Spaun Surges as Wentworth Delivers a Sunday Thriller

There are some Sundays when a tournament slowly settles into place. This was not one of them.

The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth gave us almost everything: a packed leaderboard, world-class players making a charge, a stunning late run from the eventual champion and, at the other end of the emotional scale, a desperately difficult finish for a player chasing his first DP World Tour title.

By the time it was over, J.J. Spaun had won on his Wentworth debut—but that simple sentence hardly describes the drama of the final afternoon.

Spaun produces a champion’s finish

Spaun began the day within reach rather than in control. For much of the round, several players looked capable of taking the title, with Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Aaron Rai and Manuel Elvira all firmly involved.

Then Spaun found another gear.

He birdied four of the final five holes, closing with a five-under-par 67 to reach 17 under and win by two shots. His tee shot to three feet on the par-three 14th started the run, before two excellent 15-foot birdie putts at 15 and 16. A final birdie at the par-five 18th completed a superb finish.

That sequence was a reminder that closing out a tournament is not always about protecting what you have. Sometimes the moment demands positive golf—and Spaun committed to it.

The victory carried an extra edge. Spaun had been left out of the American Presidents Cup team and admitted afterwards that he had played with a point to prove. Rather than allowing that disappointment to become a distraction, he channelled it into a performance of patience, control and, when the opportunity arrived, real aggression.

It was also his first appearance in the DP World Tour’s flagship event. To arrive at Wentworth, deal with the atmosphere and the strength of the field, and then produce that finish says a great deal about the confidence in his game.

The cruelty of the 18th

For Manuel Elvira, the final two holes told a very different story.

The Spaniard holed a nine-foot eagle putt at the 17th to draw level with Spaun. Suddenly, a first DP World Tour victory was within touching distance. A birdie at the last would win; a par would force a play-off.

After choosing an iron from the 18th tee, Elvira had 254 yards remaining and decided to lay up. The lay-up found a bunker, his next shot went over the green, his chip returned to sand and the hole ended in a double-bogey seven.

Within minutes, he had gone from sharing the lead to finishing two shots behind.

It was painful to watch, but it was also one of those passages of play from which every golfer can learn. Under pressure, the safest-looking choice is not automatically the simplest one. A decision must still leave a clear next shot—and once one mistake has been made, the priority has to be resetting before playing again.

That sounds straightforward when we are watching from the sofa. It is much harder when a career-changing title is at stake.

Elvira deserves enormous credit for the quality of golf that put him in that position and for the perspective he showed afterwards. This finish will hurt, but it should not obscure how close he is to winning at this level.

McIlroy, Rai and Scott remain in the hunt

Elvira finished in a four-way tie for second at 15 under alongside Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Adam Scott.

Rai’s closing 66 was the lowest round among that group, while McIlroy and Scott both signed for 68s. All three had opportunities during a final hour in which the lead seemed capable of changing with almost every update from the course.

McIlroy did not quite produce the sustained run needed to win, but another strong Wentworth performance added valuable Race to Dubai points and kept him firmly involved in the season-long contest.

Further down the leaderboard, Matt Fitzpatrick and Ryan Fox finished at 14 under, while Robert MacIntyre, Matt Wallace and Andy Sullivan were among those at 13 under.

Frédéric Lacroix also provided one of Sunday’s great moments with a hole-in-one at the 14th, earning the tournament’s BMW prize car. With more than 120,000 spectators attending across the week, Wentworth once again felt like one of the genuine centrepieces of the European golfing season.

A brilliant week for Marco Penge in America

There was also an excellent performance from Marco Penge at the PGA Tour’s inaugural Biltmore Championship in Asheville.

Marco posted rounds of 68, 66, 64 and 67 to finish 19 under and tied for 10th. That is another very encouraging result in a strong field and further evidence that his power is being matched by the all-round game and consistency required to compete on the PGA Tour.

The title went to Jacob Bridgeman, who produced a spectacular final-round 61 to finish 26 under and win by two shots from Ben James. Bridgeman’s closing ten-under round was a wonderful example of taking advantage when a course presents scoring opportunities. He did not simply defend his position—he accelerated away from the field.

What can club golfers learn from Wentworth?

The final round offered three useful lessons.

First, stay committed when the pressure rises. Spaun’s closing stretch came from continuing to make positive swings rather than steering the ball towards the finish.

Second, strategy is about the next shot, not merely the current one. A lay-up is only a good decision if it leaves a distance and lie from which you can play confidently.

Third, reset quickly. One poor shot does not have to become two or three. The best players are not immune to mistakes; they are simply better at drawing a line under them.

Those lessons apply whether you are trying to win at Wentworth or simply attempting to beat your handicap on a Saturday morning.

Next stop: the Presidents Cup

Attention now turns to Medinah, where the Presidents Cup begins on Thursday. The United States will again start as favourites, but this week’s results have added extra interest.

Spaun will arrive as one of the world’s most in-form players—yet only as a spectator after missing out on selection—while Bridgeman heads to Medinah with the confidence of a PGA Tour victory behind him.

Wentworth has set a very high standard for drama. If the Presidents Cup gives us anything close to the same tension, it should be another excellent week of golf.

What was your defining moment from Wentworth: Spaun’s four-birdie finish, Elvira’s eagle at 17, the drama at the last—or something else entirely?