Virginia Water (United Kingdom) (AFP) – JJ Spaun birdied four of the final five holes to claim the European Tour’s PGA Championship on Sunday with Rory McIlroy among those tied for second. The 2025 US Open champion began the final day at Wentworth a shot off the overall lead but seemed to slip out of contention when he was just one under for his round through 13 holes.
But a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th catapulted him up the leaderboard, and another birdie on the final hole gave him the outright lead at 17 under. McIlroy’s own late charge was not enough as he finished alongside Aaron Rai, Manuel Elvira, and Adam Scott, two shots off the lead. Elvira eagled the 17th to join Spaun at the summit, but the Spaniard suffered a double bogey on the last to miss out on his first European Tour victory.
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Spaun became just the third American to win this title behind Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel and admitted he was fueled by being left out of the USA team for the Presidents Cup next weekend. “I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason,” said Spaun.
“I wanted to prove that I deserved to be on that team. I took care of my business this week, so all the best to my mates next week at Medinah, but I’ll be on the couch watching,” added the world number 17.
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