After finishing in a share of the lead with Rory McIlroy on Sunday at The Players Championship, J.J Spaun and the four-time Major winner headed into a Monday playoff.
The stage was set for an upset but, after dropping a shot back of McIlroy at the first playoff hole, Spaun found the water at the iconic par 3 17th, with a triple bogey extinguishing any hope of the American lifting the title at TPC Sawgrass.
Speaking after his runner-up finish, which secured the biggest paycheck of his career, Spaun explained how he was "100% committed" to the pivotal shot on the 17th tee box.
"I was committed to the club, committed to the shot shape that I was trying to hit. We were getting numbers on the range with the TrackMan and literally the same wind direction it was flying like 128 yards. It was a perfect club," stated Spaun.
"I hit it, I guess, just too good. Kind of went right through the wind. I almost was telling it in my head to get up because it looked like it was kind of floating.
"I didn't know where it was. I thought it was maybe in the front bunker and Gary told me it was in the water. I hit a great shot. I did what I needed to do. It just didn't work out in my favor."
Claiming one of the best results of his career, aside from his 2022 Valero Texas Open victory, Spaun remains positive for the remainder of the season, a season that has already yielded a tie for third at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a runner-up finish at the Cognizant Classic.
"It's hard to not feel discouraged a little bit, but nothing but positives in putting myself in contention and giving myself a chance to win in a playoff," explained Spaun, who will now move to around 25th in the World Rankings.
"If someone told me that would happen to start the week, I would totally take it. Nothing but positives to take from it, and hopefully I can just learn from this and get it done next time."
