PGA Tour pro jokes US Open winner JJ Spaun is already breaking rules

Michael Kim poked fun at US Open winner JJ Spaun after his first major triumph earned him an excused absence from a mandatory meeting with the PGA Tour's new chief executive Brian Rolapp. 

Rolapp was officially unveiled as commissioner Jay Monahan's successor before the Travelers Championship. 

The former NFL executive met with all 72 players in the field and has already made a good first impression. 

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and US Ryder cup captain Keegan Bradley were all impressed by what they heard. 

Spaun, though, was allowed to skip the meeting because he embarked on a media tour to New York to discuss his remarkable victory at Oakmont that was sealed on the 72nd hole with a 64-foot putt for birdie. 

"I thought the player meeting was MANDATORY for all players in the field," joked Kim on X. "Guy wins one major and starts breaking rules."

"I need to enjoy this"

JJ Spaun told reporters after he lost in a playoff to McIlroy at The Players Championship in March that he didn't know what his ceiling was. 

He wasn't groomed to be a professional golfer and believed his time as a Tour pro was coming to an end as he believed he was going to lose his card. 

The PGA Tour has reduced the number of fully-exempt players from 125 to 100. 

Spaun was told by his golf coach that if that was to be the case then he should at least go down swinging. 

Then his form turned around completely and now he is a major champion. 

So what's next?

"I definitely need to keep the hunger there," Spaun told reporters at TPC River Highlands. 

"I think I will have the hunger just because I want to continue to prove myself, but not prove myself to anybody other than myself, I feel like, and that's kind of been my biggest barrier throughout my entire career is just trying not to be so hard on myself and not ruining any sort of confidence that I've built from all these experiences on my journey as a golfer.

"As long as I keep that up, I think I'll continue to play well, and obviously winning the US Open is going to be a huge boost to that sort of inner ego, I guess you could say, to keep that self-belief alive and burning."

US Ryder Cup captain Bradley believes a player like Spaun will be the 'beating heart' of the red, white and blue this September. 

Bradley told Spaun to soak it all in.  

Spaun added: "Like Keegan told me that yesterday. He said, 'You need to enjoy this. Do your best to just enjoy it.' 

"It's easy to kind of let it out the window and get right into the next week and forget about it for a while, but just do your best to enjoy it.

"I'm planning to enjoy it next week, that's for sure, at least for next week."