"It was definitely a fantasy"- JJ Spaun recalls his experience of playing at the Valero Texas Open

JJ Spaun bested over Matt Jones and Matt Kuchar at the 2022 Valero Texas Open. The tournament is now around the corner with the first round to start on Thursday, March 30.

Ahead of the tournament, Spaun recalled his experience while playing at the Texas Open last year. In a press conference on Wednesday, March 29, Spaun said:

“I’ve heard the cliche, like the ‘pinch me’ moments. That’s kind of what I felt for like the first time in my life going from the win here and then literally like flying over the next morning to Augusta and then registering.

"It just happened so fast that I felt like I was in a dream because I was there signing the registration book at the player office at Augusta National and I’m just like everything’s happened so fast, like I can’t believe not only did I just win my first Tour event yesterday, but now I’m here at the Masters already like preparing to play my first time at Augusta."

“It was definitely a fantasy as far as like the whole experience. I was super happy to be there and to also have a good week, a good showing at Augusta. I know what I’ve got to do this week to get back there," he continued.

The Valero Texas Open is slated to take place from March 30 to April 2 in San Antonio.

"Not putting too much pressure on myself"- JJ Spaun talks about The 2023 Masters

JJ Spaun earned a ticket to the Masters after winning the Valero Texas Open in 2022 and is in the same situation this year. If he defends his title this week, Spaun will earn an invitation to the 2023 Masters. However, he is not taking any pressure.

Speaking at the conference, JJ Spaun said:

“There’s perks to every single win but I think this one’s kind of extra special and has extra meaning because it’s your last chance to get into Augusta. It’s weird, last year I wasn’t even thinking about that and I know maybe that’s kind of what mentally kept me in the present and not thinking ahead and not putting too much pressure on myself. I’ll try not to think about it too much.

He went on to say:

“If I play great and win, we’ll kind of go through that whole cyclone of a mess, I guess, in a good way of going from here straight to Augusta. But that would be awesome.”

The Masters will take place at the Augusta National Golf Course from April 6-9, with Scottie Scheffler competing to defend his title.

Here is a list of golfers confirmed to play at the 2023 Masters:

Abraham Ancer
Sam Bennett
Keegan Bradley
Sam Burns
Patrick Cantlay
Ben Carr
Cameron Champ
Corey Conners
Fred Couples
Harrison Crowe
Jason Day
Bryson DeChambeau
Harris English
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira
Tony Finau
Matt Fitzpatrick
Tommy Fleetwood
Ryan Fox
Sergio Garcia
Talor Gooch
Brian Harman
Tyrrell Hatton, 18
Russell Henley
Kazuki Higa
Tom Hoge
Max Homa
Billy Horschel
Viktor Hovland
Mackenzie Hughes
Sungjae Im
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Si Woo Kim
Tom Kim
Chris Kirk
Kevin Kisner
Kurt Kitayama
Brooks Koepka
Jason Kokrak
Bernhard Langer
K.H. Lee
Min Woo Lee
Shane Lowry
Sandy Lyle
Hideki Matsuyama
Matthew McClean
Rory McIlroy
Adrian Meronk
Phil Mickelson
Keith Mitchell
Larry Mize
Francesco Molinari
Taylor Moore
Collin Morikawa
Kevin Na
Joaquin Niemann
Alex Noren
Jose Maria Olazabal
Louis Oosthuizen
Mito Pereira
Thomas Pieters
J.T. Poston
Aldrich Potgieter
Seamus Power
Jon Rahm
Patrick Reed
Justin Rose
Gordon Sargent
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
Vijay Singh
Cameron Smith
Jordan Spieth
Scott Stallings
Sepp Straka
Adam Svensson
Sahith Theegala
Justin Thomas
Harold Varner III
Bubba Watson
Mike Weir
Danny Willett
Aaron Wise
Gary Woodland
Tiger Woods
Cameron Young
Will Zalatoris
Tommy Aaron
Jack Burke, Jr.
Angel Cabrera
Charles Coody
Ben Crenshaw
Nick Faldo
Raymond Floyd
Trevor Immelman
Jack Nicklaus
Mark O'Meara
Gary Player
Craig Stadler
Tom Watson
Ian Woosnam
Fuzzy Zoeller