J.J. Spaun relying on resilience entering US Open title defense
J.J. Spaun says he’s trying to replicate the same blueprint that delivered him to the U.S. Open title last year. Unfortunately, his daughter is following suit.
Spaun spent the early hours of Father’s Day 2025 finding a CVS to get medicine for one of his daughters, who had a stomach bug and was vomiting. That was hours before Spaun shot a final-round 72 and made a 64-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to win his first major.
Speaking to reporters Monday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Spaun was asked if he had two healthy kids this week. Forthright as usual, Spaun said his older daughter Emerson had “been through the ringer” lately.
“She broke her collarbone at the Truist (Championship), so like a month ago at the daycare,” Spaun said. “Then she had a tooth pulled on Wednesday, poor thing.”
Ironically, Spaun referred to “taking your medicine” soon after that, but in the figurative sense.
Resilience, he said, would be the asset he hopes to carry over from Oakmont to Shinnecock Hills as he eyes a repeat this week.
“It was nice to get off to a really hot start in the first round, but I think that’s the biggest thing at U.S. Opens is being resilient, taking all the punches that are thrown at you, taking your medicine,” Spaun said.
“It’s not going to be easy golf. It’s not going to be ho-hum, very boring golf. But the way I persevered and was resilient last year, I’ve been trying to use that since then, as well.”
Spaun has maintained his position as a top-10 golfer in the world rankings with some respectable play this year, including a victory at the Valero Texas Open in April. But he has missed the cut at the first two majors of 2026.
Spaun pointed to the greens at Aronimink Golf Club, the site of the PGA Championship, as his downfall.
“I just think I got a little caught up in the putting portion of Aronimink,” he said. “My putting has been very hot and cold this year. That’s kind of been the only thing holding me back.
“I got too caught up in, like, thinking I was the only one putting poorly at Aronimink, but apparently everyone was, like, three-putting. I think if I would have just accepted that, I would have done less of three-putting, and maybe it would have been a different week.”
It was another example of Spaun’s mental game being at the center of his result, whether good or bad.
Spaun, 35, said becoming a major champion had flipped the script from playing with nothing to lose to playing like he had to validate his newfound ranking and achievements.
He took inspiration from -- where else -- his daughter, and the key phrase from one of her favorite Disney movies, “Frozen.”
“Yeah, the whole ‘Let It Go,’ that was definitely a mantra that I had kind of all year,” Spaun said.
“... I felt like every week at the start of the year I had to be that guy that needed to show up and play well and kind of validate where I was in the world rankings and what I had achieved this season. So it was the complete opposite of letting it go. I put more pressure on myself, put way more emphasis on outcome instead of just focusing on my process.
“It was a nice corner I turned at The Players (Championship) where I tried to just forget about trying to be this perfect golfer that I thought I was last year, when in reality I just was doing the same things. I just was mentally a little bit more nice to myself, I guess, and not so worried about being perfect. That’s what led to better golf.”
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 3:49 PM.