J.J. Spaun says something ‘weird’ happened to him when he hit his next shot on 17 after dunking his ball in the water at TPC Sawgrass

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J.J. Spaun came agonisingly close to another PGA Tour win at the Players Championship, only to lose in a playoff to Rory McIlroy.

Scottie Scheffler thought he played ‘okay’ early on at TPC Sawgrass, but the world number one could only finish T20 at the Players Championship.

McIlroy instead took the initiative, clinching his 28th PGA Tour win after edging out Spaun in a three-hole playoff.

The duo took on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes at TPC Sawgrass, with the middle of the three involving the famous island green.

McIlroy could only make bogey on the par-three 17th, but Spaun really struggled, making a triple-bogey after his first effort splashed into the water.

J.J. Spaun says wind was ‘straight in’ on his wedge shot at Players Championship 17th

Spaun came under fire for looking at McIlroy’s bag before his tee shot, having watched his opponent land his effort on the green.

Asked in his post-round press conference how long it took him to get the mishap out of his mind and get ready for his next shot, Spaun replied: “Pretty quickly.

“I knew I was having to make this wedge shot to have any sort of pressure on Rory and a chance to win the tournament.

READ MORE: J.J. Spaun deserves big credit for what he did immediately after losing to Rory McIlroy in playoff for The Players Championship

“It was weird; the wind ended up being straight in on my wedge shot. It was a perfect wedge shot if it was kind of the direction it should be, kind of just left to right on that angle, maybe a touch of hurt.

“But then when I got on there, it was like straight into me. I’m like, this is what I needed on the first shot here.

“Now I have like another tweener; what am I going to try to flight another one and rinse it long again? It was such a bad number to have with that amount of wind.

“I just had to hit the shot that I knew wouldn’t go long but then unfortunately it spun down to that little weird fringe, and a tough up-and-down from there, too. Couldn’t putt it, had to chip it, and made a six. One, two, three, four, five, six.”

J.J. Spaun shares practice routine before playoff vs Rory McIlroy

McIlroy was testing the wind in practice ahead of the playoff, having thrown away a three-shot lead in the final round.

The Northern Irishman held that commanding lead at the 12th, but a combination of mistakes and fine golf from Spaun forced a playoff.

The American shared insight into his practice efforts before taking on the final three holes at TPC Sawgrass once more, having also been asked what he was thinking of hitting on the 17th hole.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy admits he ‘couldn’t believe’ what happened to J.J. Spaun during their playoff for The Players Championship

“Yeah, I was never thinking anything other than 8-iron,” he said. “We were warming up on the TrackMan this morning in a similar direction and getting kind of dialled in with what kind of shot I’d have to hit to fight the wind and carry the number that we were needing.

“It was just kind of like a nice chip 8-iron. Pulled an 8-iron, and even after Rory hit 9, he’s easily a club longer than me.

“I don’t know if I flighted it too well, but it just went through the wind. I couldn’t even tell where it was going to be. I didn’t know what to tell it, like sit, go. If anything I was leaning more towards go. But it was a great shot.

“It was probably six, seven feet left of the pin, just perfect if it was the right distance. I couldn’t believe it was long. It just wasn’t my luck of the gust, I guess.”

J.J. Spaun shocked after watching 17th tee shot back for the first time

McIlroy now has two wins for the 2025 season, having also triumphed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Spaun meanwhile missed out on a second PGA Tour win, with his only title to date coming at the 2022 Valero Texas Open.

But despite his near miss at TPC Sawgrass to the four-time major champion, the American is in high spirits about his game.

Asked if he feels even more strongly that he’s on a great track right now, he replied: “Yeah, totally. This is probably the best golf I’ve played maybe in my career consistently. “I had a chance to win at Sony, had a pretty good chance to win at Cognizant, had a chance to win this week.

“But to go from where I was a year ago today or to start the week, yeah, I’m pretty proud of where I’ve been able to dig deep and kind of get some self-belief and get some confidence to play some good golf. Yeah, a year ago this was the first cut I made all season. Now I lost in a playoff. Kind of a big flip there.”

The runner-up on the latest PGA Tour event also responded when asked if he would have played the same shot on 17 regardless of what McIlroy did, saying: “Same shot. I knew he wasn’t going to make worse than par, even though he did. But I think if it boiled down to it, he probably would have made par.

“But yeah, I hit the exact shot that I wanted to. I had no idea that that ball was even long. I thought if anything it was short, maybe plugged in the bunker or stuck on top of the hill, and Rory hit 9… can I just watch it? I haven’t seen it.

“Look how high it is. It’s floating. I almost wanted to say ‘get up’ because it just looked like it was going to be short. Anyways, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it was long.

“I’m happy with the swing I put on it. I am. The wind must have just laid down just a little too much, and it just went through the wind. Wasn’t my time.”