putts. He’s a tough guy to beat.”
JJ Spaun
He added: “You love seeing guys like that have success, guys that work hard and get the most out of their games, and JJ is definitely one of those guys that’s a grinder out here.
“You always see him practicing, see him in the gym. Definitely happy to see him having the success that he has.”
For his part, Spaun said he did not know what has gotten in to him in 2025.
Never in his wildest dreams did he believe he would be a major champion when, last season, he was contemplating giving up the game altogether as he was in danger of losing his card.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me, honestly,” he said.
US Ryder Cup standings
Rank
Player
Country
Points
1
Scottie Scheffler (Q)
USA
33,580.33
2
J.J. Spaun (Q)
USA
14,638.91
3
Xander Schauffele (Q)
USA
13,570.02
4
Russell Henley
USA
11,904.82
5
Bryson DeChambeau
USA
10,774.98
6
Harris English
USA
10,439.55
7
Justin Thomas
USA
10,347.59
8
Collin Morikawa
USA
9,929.77
9
Ben Griffin
USA
9,304.76
10
Keegan Bradley
USA
8,103.00
11
Maverick McNealy
USA
7,553.65
12
Andrew Novak
USA
7,230.48
13
Brian Harman
USA
7,194.16
14
Cameron Young
USA
6,689.64
15
Patrick Cantlay
USA
6,570.39
16
Sam Burns
USA
5,778.29
17
Wyndham Clark
USA
5,216.87
18
Lucas Glover
USA
4,705.44
19
Daniel Berger
USA
4,533.21
20
Akshay Bhatia
USA
4,469.63
21
Chris Gotterup
USA
4,450.44
22
Tom Hoge
USA
4,434.69
23
Denny McCarthy
USA
4,300.28
24
Tony Finau
USA
4,290.56
25
Sam Stevens
USA
4,191.54
“I think I’m just content with what I’ve done in this game and now it’s just kind of free rolling. Just trying to win, and I think that’s a freeing mentality to have.”
Spaun was denied a second victory of the season by Rose in an electric three-hole playoff at TPC Southwind.
Both players made par on the first extra hole.
Spaun looked as though he had done enough by draining a long-range birdie putt at the second, only for the 45-year-old Englishman to answer.
JJ Spaun
He had the opportunity to extend the contest further, but jammed his birdie putt through the break after Rose found the centre of the cup from seven feet.
“It sucks to miss a seven-footer, but tricky read and pulled it a little bit,” Spaun said.
“But yeah, I hung in there the best I could, and he beat me to the hole first. Just wasn’t meant to be.”
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