J.J. Spaun hasn’t been congratulated every second since winning the U.S. Open last month — but it’s seemingly been close, as evidenced at last week’s Scottish Open, where he was asked the last time someone applauded him for his victory.
“Two seconds ago,” Spaun said.
Such is life when you win, you win your first major and when you break through, all of which Spaun achieved. Before the U.S. Open, the 13-year pro had won just once on the PGA Tour, but he birdied his 71st and 72nd holes at Oakmont and finished as the only player to break par for the week.
Still, Spaun’s had to climb. When asked last week about goal-setting, he described his ascent this way:
“I need to play the AJGA and win so I can get a scholarship to play in college and win out there so I can gain some sort of traction professionally and get starts there. It’s just always like, I just played and progressed, one foot in front of the other. And next thing you know, I am playing Division I; and next thing you know, I am turning pro and getting hope to chase the dream; and next thing you know, I’m on Korn Ferry; and next thing you know, I’m on Tour.”
And now he’s a major winner — and a major winner who opened the week of his major win with longer odds, due in part to his journey. Spaun started the U.S. Open with 100-1 odds to win, according to golfodds.com — and he makes you at least think that someone similar could do something similar at this week’s Open Championship.
Whom could that be? Some ideas are below, where members of our staff have each made a long-shot selection to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. It’s an enjoyable endeavor for us. Deploy it as you wish.
On to our analysis.
2000 && fx == 1) {
$('.footer-post').css({'position': 'absolute',})
}
});