Meet J.J. Spaun: High school, education, career earnings, achievements and more explored ahead of Players Championship 2025 playoff

J.J. Spaun is currently atop the leaderboard at the Players Championship 2025 after four rounds. The 34-year-old is tied with Rory McIlroy and will face him in the playoff on Monday, March 17, on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Spaun was born to John and Dollie Spaun in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. He did his high school at San Dimas High School in California. He was a four-year varsity letterwinner, four-time San Antonio League MVP and was named the school's 2008 Athlete of the Year.

He attended college at San Diego State University from 2009 to 2012, majoring in social science. He played collegiate golf during his time at the university and earned a full scholarship.

J.J. Spaun turned professional in 2012 and joined PGA Tour Canada in 2013. He advanced to the Korn Ferry Tour after one win and seven top-10 finishes in 2015. In 23 starts, he had one win and seven top-10 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished third on the points list, advancing to the PGA Tour.

J.J. Spaun's first PGA Tour win came at the 2022 Valero Texas Open. He won the tournament at TPC San Antonio by two strokes over Matt Jones and Matt Kuchar. In 227 starts on the PGA Tour, J.J. Spaun has made 143 cuts with 23 top-10 finishes. He has career earnings of $15,035,567, as per the PGA Tour.

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A look at J.J. Spaun's record on the PGA Tour

J.J. Spaun turned professional in 2012 and joined the PGA Tour in 2017 after playing on the PGA Tour Canada and the Korn Ferry Tour. He has played in 227 tournaments on the PGA Tour and made the cut in 143 of them. He has one win, 10 top-5 finishes and 23 top-10 finishes.

Spaun's win came at the 2022 Valero Texas Open, where he won by two strokes over Matt Jones and Matt Kuchar. He has had two runner-up finishes, which came at the 2025 Cognizant Classic and in 2017 at the RSM Classic. He is currently ranked 57th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

Let's take a look at JJ Spaun's best performances in his golf career:

• 2022 Valero Texas Open: 1 (PGA Tour)
• 2025 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches: T2 (PGA Tour)
• 2017 The RSM Classic: 2 (PGA Tour)
• 2024 Wyndham Championship: T3 (PGA Tour)
• 2025 Sony Open in Hawaii: T3 (PGA Tour)
• 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open: T4 (PGA Tour)
• 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic: T3 (PGA Tour)
• 2016 News Sentinel Open: 1 (Korn Ferry Tour)
• 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson: T3 (PGA Tour)
• 2021 Albertsons Boise Open: T2 (Korn Ferry Tour)
• 2017 RBC Heritage: T6 (PGA Tour)
• 2018 Barracuda Championship: T3 (PGA Tour)
• 2016 Utah Championship: 2 (Korn Ferry Tour)
• 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions: T5 (PGA Tour)
• 2017 Farmers Insurance Open: T9 (PGA Tour)
• 2016 Air Capital Classic: T2 (Korn Ferry Tour)
• 2018 The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges: T10 (PGA Tour)
• 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic: T8 (PGA Tour)
• 2023 WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play: T9 (PGA Tour)
• 2015 Staal Foundation Open: 1 (PGA Tour Canada)