In his first appearance at the BMW PGA Championship, J.J. Spaun wasted no time making history. The 2025 U.S. Open champion became the third American to claim the trophy at the DP World Tour’s flagship event, joining Billy Horschel and Arnold Palmer, as he fended off a ferocious pack of European players Sunday at Wentworth.
Spaun played his final five holes in 4 under to post the clubhouse lead at 17 under. In doing so, he usurped the advantage that was possessed by Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Adam Scott, all of whom sat at 15 under. That is the same number Manuel Elvira had on his scorecard with two holes to play.
The Spaniard played the 71st hole to absolute perfection as he rolled in an eagle-3 to draw square with Spaun, who was already in the clubhouse. However, as easy as the par-5 17th came to him, the par-5 18th did not. After taking an iron off the tee and finding the fairway, Elvira made the peculiar decision to lay up and did so by striking his second into a fairway bunker.
From there, he played his third long of the green, received free relief from the grandstands and dumped his fourth into the greenside bunker. He ultimately made a double-bogey 7 to boot away a chance at claiming the biggest title of his career and fall into a share of second-place with those mentioned at 15 under.
“Devastating that I hit the wrong shot at the right time on the layup and left myself the toughest shot in the fairway bunker and wasn’t able to pull it off,” Elvira said.
Spaun noted that the win came courtesy of “a huge chip” on his shoulder. After withdrawing from the Tour Championship due to discomfort in, coincidentally, his shoulder, the Ryder Cup participant was passed over for the U.S. Presidents Cup team by captain Brandt Snedeker.
The victory represents Spaun’s second of the year — all in his last 16 worldwide starts.
“I played with a huge chip on my shoulder,” Spaun said. “I definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason. I’m so delighted to be here and just even play this event. I’ve always wanted to play for the longest of times.
“Extra motivation, I think that is the willpower that you have. Determination is such a strong factor, and being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple weeks ago was very disappointing. I wanted to prove that I deserved to be on that team, and I took care of my business this week. So all the best to my mates next week at Medinah, but I’ll be on the couch watching.”
While Americans shift their focus to the Presidents Cup against the International team next week, Europeans will remain fixed on the Race to Dubai. It is in this season-long race that Patrick Reed attempts to hold off a charging McIlroy, who has just about drawn even with the American.
Reed was forced to withdraw on Friday after striking a tree root in the second round, while McIlroy’s runner-up result gave him a boost of points with three tournaments remaining in his season.
“I’m excited,” McIlroy said. “I have three events until the end of my DP World Tour season. I’m not sure what Patrick’s schedule looks like coming up, but I feel like I have enough opportunities.
“And I’m going back to a golf course in India that I played for the first time last year, so I’ll know it a little bit better, and then going to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where I had a lot of success in my career. Excited for the opportunity, and it would be obviously amazing to match Monty’s record.”