J.J. Spaun will take plenty of encouragement from his first appearance at the Hero World Challenge, where he closed out the week tied for fourth.
Spaun finished a memorable 2025 campaign with another strong showing. His season included a breakthrough win at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, while he also narrowly missed out on titles at both The Players Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Beyond that, he made his first Ryder Cup appearance this year, competing in front of a passionate home crowd at Bethpage Black.
His fourth-place finish at the Hero World Challenge was capped off by a final-round 65, leaving him level with Scottie Scheffler at 20 under par and just two shots behind Alex Noren and eventual champion Hideki Matsuyama.
How J.J. Spaun broke new ground in his career at the Hero World Challenge
It was Spaun’s short game that really set him apart at Albany. Data Golf recorded the 35-year-old gaining 4.6 shots around the greens during that final round.
The next closest was Corey Conners, who picked up 2.49 shots in that same category.
Spaun spoke afterwards about how rare a day it was for him in that part of his game.
“I think it was three chip-ins in one day, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my career,” he said after the last round.
“Yeah, just worked on my technique around here with the grain and stuff and got comfortable. Just one of those days where they kind of were going in.”
J.J. Spaun reacts to playing in Tiger Woods’ event for the first time
There have been a lot of moments this season that have highlighted Spaun’s rise, from his win at Oakmont to his Ryder Cup debut, and getting the call to play in Tiger Woods’ event felt just as meaningful.
Speaking about his experience, the 35-year-old explained that he still feels in awe every time he is around the 15-time major winner.
“Yeah, he watched me my entire warmup yesterday, like right on my bag. We were chatting back and forth. I was just like so nervous because I’m not used to hitting in front of him. He definitely got the first tee nerves out the way for me there on the range.
“But it was cool, I loved coming to this tournament growing up in L.A. and just enjoy being involved with anything Tiger does. If you’re kind of hanging around him, you’re in good company, you’re doing something right. It’s been such a fun week and an honour to be here,” he concluded.
If 2025 is any indication of what lies ahead for him, Spaun can look forward to more invites back to Albany in future years.
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