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J.J. Spaun hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Monday, June 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
David J. Phillip\/AP Photo\/David J. Phillip<\/p>\n
J.J. Spaun hits from the bunker on the 11th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Monday, June 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
David J. Phillip\/AP Photo\/David J. Phillip<\/p>\n
J.J. Spaun lines up a putt on the 10th hole during a practice round for the U.S.Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, N.Y., Monday, June 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
David J. Phillip\/AP Photo\/David J. Phillip<\/p>\n
J.J. Spaun walks to green on the 12th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Monday, June 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
David J. Phillip\/AP Photo\/David J. Phillip<\/p>\n
J.J. Spaun hits from the 18th tee during the second round of the Memorial golf tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Friday, June 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sue Ogrocki\/AP Photo\/Sue Ogrocki<\/p>\n
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Defending U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun started thinking he had to become a \u201cperfect golfer\u201d to validate last year\u2019s success. It only made his game worse.<\/p>\n
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Now he\u2019s back at the U.S. Open with the same mindset that drove him to the best season of his career, highlighted by his major championship, two wins in his Ryder Cup debut and a top-10 ranking.<\/p>\n
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He’s got nothing to lose.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to just forget about trying to be this perfect golfer that I thought I was last year, when in reality I just was doing the same things,\u201d Spaun said Monday ahead of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.<\/p>\n
Spaun, 35, missed three cuts in his first five events this year and finished no better than 40th in the other two before a mental reset at The Players Championship in March. He finished tied for 24th and, three weeks later, won the Valero Texas Open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just was mentally a little bit more nice to myself, I guess, and not so worried about being perfect,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cThat\u2019s what led to better golf.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Spaun has had two top-10 finishes in his last four events coming into the U.S. Open, tying for fifth at the Truist, sixth at the Charles Schwab and 12th at the Memorial.<\/p>\n
But he missed cuts at both majors. At the PGA Championship last month at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia, he squandered an even-par start with a 6-over par second round and missed the cut by two strokes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got too caught up in thinking I was the only one putting poorly,” Spaun said. \u201cBut apparently everyone was three-putting. I think if I would have just accepted that, I would have done less three-putting and maybe it would have been a different week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spaun said he’s worked to improve his putting technique and has seen improvement in how the ball rolls off the face of his club. He spent more than an hour practicing putting on Monday at Shinnecock Hills, where notoriously fast, sloping greens had been tempered \u2014 for now \u2014 by overnight rain.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve seen some good rounds with that feel the last couple weeks at Colonial and Memorial,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cI\u2019m definitely trending on the upside with the putter.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Spaun’s putter that won the U.S. Open last year at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. He sank a 65-foot putt to take the tournament by two strokes over Scotland\u2019s Robert MacIntyre.<\/p>\n
Even in winning, Spaun wasn’t perfect. He shot a 5-over-par 40 on the front nine before a 90-minute weather delay gave him a chance to regroup. He was eight strokes better on the back nine.<\/p>\n
Back then, Spaun really had nothing to lose.<\/p>\n
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A journeyman for most of eight full PGA Tour seasons, he was in danger of being relegated from the tour a year before his U.S. Open triumph. Then he changed his game and his mindset with help from his daughter\u2019s incessant playing of the song \u201cLet it Go\u201d from the movie \u201cFrozen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole \u2018Let It Go,\u2019 that was definitely a mantra that I had kind of all year,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cI felt like I didn\u2019t have anything to lose. That was what kind of carried me with this confidence, without being in those situations in the past is like, well, I have nothing to lose. It\u2019s kind of easy to play that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
After winning, Spaun said, \u201cit was the complete opposite of letting it go. I put more pressure on myself, put way more emphasis on outcome instead of just focusing on my process.”<\/p>\n
Going into this year’s tournament, Spaun said he’s \u201ctrying to do the exact same thing, same blueprint,\u201d as last year. That means having his wife and daughters by his side and living in the moment, with nothing to lose.<\/p>\n
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By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all kind of just hanging out and just trying to have fun and enjoy,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cThe biggest thing for me this week is to really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n