Spaun Wins BMW PGA Championship, Credits Clarkson Mask For Luck

JJ Spaun won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in his first appearance at the event, closing with a five-under-par 67 to finish two shots clear of four chasing players.

The victory capped a strong season for the American, who won the 2025 US Open earlier in the year. Watching from the gallery on the final day was his wife, Melody, holding up a mask of English television presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Speaking after his win, Spaun explained the mask was no accident. According to Golf Monthly, Melody had promised him "a surprise guest" for the week if he competed, and he spotted the Clarkson mask on the Thursday and Friday of the tournament.

"Jeremy was there in spirit and I think he brought me good fortune," Spaun said.

The pair's affection for Clarkson stems from their fondness for Clarkson's Farm, the Amazon Prime series set in the Cotswolds. Spaun said he had even visited Clarkson's pub, The Farmer's Dog, in the hope of meeting him, without success.

He traced the couple's interest in the show back to their first trip to the Cotswolds in 2023. "My wife, I think she found it on Amazon," he said. "But our first trip to the Cotswolds was 2023, and so we had no idea about it."

Spaun added that after that visit, the couple began seeking out more of what the region had to offer. "And then Clarkson's Farm popped up and we watched the season and multiple seasons quickly. We loved it and it's hilarious," he said.

Melody's enthusiasm for England has shaped Spaun's scheduling on this side of the Atlantic. "My wife has been the main contributing factor for always coming across here to holiday," he said, citing the BMW PGA Championship, the Scottish Open and The Open as fixtures that have become family trips.

"It was a fun way to end the year in a positive way, and I couldn't have drawn it up any better," Spaun said.

The Wentworth win also settled a wager between the couple that dates back to earlier in the 2025 season. Spaun recalled Melody proposing that a tournament victory would earn her a cottage in the Cotswolds, an offer he turned down as insufficient.

When she raised the stakes to a major championship instead, Spaun agreed without hesitation. "Of course if I won a Major, I'll do whatever you want," he said he told her.

He went on to win the US Open, and said Melody was sending him property listings the following day. The couple, however, have yet to close on a purchase. "We've come to a compromise. We don't own a cottage yet," Spaun said.

The BMW PGA Championship win adds another significant title to a season that already included major success for Spaun, and gives him his first triumph on the DP World Tour.