Q. Many, many congratulations on winning the 2026 BMW PGA Championship. Iconic event. World-class field. Fantastic golf course, brilliant crowds and your debut performance. What does this victory mean to you?
JJ SPAUN: It means so much. You know, I've kind of blossomed into this player I never thought I could be, and to take my game across the world, and more specifically here in England, a place that's dear to my family's heart, we vacation here quite a bit.
The stars kind of aligned this week for me to come out on top, and I'm just grateful to have the opportunity and play and play well and give myself a chance and came out with a W.
Q. There are always key shots in a final round and you birdied four of the last five. Which were the key shots for you today?
JJ SPAUN: I think when I hit it really tight on 14, the par 3, I missed a short one on 13. I didn't birdie 12. And last I saw of the leaderboard was that Aaron was at 16 with still a couple to play. Just started free-wheeling it and hit it as close as I can.
I made some really nice putts on 15 and 16, as well. Had a close one on 17. Just didn't make the putt.
18 has been good to me all week, even in the practice round. Had a good feeling going into that hole, and took 4 there and took my chances.
Q. So much can happen in the closing stretch, especially here at Wentworth, what were your emotions knowing the whole championship was on the line?
JJ SPAUN: I knew the whole day I had to stay patient because of the closing stretch at Wentworth because you could go eagle, eagle and you could also go bogey, bogey.
I just kept telling myself to stay patient, be as close as you can without forcing too many errors early on, after bogeying the first hole, I kind of rebounded with a couple nice birdies. The back nine has been good to me. I played better on the back nine. I knew once I could get through the front I could makeup some ground.
Q. You said you were playing with a chip on your shoulder because you had not been selected for the Presidents Cup. Did you send Brandt Snedeker a message today?
JJ SPAUN: No, I have not. We haven't spoken.
But yeah, I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week. But everything happens for a reason. I'm so delighted to be here and just to even play this event.
I've always wanted to play for the longest of time. The extra motivation, I think that is the willpower that you kind of have. And being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple weeks ago was very disappointing, and you know, I wanted to prove that I deserve to be on that team. I took care of my business this week. So all the best to the team next week at Medinah and I'll be watching.
Q. Your wife told you you would be playing in front of a special guest today. She was walking around with a mask of Jeremy Clarkson. What's that about?
JJ SPAUN: We've grown fond of him, along with the English culture, we actually take holidays in December in the Cotswolds, and we really enjoy his show. I went to his pub, The Farmer's Dog, with the hopes to catch a glimpse of him but he wasn't around.
Yeah, she said we would have a surprise guest following this week if I competed in the tournament and sure enough it was Friday morning, Thursday morning, I see the face of Jeremy Clarkson and her holding it. Jeremy was there in spirit and I think he brought me good fortune.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports