If Rory McIlroy is to claim his biggest win in six years, he will need to prevail in a Monday play-off against a journeyman whose resilience would put most boulders to shame.
As a 12-year pro who has never finished higher than 23rd in a major, JJ Spaun, 34, won’t be excessively familiar to the casual audience, but across four days he has made quite a name for himself at the Players Championship.
That goes as much for his surge from left-field to lead the tournament after three rounds as it does the way he fought back from three behind McIlroy on the inward nine on Sunday to force Monday’s showdown. Reconvening at 9am for a three-hole shootout, he will need to hope his world ranking of 57 is no indicator of the outcome against a man stationed 55 rungs higher.
That they tied on 12 under was a story of McIlroy’s retrieval from a four-shot overnight deficit to Spaun, but there was also the nagging thought that he let an opportunity slip, given he was three clear through 12.
In carding a 68, either side of a four-hour suspension due to lightning, McIlroy still had a fine day, but the tie with Spaun was down to the Californian’s sheer refusal to fade away. He was two over after eight holes and watched a McIlroy-shaped train speed by, but the 34-year-old simply would not relent and his 72, built on a 35 on the inward half, did enough to force the play-off. Gutsy doesn’t cover it.
From here, much will depend on McIlroy’s ability to close, as ever. Plenty has been said on that theme in the 11 years since his last victory in a major, but it is too often overlooked how much he has won on the stages beneath. Of those titles collected in the intervening period, his triumph here in 2019 remains the grandest.
Rory McIlroy faces a Monday playoff against a 12-year pro who has never finished higher than 23rd in a major
He is tied for the lead at the Players Championship after a fine day, but his opponent will not fade away
That opponent is Californian JJ Spaun, who is ranked 57 in the world and has never been in this situation before
Irrespective of whether the Players Championship still deserves its branding as the ‘fifth major’, a repeat on Monday would be a considerable feat, not least as a signifier of form ahead of the Masters next month.
‘All day it was a bit of a battle,’ said McIlroy. ‘I am standing here thinking I should be home with the trophy tonight. But I will reset and hopefully leave with it tomorrow.’
Spaun said: ‘I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I put a lot of faith in myself. The break we had with the weather helped me come out with a different mindset. I was watching Rory’s scores the entire time, so I wasn’t in a position where I could make many mistakes. I will have another chance tomorrow.’
Starting four back of Spaun on Sunday, McIlroy had the psychological edge of being the only member of the world’s top 30 among the frontrunners. To unsettle the three men ahead of him – Spaun, Bud Cauley and Lucas Glover – a quick charge from the gate was necessary and the Northern Irishman delivered with a birdie at the first.
A 228-yard approach to 10 feet then set up an eagle on the second and he was soon in a share of the lead with Spaun on 11 under after the Californian, in the group behind, bogeyed the fifth.
A pull-hook on approach to the seventh green saw McIlroy drop a stroke, but he regained it from 15 feet at the next. An up-and-down from the rough for birdie on the 11th took him to 12 under and the outright lead for the first time in the tournament and he was one clear of Spaun when the lightning storms began.
Resuming on softer greens, McIlroy birdied the 12th to go 13 under and a Spaun bogey opened a three-shot lead. With it came the loaded question of whether McIlroy would have the composure to seal the deal.
The initial answer was a little familiar – a ballooned drive into the right-hand rough on the 14th led to a bogey and a reminder that his game off the tee has been inconsistent this week. It also opened a door for Spaun, who effected a two-shot swing with a birdie a few minutes later, and watched as McIlroy missed chances from seven and 11 feet on 15 and 16.
McIlroy, meanwhile, was of the belief that he should have won the trophy before the playoff
With the possibility of a Monday play-off across three holes coming into view, McIlroy, who had birdied the 18th three times from three this week, sided with caution and took on the 472-yard, water-lined par four with a two-iron. A nine-iron from 181 yards spun well short, setting up a four, while Spaun had escaped with par on 17 after leaving himself in range of a three-putt.
Spaun, with just one PGA Tour win to his name and never higher than 23rd in a major, played the 18th knowing a birdie would bring the biggest win of his career. To do so, he needed to stay dry off the tee but over-corrected and crept off the right of the fairway into wood chippings. That was a tricky spot, but he hit the middle of the green.
With a 30-footer for the title, he came up two inches short, setting up a Monday reunion.
