J.J. Spaun wins BMW PGA Championship, fires back at US Presidents Cup captain

[p]Just under ‌three weeks after being denied a captain's pick ‌for the Presidents Cup, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/spaun-j-j/6oUJlkde/"]Spaun[/a] birdied four of his last five ‌holes for a five-under 67 that brought him to ‌17 under on the week at Wentworth and left him two shots clear of a quartet of players that included world ‌number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcilroy-rory/djwanksN/"]Rory McIlroy[/a] and former ⁠Masters winner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scott-adam/QkZT3jCc/"]Adam Scott[/a].[/p][p]Spaun, ‌who started the final round one shot off the lead, said ​afterward that the snub fuelled his run to the title.[/p][p][b]"I played with a huge chip on ​my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week," [/b]Spaun told reporters.[b] "But everything happens for a reason. I'm ⁠so delighted to ​be here and just to even play this event."[/b][/p][embed guid="312df037-2eb3-4d57-b0ee-41f805406bfa" url="https://x.com/BMWPGA/status/2101706341651796437?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/snedeker-brandt/fZGcwae8/"]Snedeker[/a] used his six captain's picks on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thomas-justin/jV7EtuiD/"]Justin Thomas[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schauffele-xander/OnIoiVkm/"]Xander Schauffele[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cantlay-patrick/bwQM8qSt/"]Patrick Cantlay[/a] and Presidents Cup rookies [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gotterup-christopher/nVwVk9Kf/"]Chris Gotterup[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bridgeman-jacob/xdp19XIg/"]Jacob Bridgeman[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/koivun-jackson/YThW99ON/"]‌Jackson Koivun[/a].[/p][p]Spaun said he did not message Snedeker after his win, adding that the two haven't spoken. Instead, Spaun let his clubs do the talking.[/p][p][b]"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," [/b]said Spaun.[b] "I took care of my business this week. So all ‌the best to the team next week at Medinah ​and I'll be watching."[/b][/p][p]The 2026 edition of the Presidents ‌Cup, a biennial event that pits a US team against a lineup of international players from outside Europe, will be held at Medinah Country Club's Course No. 3 in Chicago.[/p][p]The US are 13-1-1 in the Ryder Cup-style ⁠competition, with their only ⁠loss coming at Royal ‌Melbourne Golf Club in Australia in 1998.[/p]