U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun carries momentum to Connecticut

J.J. Spaun’s news conference Wednesday ahead of the Travelers Championship might have been the longest he has sat still since winning the U.S. Open on Sunday.
“It’s been pretty hectic but also very fun,” said Spaun, whose dramatic birdie-birdie finish at Oakmont Country Club gave him a two-stroke win over Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and his first major championship.
“It’s been nice to be given the opportunity to express my feelings, my emotions. A lot of people want to hear from me. I was really grateful to have the opportunity to tell everyone about it,” he said. “So I enjoyed it. It was a fun time.”
Spaun celebrated with a stopover Monday night in New York City, where he had dinner with his family, but said he didn’t get to catch up on his sleep until Tuesday night.
He received congratulations from several celebrities, including actor and comedian George Lopez and Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, and from golfing greats Curtis Strange and Hale Irwin.
Spaun, 34, said he was looking forward to carrying his momentum into the PGA Tour season’s final signature event, which starts on Thursday in Cromwell, Conn.
“Super excited,” he said. “I didn’t get to play here last year. I love the area. I love the course. Such a great course that they have here at TPC River Highlands. Looks like we’re going to have some pretty good weather too, so that’s nice. Just excited to get the week going.”
Spaun, who missed the cut the last two times he was at the Travelers in 2022 and 2023, said he’s still getting used to the idea of being a major champion.
“I still haven’t really been able to enjoy it and not have any responsibilities,” he said. “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.”
Spaun said he wants to savor his breakthrough win without becoming complacent.
“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,” he said.
“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.”