Brandt Snedeker's response to J.J. Spaun's 'chip on shoulder' comment speaks volumes

Brandt Snedeker has admitted he felt “awful” leaving J.J. Spaun off his Presidents Cup team — but could hardly have been happier with what happened next.

Spaun responded in emphatic fashion.

The 36-year-old went to Wentworth and won the BMW PGA on the DP World Tour. 

And when Spaun revealed afterwards that he had played with “a huge chip on my shoulder”, Snedeker had a simple reaction.

“I'm super excited for J.J.,” the U.S. captain told reporters at Medinah on Tuesday. 

“What he did at Wentworth was impressive coming down the stretch. That was some great golf he played. I'm a huge J.J. Spaun fan.”

There was no bitterness from Snedeker.

If anything, he sounded delighted that Spaun had given himself something to prove.

“I feel awful for J.J., and I always will, because he's a great dude and I love the guy to death,” said Snedeker.

Spaun was arguably the most notable omission from Snedeker's six captain's picks, especially given he ranked eighth on the points list. 

The 2025 U.S. Open champion had withdrawn from the Tour Championship with an injury at the end of August, but had informed Snedeker that he expected to be fit if selected.

He wasn't.

Instead, Snedeker picked Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Chris Gotterup, Jacob Bridgeman and Jackson Koivun.

Spaun was left frustrated after receiving a phone call from the captain.

It was a call he did not expect, having felt all summer that he was set for a pick.

He told reporters at Wentworth that the phone call lasted approximately 45 seconds.

Spaun also added that Snedeker claimed he was the “odd man out”.

“And you can quote me on that,” Spaun told reporters on Sunday.

Two weeks after being told he was not making the team, Spaun decided to travel over to England for the famous BMW PGA. 

Spaun produced a superb final-round 67 at Wentworth, birdieing four of his last five holes to finish 17-under par.

That was enough to beat the chasing pack by two shots, with Rory McIlroy among those left trailing in his wake.

After lifting the trophy on his Wentworth debut, Spaun made his motivation crystal clear.

“I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week,” said Spaun, who revealed he often travels to England on his holidays, despite never having previously played in the BMW PGA. 

“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.

“I took care of my business this week.”

Snedeker, speaking at Medinah, admitted that making the decision to leave Spaun out had been extremely difficult.

“Being captain, you have to make tough decisions unfortunately,” he said.

“We had 15 guys, 16 guys that we were really looking at. So you're going to have to make these tough decisions.”

But the skipper had also warned the players who missed out that they should use the disappointment as fuel.

“I told all the guys that didn't make the team, like your job is to go make me look like an idiot as quick as possible,” Snedeker said.

Spaun took that message literally, and Snedeker insists he was not surprised.

“That being said, he's a competitor. Like I knew this was going to happen.”

Watch Snedeker's comments here:

The U.S. captain also made it clear that his decision was not a reflection of how highly he rates Spaun, whom he believes will make Jim Furyk's 2027 Ryder Cup team in Ireland. 

“The best advice I got from all the captains I talked to and even coaches, you've got to trust your gut. My gut was telling me one thing. You've got to make those decisions,” said Snedeker.

He added: “I can't wait to see J.J. get off to a great start next year, and I would be shocked if he's not on the team in Ireland.”

Spaun's response at Wentworth was about as emphatic as it could have been.

And for Snedeker, despite the disappointment of leaving him out, there was nothing but praise for the way his compatriot responded.