US Open champ Spaun rises to No 8 in world golf rankings
OAKMONT : US Open winner JJ Spaun jumped to No 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) released Monday, a meteoric rise from 109th to begin the season.
Spaun began last week ranked 28th in the OWGR before he scored a two-stroke victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland with consecutive birdies in his final round at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday to win the US Open.
Spaun, 34, has five career victories and held the 54-hole lead at the Sony Open and Players Championship earlier this year. He found the water on the island hole, No 17, at TPC Sawgrass and lost a three-hole playoff to Rory McIlroy at The Players.
The US Open was Spaun's first win since the 2022 Valero Open and put him ahead of the six players ahead of him in the OWGR in earnings this season (US$9.644 million). Only world No 1 Scottie Scheffler (US$15.174 million) and No 2 McIlroy (US$14.221) have taken home more this season.
Americans Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Russell Henley occupy the No 3-6 spots and Sepp Straka is seventh.
Norway's Victor Hovland, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama follow Spaun with US Open runner-up Robert MacIntyre at No 12 and Bryson DeChambeau 13th.
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