J.J. Spaun says what Rory McIlroy’s behaviour was like when they played together on the final day of The Players Championship

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J.J. Spaun and Rory McIlroy certainly won’t forget the 2025 Players Championship in a hurry, with the latter having beaten the former in a playoff.

Spaun checked McIlroy’s bag at one stage of their three-hole clash at the Players Championship, which seemingly worked against him as he launched his ball into the water at 17.

McIlroy remained calm and composed throughout the Monday morning encounter at TPC Sawgrass, battling to his second PGA Tour win of the season.

The duo had finished on 12-under after 72 holes at the Ponte Vedra Beach course, and were forced to take on 16, 17 and 18 the following day.

But their playoff ended abruptly after Spaun fired a triple bogey on the island green, paving the way for McIlroy to clinch a 28th career win.

J.J. Spaun loved Players Championship round with ‘super cool’ Rory McIlroy

The PGA Tour schedule has already moved on to the Valspar Championship, but Spaun has been spending time looking back on his most recent final round, having taken on TPC Sawgrass alongside McIlroy.

“He is super cool,” Spaun said on Fore Play Podcast Plus, when asked if McIlroy was open to chatting to him during the final round.

“We were talking about the UK, I know he is from Northern Ireland, so I asked him if he ever hangs out in London because my wife has a really good friend who lives out there and loves going there.

READ MORE: PGA Tour player criticizes TV coverage of Rory McIlroy’s playoff vs J.J. Spaun as he points out ‘big miss’ which they failed to do

“So over the last couple of years in December we go to a little vacation to the Cotswolds, which is like the countryside, with all these quaint villages which are really old and have pubs from the 1700s.

“There is a really cool vibe to hang out during the holidays, so I asked him about that and he was like ‘oh yeah, I am building a house out there’. You know he kept it really friendly and light and we chatted a lot until the back nine and then that was it.”

J.J. Spaun can be proud of going toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy at TPC Sawgrass

McIlroy may have seemed in good spirits on the outside, but he was undoubtedly feeling frustration on the inside.

He blew a three-shot lead to allow Spaun to come back into contention at the Players Championship, but the nervous tables did then turn in their playoff.

READ MORE: 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

McIlroy used all of his experience to grind out the win, with Spaun making far too many errors in such a short space of time.

But the American can certainly hold his head high for his Sunday comeback and for going toe-to-toe with the four-time major champion, with plenty of success likely to go his way in the near future.