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JJ Spaun lost out to Rory McIlroy in the playoff of the Players Championship on Monday morning. The final round had dragged on to the next day after being suspended for hours on Sunday afternoon due to thunderstorms.
Spaun won a staggering $2.725M after losing to McIlroy in the playoff. The former had been one of the leaderboard toppers throughout this week. He had been leading the standings going into the final round.
With a $25M prize purse on the line, the golfer had been up against a star-studded field comprising defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Akshay Bhatia, Min Woo Lee among others. He held himself well throughout the tournament and was even in contention to win on the 72nd hole.
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Playing on the extra three holes on Monday, Spaun blundered on the infamous par-3 17th hole that led to McIlroy winning his second Players Championship title. The Northern Irish star won $4.5M in cash prize for winning the 'fifth Major'. The playoff between McIlroy and Spaun was only the sixth one ever held in the Players Championship.
"It's hard to not feel discouraged a little bit" - JJ Spaun
Although Rory McIlroy eventually recorded a resounding win at the Players Championship, one of the highlights of the event this year would surely be JJ Spaun.
He performed consistently well throughout the week. He could have even won the prestigious title on 72nd hole had his 31-foot birdie attempt not stopped a mere inches away from the hole.
It is quite natural for him to feel a bit disappointed after losing in the playoff. However, the 34-year-old is taking back positives from the event.
"It's hard to not feel discouraged a little bit, but nothing but positives in putting myself in contention and giving myself a chance to win in a playoff," he said via Golf Monthly.
He added:
"If someone told me that would happen to start the week, I would totally take it. Nothing but positives to take from it, and hopefully I can just learn from this and get it done next time."
Spaun has won one PGA Tour event so far, which came at the 2022 Valero Texas Open.
