J.J. Spaun’s final round at the US Open was far more challenging than you may think when you look at the final leaderboard.
He eventually won the tournament by two shots to Robert MacIntyre after an incredible birdie putt on the 18th hole.
That does not tell the story of how much adversity Spaun had to fight through, from the challenging weather conditions to his nightmare start.
Indeed, the 34-year-old bogeyed five of his opening six holes on Sunday as he looked out of sorts and effectively out of US Open contention.
But Spaun’s caddie, Mark Carens, saved the day with an important pep talk to give him some much-needed confidence.
J.J. Spaun’s caddie gave him some great advice in US Open final round
Spaun played beautifully from Thursday to Saturday, so there was no reason to believe that he would start so poorly on Sunday.
Well, that’s pressure for you. He temporarily went from playing like a world-class champion to an amateur as Oakmont dampened his mood.
Thankfully, Carens was by his side to offer the words of encouragement that sparked an unbelievable turnaround through the remainder of the day.
Spaun told ESPN: “I was thinking, ‘Am I ever going to make a damn par?’ But that’s the US Open. That’s what a venue like Oakmont does.
“My caddie did a great job of telling me, ‘Everyone is going to go through these stretches, whether it’s Thursday or Sunday.’
“So, I dug deep as best I could and knew there was so much golf left. At such a big major like this, anything can happen, so I just tried to keep myself in the mix as long as I could.”
What J.J. Spaun did in US Open rain delay to feel like ‘a completely different person’
Spaun also benefited from the rain delay at the US Open on Sunday. While many players would have been disappointed to come off, the break came at the right time for Spaun.
The hour in the clubhouse allowed him to refocus ahead of a career-defining back nine at Oakmont.
He even changed his “entire outfit” to feel like “a completely different person” on the golf course.
“I looked at it as a benefit, as a good thing,” Spaun explained. “The same thing happened to me at the Players Championship this year, where I was leading going into Sunday and struggling on the front nine.
“We had weather come through, and it was actually like a three-hour delay. But then I came back out on the back nine and ended up tying Rory McIlroy for the lead and getting into the playoff.
“So, when we heard that horn, my caddie and I looked at each other and were like, ‘Alright, you know what’s coming next.’
“I went inside and reset, changed my entire outfit… I wanted to feel like a completely different person when I went back out there, and learn from my experience at The Players that I can still do this. So, I was happy to go back out and execute all the shots.”
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