CROMWELL, Conn. – J.J. Spaun couldn’t recall the specifics of Confucius’ quote, but he could be forgiven. Spaun arrived in Connecticut for the Travelers Championship after an absolute blender of a 48-hour span, winning the U.S. Open and thus embarking on a media tour across New York City where he retold various elements of his life story to various outlets.

Spaun’s career has been defined by falling down and rising back up, which was epitomized in grand fashion Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open, as he rallied from five bogeys in his first six holes Sunday to drain a 64-foot birdie on the 72nd hole and win his first major title by two shots.

At the Travelers, Spaun was asked about the importance of professional golf’s various rungs, which allowed him to pick himself back up when it looked like things might be slipping away. Things got so bad that he called his college golf coach Ryan Donovan, roughly 12 months ago, to see if he knew of any available jobs as a teaching professional. Now Spaun is a major champion, and as he thought back to various stops on his journey – losing his card on PGA TOUR Americas, finishing second at a Korn Ferry Tour Finals event in Boise to retain his TOUR card, his early-season slump in 2024 – he thought about Confucius, the Chinese philosopher from roughly 500 BC whose teachings stand the test of time.

“Slumping, falling down, and getting back up," Spaun said. "There's a Confucius quote. He says … I'm going to butcher this. Maybe you guys can correct me. Something like the glory isn't for how high you get or something, but it's more about the rise when you get pushed down, or something like that. The glory isn't for how high you get in your peaks, it's more of like when you bounce back, that's where it's at. That's kind of, I feel like, my career.”

Spaun had the essence of it; he was just slightly off. Confucius’ quote reads: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Spaun’s rise reached a crescendo Sunday at Oakmont when he fulfilled a childhood dream and became a major champion. The golf world was at his fingertips, which played out in the last few days. After fulfilling his winner’s obligations Sunday evening in western Pennsylvania, he departed Oakmont at 1 a.m. and sat in bed for a while, responding to some text messages and processing what had happened. He flew to New York and had a celebratory dinner with his family on Monday night. He had a nonstop media blitz on Tuesday, starting at 6 a.m. and ending at roughly 4 p.m. Then he was driven to Connecticut for the Travelers, walking through his hotel door around 8 p.m.

Spaun was back to work Wednesday morning for the season’s final Signature Event at TPC River Highlands, meeting the media before his 2:47 p.m. pro-am tee time. Not much had changed in his outward demeanor, but the context of his career would never be the same.

“I'm not like fully in the clouds still, but we're getting a little below the ceiling, the cloud ceiling,” Spaun said Wednesday. “Yeah, it's been a whirlwind. Everything in the aftermath of this whole championship has been so crazy but so much fun, and all these doors opening, it's stuff that you don't expect ever really to happen in your career. The Dodgers reaching out and Ryder Cup potential, the ‘Today’ show. It's just insane.”

Suddenly Spaun’s position on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team this fall at Bethpage Black is all but a lock, as well. Spaun chatted with U.S. Team Captain Keegan Bradley earlier this week, and Bradley offered one piece of advice: Make sure you enjoy this. Spaun is listening to the captain. He was hoping to make a trip to New York City anyway between the U.S. Open and this week’s Travelers Championship (played at TPC River Highlands outside Hartford, Connecticut, not far from New York). He made the trip – it just included a few pit stops.

Perhaps the New York media earned a sneak preview of what they’ll be getting at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black – and Bradley wasn’t shy in offering his endorsement, either.

“I think going to a course like Bethpage Black, the people are really going to be behind a guy like J.J. Spaun,” Bradley said Wednesday. “His story is incredible. He's a hard-working guy that's just building and building and building his whole career. To win the U.S. Open at Oakmont, in my eyes, is the pinnacle of major golf. It's as tough as you can get. I think he's a guy that people at Bethpage will really resonate with and a guy that on our team is the heartbeat. He's now the U.S. Open champion. That's a heavy burden to bear, but … that's also a great thing to have on your team.

“I'm really proud to have him on this team because it's really difficult to make your first team. To go out there the way he did this year and play in these big events this well is a testament to what a player he is.”

For every Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler, there are several players capable of breaking through to win a major title and break onto a bigger stage. One such player is Ben Griffin, who has finished top-10 in each of the last two major championships (T8 at the PGA Championship, T10 at the U.S. Open) and has also won two TOUR titles this spring. Like Spaun, Griffin felt somewhat conflict about his pursuit of professional golf in recent years; just four years ago, Griffin stepped away for a few months to work as a mortgage loan officer. Spaun never officially stepped away, but he came close.

The connection goes further back. Spaun and Griffin each cut their teeth on PGA TOUR Americas and won the same event three years apart (Spaun in 2015, Griffin in 2018) – a parallel that Griffin noted in his Wednesday press conference at the Travelers.

“He's the American Nick Taylor right now, winning the national open with a bomb on 18. So cool,” Griffin said Wednesday. “His story is very similar to mine … such an amazing moment. So happy for him. I've gotten to know him pretty well over the last few years being on the PGA TOUR. He's an amazing guy, and couldn't be happier for him and his caddie Mark Carens getting the job done and winning there.”

Golf can be a thankless game, driving immensely talented players to wonder if they’re doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s worth sticking it out, and Spaun’s last three days (even with limited sleep) are a shining example as to why.

“I'm super grateful to have won the championship and to be given this experience," Spaun said. "It's something I'll never forget obviously for the rest of my life. I guess I'm a part of history now.”