Year after year, TPC Sawgrass consistently creates engaging leaderboards. Real estate there is typically owned by household figures like Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Scottie Scheffler. Longshots and dark horses, however, also do, which is evidence of the excellent volatility this course offers.
J.J. Spaun, who started Saturday's third round in solo third place at 10-under par and one shot behind the leader, is one of those underdogs. Additionally, he is playing in the penultimate pairing alongside McIlroy, creating a stark contrast given that the Northern Irishman is arguably the most well-liked player in the sport except Tiger Woods.
But this weekend, everyone should support Spaun because he is the ideal underdog and a victory on Sunday might change his life.
Spaun, a Los Angeles native, was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2012 while playing collegiately at San Diego State. After that, he became a professional, progressing via the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Canada until being admitted to the PGA Tour in 2017. Spaun finally made it to the top ten years after turning pro, winning his first PGA Tour title at the Valero Texas Open five years after making 147 career starts. Since then, though, he has lost.
In order to maintain his PGA Tour card for another year, he has had to work extremely hard on the practice range. Additionally, there have been numerous practice rounds, many of which have involved NBC Sports' Curt Byrum.
However, Spaun missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs a year ago as a result of all that effort. However, he had a strong fall, which was capped off by a T-6 at the ZOZO Championship in Japan. He subsequently turned that run into three top-15 finishes in the first few months of 2025. In addition, he had a great chance to win the Sony Open in Hawaii and placed second at the Cognizant Classic. However, he missed out on the playoffs by one shot due to a bogey on the par-3 17th hole, as he made a bad bunker shot. He had the 54-hole lead, so it was a vicious blow. He would have to wait to win his second career PGA Tour championship.
However, he has paid a price for his relative success and impressive play so far in 2025.
"I try to FaceTime with them as much as I can, but it is difficult when your child is always asking where you are, how much they miss you, and when they can not wait to come home."
He participated in 28 events last year, none of which were the four main championships, so he was also rather busy.
For that reason, you ought to support Spaun throughout the rest of this championship.
However, Spaun will not have to fight for a spot on the PGA Tour in 2026.
