J.J. Spaun's reaction to Shane Lowry's comments about holing the crucial putt at the 2025 Ryder Cup summed up exactly why Brandt Snedeker should have taken him to the Presidents Cup.
The decision to leave Spaun off the team has been under the microscope in recent days, with last year's US Open champion going on to win the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour this past week. Spaun had finished 10th in the qualification standings for the Presidents Cup, but saw four players lower down get the nod ahead of him.
Initially, it seemed that injury had been a factor. Spaun did not take part in the Tour Championship, so his omission appeared to be an indication that he would not be ready in time for Medinah.
However, Spaun revealed that his call with Snedeker lasted just 45 seconds . It seems that Snedeker felt that his other picks would simply be better options.
Any player who fails to qualify automatically cannot have too many complaints when they are overlooked. However, Spaun has seemingly paid the price for being an outsider – and that could be a big mistake for Team USA given how passionate he has become about representing his country.
Speaking to Trey Wingo after his Ryder Cup debut last year, Spaun suggested that he could completely understand Shane Lowry 's view that holing the putt to retain the trophy at Bethpage was a bigger achievement than winning a major.
"I do believe after playing the Ryder Cup, I understand the intensity of what it means, to be not only a Ryder Cup-er but to be on that team and to have a chance at winning and representing your country. It meant way more than I ever thought it would," he said.
"Maybe, moving forward, yeah, if I already had a major under my belt, and I'd rather do that, yes, 100 per cent, I'd rather make the winning putt for the Ryder Cup because it's so intense. You're spending every waking hour with these guys. You see what the captains are doing behind the scenes to give you whatever you need, whatever is possible for you to succeed. And obviously, your country is behind you. It's such a huge magnitude of an event that you don't really understand it until you play it.
"If I was asked that question before I was on the Ryder Cup team, I probably would have chosen myself, a self victory over winning the Ryder Cup. I'll never forget we were all right there on the green watching Shane make that putt and it was just, 'God, I wish that was us so badly winning that cup'.
"Yeah [now I would change my answer]. I get it, because it just means so much. We're playing for each other and you get to share it with everyone. Yeah, you get to win the US Open, it's kind of all yours. You win a tournament, you win a Masters, it's just yours. You have your small team and family, but it's like you're sharing this with your country, you're sharing this with your fans, you're sharing this with your teammates. All the hard work, the wives, the families, it's definitely bigger."
It would be unfair to say that the majority of those on Team USA do not care about these events. Those players care deeply about representing their country. However, it has seemed for a long time that the Ryder Cup does not get under the skin in the same way that it does for the Europeans.
You can understand why many players would put majors ahead of the team events. But you absolutely do need to have those figures who start the countdown to the next team event the moment the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup finishes.
Spaun's omission will not hurt Team USA at Medinah. It is hard to see the International Team having any chance of pulling off the upset. But this Presidents Cup is also about building for next year at Adare Manor. There need to be foundations in place that can be built upon over the next 12 months.
Spaun is one of the players this team should have been built around.
