JJ Spaun withdrew from the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Thursday with a right shoulder injury. The 2025 US Open winner was 4 over through five holes in his first round, making bogey-double bogey-bogey on holes 2-4, when the decision was made to leave the course. His departure left Min Woo Lee to play alone, which he used as an advantage to shoot an 8-under 62. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis spoke with Spaun at the East Lake clubhouse and reported that Spaun woke up with severe shoulder pain Tuesday morning, believing it was due to a poor sleeping position. Spaun told Lewis he received treatment for the injury on Tuesday and hoped it would resolve on its own, but admitted he was still experiencing discomfort in his backswing this morning. but it has never persisted this long,” Spaun told reporters before leaving the course. “My physiologist and I worked on it and hit some balls on Tuesday. It got pretty bad. I couldn’t play any holes after hitting balls for about 45 minutes. “On Wednesday I thought it would be much better. In a way it was. “I couldn’t move my neck or head in any direction,” he added. “I did some sand wedge swings yesterday, and it’s basically like a knife in my right shoulder blade… I tried to go through it. I felt a lot better today, mobility-wise, but I think with the torque and the amount of force in a golf swing, I just don’t feel very comfortable.” Lewis reported that Spaun is returning home to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he will receive additional treatment for the injury. Cup captain’s pick for the U.S. team in Medinah next month. Captain Brandt Snedeker will announce his six picks Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. “I just didn’t want to do any more damage before I evaluated this properly and saw what’s going on there,” Spaun said. “I just think I need to take a few days off from golf, maybe a week or so, and I should be fine. I didn’t want to make a naive decision by advancing to finish 30th. “I wasn’t playing my best and it’s hard to complete a backswing right now.” The TOUR Championship brings this season’s top players to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to crown the 2026 FedExCup champion. The world’s No. 16-ranked player finished 22nd at the BMW Championship last week, where he celebrated his 36th birthday and shared the lead after the first round. “It’s It sucks to end the year this way, but that’s life,” he said. “I turned 36 last week, and I think maybe that’s what happens when you’re in your 30s now.” Spaun earned his third career victory at the Valero Texas Open in April and has three other top-10 finishes on the season, most recently a T-7 at the Travelers in late June. Spaun will finish the season ranked 30th in the FedExCup standings and will win $355,000 from the Tour Championship. “Hopefully the tournament started another day or a week later, then it would probably be the end,” he said. “Just erring on the side of caution, especially with some big events coming up. Hopefully they’ll give me some consideration even though this week was a big disappointment.” Tour Championship debutants Min Woo Lee and Ryan Fox made noise during Thursday’s first round in Atlanta, where East Lake veterans Viktor Hovland and Adam Scott also emerged as early contenders.
