RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
J.J. Spaun withdrew from the Tour Championship after playing just five holes on Thursday.
Spaun entered the week at East Lake sitting in 22nd position on the FedEx Cup points list.
The 36-year-old from Los Angeles, California, has one win to his name this year, as well as four top-10 finishes.
Spaun’s win at the Valero Texas Open earlier this year validated his victory at the US Open in 2025.
Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images
He would have been really hopeful of playing well this week at East Lake.
However, J.J. Spaun ‘s season ended prematurely on Thursday after he was forced to withdraw from the Tour Championship .
J.J. Spaun reveals why he withdrew from Tour Championship
Spaun spoke to reporters immediately after leaving the course at East Lake on Thursday.
He responded when asked why he was forced to call it quits so early on during his round.
“ I woke up Tuesday morning with like a little sharp pain in my right shoulder blade, “ Spaun said.
“ It’s actually kind of — it’s happened to me before, but it’s never persisted this long. Me and my physio, we kind of worked through it and hit some balls Tuesday. It flared up pretty bad. I couldn’t play any holes after hitting balls for about 45 minutes.
“ Wednesday I figured it would be a lot better. It kind of was. I couldn’t move my neck or my head either direction. Took a few sand wedge swings yesterday, and it’s just basically like a knife in my right shoulder blade.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
“ Yeah, it’s disappointing. I tried to push through it. Today it felt a lot better, like mobility-wise, but I think with the torque and the amount of force in a golf swing, it just doesn’t feel very comfortable. I’m nowhere in a — you know, point in my game health-wise to be able to compete at the highest level.
“ I just didn’t want to cause any further damage before I assess this correctly and see what’s going on in there. Hopefully — it’s improving day by day. I just think I’ve got to take a few days off golf, maybe a week or so, and I should be fine. I didn’t want to make a naive decision by pushing through to finish 30th. I wasn’t playing my best, and it’s just hard to complete a backswing right now.
“ Yeah, it sucks to end the year this way, but that’s life. I turned 36 last week, and I think maybe that’s just kind of what happens when you’re in your mid-30s now. “
J.J. Spaun comments further on Tour Championship withdrawal
Spaun, who was four-over par for his first five holes at East Lake, was asked whether the issue he has been suffering from is muscular.
“ I would assume so, “ he replied.
“ Who knows? We kind of treated it as soft tissue, muscle kind of strain. I’ve had this in the past. I had it at The Open last year, but it was on the other side. I think, when I sleep with too high of a pillow and I’m kind of like that for so long, it disturbs like the rhomboid muscle in there.
“ But the other side wasn’t hurting my backswing last year, but it’s on the right this time. It’s something I’ve dealt with on the other side of my back, but not this side.
“ Obviously it calmed down last year, and I was fine. Hopefully just a few more days. I wish the tournament started another day later or week, then I’d be fine probably. Yeah, just kind of err on the side of caution, especially with some big events coming up. Hopefully they’ll kind of consider me a little bit even though this week was a huge letdown. “
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