J.J. Spaun was seemingly caught peeking into Rory McIlroy’s bag before his 17th tee shot found the water in their Players Championship play-off. The American challenger triple-bogeyed the difficult par-three, all but sealing his fate.
A stellar few days of golf saw the PGA 57th-ranked Spaun tie up four-time major winner McIlroy on Sunday evening, finishing on -12 and forcing the first playoff at the Players since 2015. In far windier conditions at TPC Sawgrass than that witnessed over the weekend, both were to compete over three holes: the 16th, infamously tricky 17th, and 18th. McIlroy had the honour and brilliantly teed off on 16, sealing a birdie while his opponent putt for par. The Northern Irishman would once again approach first at the next, and while his shot would nestle nicely on the green, Spaun, who was seen taking a peek at perhaps which club McIlroy would be using, overhit through the wind and ended up in the drink – essentially handing his adversary the title with what appeared to be an incorrect equipment choice.
“Well, well, well, I know McIlroy hit a three-quarter shot there. I don’t know if that helped looking in McIlroy’s bag there to see what club he hit there,” said Irish pro Paul McGinley on commentary for Sky Sports Golf at the 17th after Spaun’s shot landed in the water.
“He is a big hitter, but he’s very good at taking loads of club and just chipping it. If you just look at what he did, he took a lot of speed out that swing did McIlroy and Spaun thought he hit a good shot but quite clearly the wrong club.”
Colleague Ewen Murray added: “Little glance into the bag of McIlroy, perhaps not the best idea at the time. You only control what you do.”
Spaun held a solo lead heading into the final round of the Players on Sunday but quickly surrendered that to the chasing pack – of which McIlroy emerged to take a convincing three-shot lead, either side of a disruptive four-hour storm delay.
However, his performance on the back nine quickly went downhill, and the 34-year-old American soon closed. Spaun even had a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th, which could have sealed the championship and its top £3.5million prize, but this came up just short.
The play-off was then played out in relatively anti-climatic fashion, with McIlroy in the ascendency from his stunning 16th approach shot. Both missed the fairway on 18 this time around, and after chipping back on, the three-shot gap was impossible to close, with McIlroy putting home to claim his second-ever Players title, the first coming in 2019.
While those on commentary seemed to suggest that Spaun taking a leaf out of his opponent’s book on the infamously arduous 17th hole caused his downfall, McIlroy put it down to bad luck as he showed some remorse for the 34-year-old’s errant approach shot.
“I feel bad for JJ, he hit a really good shot on 17, and it just went straight through the wind,” said McIlroy. “Unbelievably proud and happy to win my second Players Championship and my third time winning on St Patrick’s Day, so it’s been good luck for me! I’ve worked really hard, and I feel like I’m a way more complete player than I was a few years ago, even in conditions like this.”