ATLANTA -- Former U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun withdrew from the Tour Championship after five holes of the first round because of a right shoulder injury.
Spaun, who won his only major in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, was 4-over after four holes. He carded bogeys on Nos. 2 and 4 and had a double bogey on the par-4 third at East Lake Golf Club.
"I tried to push through it," said Spaun, who said he has been battling discomfort in his shoulder since Tuesday. "Today it felt a lot better, like mobility-wise, but I think with the torque and the amount of force in a golf swing, it just doesn't feel very comfortable. I'm nowhere [near a] point in my game health-wise to be able to compete at the highest level. I just didn't want to cause any further damage before I assess this correctly and see what's going on in there."
Spaun, 36, picked up his third PGA Tour victory in the Valero Texas Open on April 5, but it was an otherwise inconsistent season for him. He missed seven cuts and had nine top-25 finishes in 22 starts.
He tied for 34th in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and for 22nd in the BMW Championship the past two weeks in the first two legs of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Spaun came into the week at 10th in the U.S. Presidents Cup team standings. He is in contention for one of captain Brandt Snedeker's six captain's picks. Snedeker will announce his final roster Tuesday.
The U.S. team will battle the International squad in the 16th Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago on Sept. 24-27.
"Hopefully, just a few more days [to recover]," Spaun said. "I wish the tournament started another day later or week, then I'd be fine probably. Yeah, just kind of err on the side of caution, especially with some big events coming up. Hopefully, they'll kind of consider me a little bit even though this week was a huge letdown."
