J.J. Spaun reveals how Tiger Woods treated him when they met for the very first time

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No one saw J.J. Spaun’s meteoric rise to golf superstardom coming at the start of the 2025 season.

But at the end of the year, J.J. Spaun is a US Open winner, was one of Team USA’s best performers at the Ryder Cup, and is now ready to play among the world’s best players at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge event. 

Making his debut in this event is a testament to how far Spaun has come since almost losing his PGA Tour card in 2024. Only the best of the best play in this event, and Spaun is one of 19 players looking to snatch Scottie Scheffler’s title. 

The opportunity to play at this event in the Bahamas means a lot to Spaun, who is excited to compete in front of the man who inspired his golfing career. They first met in 2017, and he recounted how Woods treated him at that meeting when Spaun was a rookie on the PGA Tour. 

J.J. Spaun reveals what Tiger Woods did on their first meeting that was ‘so cool’

Spaun was a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2017, a season plagued by a back injury for Woods. He did play the Farmers Insurance Open at the start of the year, however, and that’s where he first met Spaun. 

When asked if he remembers his first meeting with the 15-time major winner, Spaun recounted how the interaction went, admitting that Woods did not know who he was.

Speaking prior to the Hero World Challenge, he said, “Yeah, so I was — I’ve always had this tournament circled for the calendar when I knew I was going to get in. That was one of the highlights of the year was getting to come here and finish the year off in a really fun venue, a great event hosted by Tiger.

“But yeah, it’s just, it’s one of those things where you always look forward to doing anything involved with Tiger Woods, honestly. You’re in good form if you’re rubbing shoulders with Tiger. But I remember my first time meeting Tiger in person was at Torrey Pines in 2017. 

“It was my rookie year on Tour. I knew a mutual friend that knew Tiger well, and I was out walking the course while he was playing the pro-am. Because I was a rookie, I didn’t get in the pro-am. So it was cool to walk a couple holes with him, talk to him a little bit, get to know him.

“He was just a great guy and he had such a cool presence. He had no idea who I was, but he made me feel like he knew who I was.”

Even if he didn’t eight years ago, Woods certainly knows who Spaun is now!

J.J. Spaun explains how Tiger Woods inspired him to play golf

28 years on from his historic first Masters win, Woods has now inspired the next generation of golfers, from Rory McIlroy to Scheffler. 

Spaun explained that, growing up in LA, he was inspired to take up golf by the person he calls the greatest golfer of all time. 

He said, “Tiger is the GOAT. He was the one that inspired my generation to take up the game, he made it fun, he made it exciting, he made it athletic, he made it powerful both on and off the course. He had the aura, he was him.

“But I remember him battling Zach Johnson. I remember when he won again at Sherwood for the first time in a while. I just loved – we actually went out and watched a couple times growing up in L.A. to watch that tournament, and it was just so fun. 

“Going back to even the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, I used to go to that tournament all the time growing up as a kid. A lot of what Tiger’s done in the L.A. community inspired me to chase the dream and try to compete at the highest level.

“You know, he still has that, you know, aura, that huge presence when he’s just on site, even if he’s competing or not, and it’s so good to see him doing well.”

Woods announced he’s undergoing another back surgery that will rule him out of a return to the sport for the foreseeable future. Hopefully we will see him back in action sooner rather than later, but for now, it’s incredible to see the best of the generation he inspired going head-to-head at his event.