logo
Varying vibes as J.J. Spaun and Rory McIlroy head to Monday Players playoff

Varying vibes as J.J. Spaun and Rory McIlroy head to Monday Players playoff

NBC Sports17-03-2025

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Well, obviously, this thing was over.
In a span of seven minutes Sunday at The Players Championship, J.J. Spaun went from one shot behind to three back after a bogey-birdie flip with Rory McIlroy up ahead.
It was a nice run for Spaun, wasn't it? A 34-year-old journeyman type who had played his way into the biggest spot of his career. Claimed the 54-hole lead. Impressed fans with his grit and game, with his likable demeanor, with his relatable daily struggle. But now that story, his story, was predictably coming to an end – after a four-hour weather delay, he made a mess of the par-5 11th and seemed too far behind, with too few holes left, to catch the No. 2 player in the world.
'I kind of went with the odds,' Spaun said. 'I had nothing to lose.'
And so Spaun started committing to his shots. Trusting his swing. Too many times in his career, he admits, he has lacked the necessary self-belief and conviction to challenge for the biggest titles in the game.
'I've just kind of been afraid of being in that spotlight, being in that pressure, being worried about failure,' he said.
It's something that recent PGA Tour winner Thomas Detry admitted, too. That he was so afraid of getting into the lead and failing that he decided he'd rather not even be in that spot at all. It wasn't until Detry proved himself last month at the WM Phoenix Open, ripping off four birdies in a row to win, that he truly understood just how flawed that logic was.
Spaun is starting to come to grips with that, too.
On the par-4 14th, the hardest hole on the course – the same hole that, in the previous group, McIlroy had sailed his drive way right and taken bogey – Spaun began to fight back, taking dead aim and knocking his approach to a foot for a kick-in birdie.
One back.
Brentley Romine,
On 16 – the same hole that, in the previous group, McIlroy had settled for par after a so-so chip – Spaun hit a perfect drive around the corner, missed in the correct spot left of the green and pitched to a foot.
Now, he was tied.
Two consecutive pars to close, in near darkness, helped propel Spaun into an unlikely spot: a three-hole aggregate playoff with McIlroy. The overtime period, beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Golf Channel, will cover three of the most daunting holes in golf, Nos. 16-18 on the Stadium Course, and Spaun just proved that he's up for the challenge.
'I showed myself that I don't have to shy away from the moment,' he said.
Afterward, McIlroy seemed to be wondering how he even found himself in the playoff to begin with.
No, he didn't play perfectly down the stretch – his drive on 14 was miles right, and he twice was fooled by reads over the final hour in the fading daylight. But he also didn't get many breaks. A foot further left, his tee shot on 13 easily could have caught the ridge and funneled down toward the cup. His tee shot on the par-5 16th barely found the right rough. His wedge on 17 came to rest against the collar and made for an awkward 13-footer up the hill.
After taking a three-shot lead, he played the remaining six holes in 1 over par.
'I feel like I had a chance to go home with the trophy tonight,' he said. 'But I'll get a good night's sleep and reset and try to win it tomorrow.'
It's just five full swings, and McIlroy should have every conceivable advantage.
With his powerful draw, McIlroy should be able to sling it 30 yards past Spaun on the reachable par-5 16th and require less club off the tee on the watery 18th. He's been significantly tighter with his approach play this week. He holds a 5-0 advantage in the number of Tour playoffs contested, and he has more than a decade of match-play experience to hold over his opponent. Fans who show up for the Monday morning restart will almost certainly be rooting for one of the game's most popular players.
'Everyone expects him to win. I don't think a lot of people expect me to win,' Spaun said. 'But I expect myself to win. That's all I care about.'
Rory McIlroy describes how he feels after finishing in a tie at the top of The Players Championship leaderboard and whether he was paying attention to the final stretch of J.J. Spaun's fourth round.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

2025 U.S. Open picks: Three long-shot bets to win at Oakmont
2025 U.S. Open picks: Three long-shot bets to win at Oakmont

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

2025 U.S. Open picks: Three long-shot bets to win at Oakmont

Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. Scottie Scheffler may be a decisive favorite (+280) to win the 2025 U.S. Open, but this tournament has all the right ingredients for chaos. As well as Scheffler has played lately, the U.S. Open has a habit of humbling even the most in-form golfers. And this version of the tournament, which is being played at the notoriously difficult Oakmont Country Club in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, should do just that. This is the 10th time that Oakmont will play host to the U.S. Open, and in the last two iterations, this track chewed up the field. Dustin Johnson won the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont with a final score of 4-under par and was one of five players in the red after 72 holes that year. Nine years prior, Angel Cabrera won at Oakmont with a final score of 5-over par. In other words, you should be preparing for maximum chaos in Western PA this week. That should be music to your ears if you're someone who likes to have a flutter on a long shot or two at major championships. Even better news is the fact that so much value will be sucked up by Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau (+700), and Rory McIlroy (11/1), that you're going to get some whopper prices on players with actual winning upside. Can Patrick Reed tame Oakmont with his fantastic short game? Getty Images 2025 U.S. Open long-shot picks Aaron Rai (125/1, Caesars) It makes sense to target two specific types of players when looking for a long shot this week. The first group is players who do a solid job of avoiding trouble with a strong game off the tee. That's Aaron Rai's music. Ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour this season in driving accuracy, Rai has had a year with plenty of ups and downs. He's got four top-15 finishes this season, but he's also missed four cuts, including in each of his last two outings. More encouraging, however, is the fact that Rai has had some strong performances in the toughest events on the calendar. He finished T19 at the PGA Championship, T14 at THE PLAYERS, and T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. If you think the key to success in this tournament is to grind out something around even par, Rai should be on your card. Patrick Reed (125/1, BetRivers) The second type of skillset I'll be looking for this week is the ability to get out of trouble with some short-game magic. Patrick Reed has that in spades. The greens at Oakmont are going to be quick and challenging, but Reed's touch on and around the dance floor should give him a leg up over most of the field. Sungjae Im (125/1, Caesars) There does seem to be a bit of a correlation between Oakmont and Augusta National, which is why this could be a good week to have some exposure to Sungjae Im. The South Korean has three top-10 finishes at Augusta, including a T2 in 2020 and a T5 this April. Like Rai, Im's accuracy off the tee should keep him out of trouble, so long as the rest of his game is working. Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.

2025 U.S. Open Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage
2025 U.S. Open Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

2025 U.S. Open Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage

2025 U.S. Open Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage The 2025 U.S. Open will happen June 12-15 at Oakmont CC (par-70, 7,372 yards) in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champion. Ryan Fox shot -18 to win the RBC Canadian Open, with Sam Burns taking second place at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. We have what you need to know going into the first round of the 2025 U.S. Open, including player tee times, plus TV and streaming info. Watch the PGA Tour all season long without cable! Start watching now on Fubo. And catch PGA Tour Live streaming, plus tons of other live sports and programming, with ESPN+. Tee times and pairings Hole 10 Round 1 TV & streaming information You can watch USA Network and more on Fubo. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming.

U.S. Open 2025: Second-round tee times, groupings and featured groups Friday at Oakmont
U.S. Open 2025: Second-round tee times, groupings and featured groups Friday at Oakmont

NBC Sports

timean hour ago

  • NBC Sports

U.S. Open 2025: Second-round tee times, groupings and featured groups Friday at Oakmont

The 125th U.S. Open continues Friday at Oakmont Country Club. Peacock and NBC will have live action with these featured groups exclusively on Peacock (all times EDT; click here for Thursday's tee times): MORNING FEATURED GROUPS 7:18 a.m.: Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka 7:29 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson 7:40 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler AFTERNOON FEATURED GROUPS 1:03 p.m.: Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama 1:14 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau 1:25 p.m.: Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy Golf Channel Staff, Here are the full tee times from the second round in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Will Chandler Andrea Pavan Takumi Kanaya Frederic LaCroix Emiliano Grillo Sam Bairstow Bryan Lee (a) Guido Migliozzi Preston Summerhays Byeong Hun An Joe Highsmith Ryan Fox Erik van Rooyen Max Greyserman Matt Wallace Victor Perez Jacob Bridgeman Adam Schenk Russell Henley Christiaan Bezuidenhout Nick Taylor Min Woo Lee Justin Thomas Brooks Koepka Jordan Spieth Jon Rahm Dustin Johnson Sam Burns Nico Echavarria Denny McCarthy Tyrrell Hatton Sungjae Im Sepp Straka Viktor Hovland Collin Morikawa Scottie Scheffler Cameron Young Tom Hoge J.T. Poston Corey Conners Jason Day Patrick Reed Jhonattan Vegas Michael Kim Matthieu Pavon Joaquin Niemann Bud Cauley Daniel Berger Marc Leishman Aaron Rai Nick Dunlap Mackenzie Hughes Tony Finau Chris Kirk Matthew Jordan Yuta Sugiura Carlos Ortiz Benjamin James (a) Rasmus Højgaard Stephan Jaeger Ryan McCormick Trevor Cone Zach Pollo (a) Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen Justin Hastings (a) Laurie Canter James Nicholas Tyler Weaver (a) Riki Kawamoto Frankie Harris (a) Emilio Gonzalez R. Roberto Díaz Austen Truslow Harrison Ott George Duangmanee Grant Haefner Joey Herrera George Kneiser Zac Blair Scott Vincent Alistair Docherty Matt Vogt (a) Kevin Velo Trent Phillips Jacques Kruyswijk Jordan Smith Eric Cole Chandler Blanchet Alvaro Ortiz Doug Ghim Tom Kim J.J. Spaun Taylor Pendrith Evan Beck (a) Maxwell Moldovan Justin Hicks Ludvig Åberg Adam Scott Hideki Matsuyama Harris English Tommy Fleetwood Keegan Bradley Ben Griffin Andrew Novak Maverick McNealy Xander Schauffele Jose Luis Ballester Bryson DeChambeau Shane Lowry Justin Rose Rory McIlroy Matt Fitzpatrick Wyndham Clark Gary Woodland Patrick Cantlay Si Woo Kim Lucas Glover Akshay Bhatia Matt McCarty Robert MacIntyre Cameron Smith Brian Harman Phil Mickelson Cam Davis Davis Thompson Thomas Detry Niklas Norgaard Brian Campbell Justin Lower Richard Bland Trevor Gutschewski (a) Lanto Griffin Davis Riley Jackson Koivun (a) Johnny Keefer Edoardo Molinari Sam Stevens Ryan Gerard James Hahn Mark Hubbard Michael La Sasso (a) Thriston Lawrence Noah Kent (a) Thorbjørn Olesen Joakim Lagergren Mason Howell (a) Chris Gotterup Jinichiro Kozuma Cameron Tankersley (a) Chase Johnson Zach Bauchou Jackson Buchanan Lance Simpson (a) Philip Barbaree, Jr. Riley Lewis Brady Calkins

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store