Heading into the U.S. Open the betting favorites were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning champion Bryson DeChambeau followed by a cadre of other elite golfers like Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm.
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The leader after Day 1, though, was none other than one-time PGA Tour winner J.J. Spaun. The longtime PGA Tour professional isn’t a household name – at least to non-golf fans – but his game has been trending in the right direction this season.
He made the cut at the Masters back in April before finishing 50th. Spaun followed that up with a made cut at the PGA Championship where he finished in a tie for 37th before a t-6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge the following week.
Earlier in the season he went toe-to-toe with McIlroy at the Players Championship where he lost in a playoff. Needless to say, Spaun has plenty of game, but no one thought he’d be leading the year’s third major after Round 1.
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He carded four birdies in his first nine holes before finishing his round with 10 straight pars to sit in the clubhouse with a one-shot lead. Spaun’s plan of attack at the golf course might be helped by a rule his wife, Melody, made for him – no more than five hours at the golf course.
“It was good,” he told Golf.com back in 2023. “Maybe I should stick to it. Five hours allotment of like, OK, you get five hours. You got to be back by this time, because sometimes I can get like stuck out here for a long time.”
Spaun admitted the new process helps make him more productive. “I don’t mess around and fraternize or socialize with everyone. Kind of just do my thing. Get it in there,” he said.
The couple married in 2019 and has two children together, Emerson and Violet.
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Spaun admitted there would be an adjustment on his five-hour time allotment if needed.
“So it’s going to be hard. She said, well, yeah, if you start missing some cuts, we can adjust; we can add a couple hours there. This is, these are the conversations I have. I’m not even joking. I mean, this is how, our marriage, we don’t, you know, it doesn’t get too sideways. Happy wife, happy life,” he said.
After capping off a bogey-free round, it seems like the process is working just fine.
