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J.J. Spaun has admitted that nerves were getting to him in the months before his first Ryder Cup appearance at Bethpage Black. It’s unlikely the Ryder Cup was even on J.J. Spaun’s mind heading into 2025. The previous year, he had barely cracked the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings. But then everything changed. He finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship after a playoff and later captured his first major title at Oakmont, sinking a memorable long putt on the final hole that instantly became one of the event’s most iconic moments. That win secured his place in Team USA, but despite being on top of the golf world, Spaun admitted he didn’t feel mentally ready for such a high-pressure environment. Spaun spoke openly about his feelings ahead of Bethpage Black, sharing just how much pressure he felt about making his first Ryder Cup start as a 35-year-old rookie. What Justin Thomas told J.J. Spaun before Bethpage Ryder Cup Spaun’s form didn’t drop off after his major win. Outside of a missed cut at the Scottish Open, he managed to stay inside the top 25 in six out of seven starts. Even with that steady play, Spaun has said on the Straights Facts Homie podcast that it took some encouragement from Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley for him to feel like he was ready to be at Bethpage. “I was stressed going into the Ryder Cup. From the time I talked to Keegan – which was literally the week after the US Open – he was like, ‘you’re on this f’ing team, you’re locked’, although formally I wasn’t, but points-wise, everything I was in. From that point on, all I could think about was the Ryder Cup, how am I going to perform, am I going to be ready, can I handle this? And honestly, leading up to it was just so much stress,” he said. “I tried to put it in the back of my mind, thinking okay, this is three months away, let’s focus on finishing out the season… but it just consumed so much of my mental space,” Spaun added. “The Ryder Cup was the only thing I could think about.” “I just remember telling myself – and that was the other great thing. Yes… that’s kind of been something that I struggle with,” Spaun continued. “But JT and Keegan were like: ‘Dude… you’ve earned your way to this team; you have nothing to be stressed about or be afraid of’.” J.J. Spaun’s performance on his first Ryder Cup appearance Spaun entered 2025 with just one PGA Tour win to his name, so it’s hardly a shock that nerves played a part ahead of the Ryder Cup. His rise to this stage has been swift. He came close to victory at TPC Sawgrass and was part of a thrilling playoff against Justin Rose in Memphis. Spaun now sits sixth in the world rankings. And he was one of the few bright spots for Team USA at Bethpage Black, picking up two points from three matches. There’s an argument he should have seen more action over the weekend. Data Golf had him as the fourth-best American in terms of strokes gained, finishing at +2.27 across his three matches, with Thomas next best at +0.94. Spaun will now look to build on his breakthrough year heading into 2026, and don’t be surprised if he’s part of the team heading to Adare Manor next time around.
