J.J. Spaun’s U.S. Open victory at Oakmont Country Club last month was one of the ultimate “nobody saw this coming” triumphs in recent golf history. Well, nobody except 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.
At the Genesis Scottish Open on Wednesday, Spaun reflected on what it’s been like to strut around as a major champion over the last few weeks. They say everything changes when you win a PGA Tour event, but everything really changes when you win a major.
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“It’s been a complete 180,” Spaun said. “I’ve been out here for eight, nine years now, and you see the same guys but you kind of notice a little bit of change in tone or I guess more of like respect.”
Oddly enough, Spaun got some serious respect from the Golden Bear before his U.S. Open triumph. The week before, to be exact. Spaun was playing in Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village where the 18-time major champion randomly stopped him for a chat. This was strange to Spaun, who said he had never engaged Nicklaus before that.
That’s when things got even weirder.
“He [Nicklaus] just said I was playing really well,” Spaun said. “I said, ‘Yeah, it would have been nice to win.’ He’s like, ‘You keep knocking on that door, you’re going to knock one down.’
“And, literally, the next week that [the U.S. Open] happened.”
Spaun told this wild story after being asked what the coolest moment has been post-major win. He mentioned a letter he received from Nicklaus, who mentioned in the letter their exchange at the Memorial Tournament. Legends doing legendary stuff, per usual. By the way, Jack, maybe a nice heads up for all us gamblers out there next time. Wouldn’t hurt.
