J.J. Spaun had an unusual supporter following him around on the way to victory at the BMW Championship: British television icon Jeremy Clarkson.
Well, sort of.
Spaun's wife, Melody, was spotted in the gallery holding a cut-out mask of the presenter as her husband beat Aaron Rai and Rory McIlroy by two shots at Wentworth on Sunday for his seventh professional win, and first overseas.
Clarkson then made an appearance in the customary winners' photos, with your eyes drawn to his cardboard face rather than the trophy itself.
It prompted the very obvious question: why?
Well, it turns out Clarkson's appearance was not entirely random. Spaun and his wife are huge fans of Clarkson's Farm, regularly holiday in the Cotswolds and even have a long-running joke involving Spaun buying his wife a cottage there.
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"My wife said something weird to me before I left," Spaun explained. "She said, 'I have a surprise for you.'
"And sure enough, Thursday morning, here she is and it's Jeremy Clarkson in the gallery, a cut-out face of his."
The Clarkson mask was Melody's way of bringing one of the couple's favourite television personalities along for the week -- and Spaun believes his cardboard fan may even have helped.
"Jeremy was there in spirit and I think he brought me good fortune," he said.
Why is Spaun a Jeremy Clarkson fan?
Spaun and his wife are huge fans of Clarkson's Farm, the Amazon Prime series which first aired in 2021 and follows the former Top Gear presenter's attempts to run his farm in the Cotswolds.
The couple had already visited the area before watching the show and now regularly return.
"We've grown fond of him, along with the English culture," Spaun said. "We actually take holidays in December in the Cotswolds, and we really enjoy his show.
"I went to his pub, The Farmer's Dog, with the hopes to catch a glimpse of him but he wasn't around."
Spaun said having already visited the Cotswolds helped make Clarkson's Farm particularly appealing to the couple.
"We are huge fans of Clarkson's Farm, and I think we really enjoyed it because we went to the Cotswolds before watching his show," he said.
"It gravitated to more how we understood the culture there, the community, and then obviously looking like an idiot trying to farm. It's a good laugh. We enjoy the show and we love the Cotswolds."
Could the love affair continue?
While Spaun doesn't reside in the Cotswolds -- his wife has good reason to believe a cottage could be on the cards in the near future.
The story dates back to 2025, when Spaun was enjoying an impressive run of form but had yet to turn it into a victory. After finishing second at the Honda Classic and third at another event, Spaun lost to McIlroy in a playoff at The Players Championship.
That prompted his wife to propose a deal.
"If you win a tournament this year, you'll buy me a cottage in the Cotswolds," Spaun recalled her telling him.
"No. That's not a big enough accomplishment to buy a cottage in England," he replied.
"Okay. What about if you won a major?"
"Of course if I won a major, I'll do whatever you want."
That answer eventually came back to haunt him.
Spaun went on to win the U.S. Open at Oakmont in June 2025, claiming his first major championship.
"Fast forward, she's sending me listings on Zillow the following day," Spaun said. "It's hilarious.
"We've come to a compromise. We don't own a cottage yet."
For now, it appears a cardboard Jeremy Clarkson will have to do.
