Keegan Bradley and J.J. Spaun met up after the latter’s incredible victory at the US Open on Sunday.
Bradley is the U.S. captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup, and Spaun will now be on his team after his stunning victory at the US Open.
The 34-year-old will be flying high on confidence right now, but everything that happened at Oakmont probably hasn’t sunk in just yet.
Spaun came out flying after the rain delay at the US Open on Sunday, and produced some truly memorable golf.
His win catapulted him to near the top of the Ryder Cup standings, and he will be a great addition to Bradley’s team, there is no question about that.
Amazingly, Spaun spent the early hours of US Open Sunday at CVS, so that he could nurse his sick child.
Bradley will love that human side of the man from Los Angeles. He will also love the fact that he shot 40 on the front nine at Oakmont but had the character to come back in 32 and win the US Open.
What Keegan Bradley told J.J. Spaun since he won the US Open
Bradley and Spaun met up after the US Open.
Spaun is now sitting in third spot in the U.S Ryder Cup rankings. The 34-year-old will definitely be at Bethpage Black in September.
Team USA captain Bradley will surely be delighted to have the reliable Spaun on his team now.
Spaun sat down to speak with the media on Wednesday ahead of the Travelers Championship.
And he responded when asked whether he has had the chance to sit down with his family and team since his US Open win, and make plans for the future.
He said, “It’s been day by day. I still haven’t really been able to enjoy it and not have any responsibilities. It would be nice to just sit on my couch at home and have the trophy sitting right next to me and watch some SportsCenter or something, but that’s kind of how I like to enjoy things, just kind of vegging out, especially after long weeks on the road and big tournaments. We’re getting closer to what I have in plan for the next few weeks, but just so far taking it day by day“
Spaun then opened up on what Bradley told him when he met up with him after his Oakmont triumph.
The US Open champions explained, “I definitely need to keep the hunger there. I think I will have the hunger just because I want to continue to prove myself, but not prove myself to anybody other than myself, I feel like, and that’s kind of been my biggest barrier throughout my entire career is just trying not to be so hard on myself and not ruining any sort of confidence that I’ve built from all these experiences on my journey as a golfer.
“As long as I keep that up, I think I’ll continue to play well, and obviously winning the U.S. Open is going to be a huge boost to that sort of inner ego, I guess you could say, to keep that self-belief alive and burning.
“Yeah, I need to enjoy this, like Keegan told me that yesterday. He said, you need to enjoy this. Do your best to just enjoy it. It’s easy to kind of let it out the window and get right into the next week and forget about it for a while, but just do your best to enjoy it.
“I’m planning to enjoy it next week, that’s for sure, at least for next week.“
Spaun is in action at the Travelers Championship this week, so he won’t be able to fully enjoy his US Open success until the tournament at TPC River Highlands has finished.
What will J.J. Spaun bring to the Ryder Cup?
Spaun is incredibly consistent.
He will bring superb driving and solid approach play to Bethpage Black in September.
He demonstrated throughout the US Open just how good he is off the tee under pressure.
Here are his stats for the season so far on the PGA Tour:
| Stats | Rank |
| Strokes gained off the tee | 47th |
| Strokes gained approach | 7th |
| Strokes gained putting | 40th |
| Strokes gained total | 9th |
Those numbers are extremely solid.
After his US Open win, and the confidence that comes along with that, he should now go from strength to strength.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
