J.J. Spaun's path to U.S. Open title helped by a shot onto an umbrella

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — J.J. Spaun knows as well as anyone how one little shot can make such a huge difference, even if it's only 85 yards to a green in the shape of a red umbrella floating in the middle of a lake.

It wasn't a shot that won the U.S. Open. Spaun will be remembered far more for the driver he hit onto the 17th green at Oakmont to take the lead, and for the 65-foot putt on the last hole to cap off his sensational birdie-birdie finish at golf's toughest test.

This shot was five years ago at the Travelers Championship. It was no less important to Spaun, who has Type 1 diabetes but didn't know it at the time.

“It's crazy,” said Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Travelers Insurance, and a familiar face behind the tournament. “Not everything in life is for a reason, but at times you have to step back and think it's too weird it happened that way.”

A 15-year tradition at the Travelers is “The Umbrella at 15 1/2 Challenge,” where players during the pro-am hit an 85-yard shot at the umbrella that sits in the lake between the 15th and 16th holes at the TPC River Highland. The closest to the pin is given $10,000 to donate to charity.

It was in 2020 when Spaun — who had been misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes some 18 months earlier — hit his lob wedge to 19 inches to win the challenge.

The charity of his choice: The Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, now known as Breakthrough T1D.

“When Travelers got word of where I wanted that donation to go, Andy Bessette kind of broke down apparently and was touched very deeply because he's a very integral part of that charity and donates quite a lot of money, too,” Spaun said. “So that initiated our connection.”

Bessette's son, Chris, was was diagnosed with Type 1 in 2011 at age 18. They are deeply connected with Breakthrough T1D, and when he heard where Spaun directed his donation, the Bessette family immediately matched it.

So began a relationship that became more valuable than Spaun could have imagined.

Even after the initial diagnosis of Type 2 in the fall of 2018, Spaun kept losing weight and energy. Something wasn't right and he knew it.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, leading to little or no insulin. Type 2 is more common, mainly affect adults. The body doesn't make enough insulin and is often managed with lifestyle changes, such as diet.

Once doctors got the diagnosis right in 2021, Spaun still struggled to find the right treatment for someone who spends five hours or more on the golf course. On one occasion, his close friend Harold Varner III noticed something off and encouraged to tap into Bessette's resources.

“We called him together, Harold and I, and I said, ‘J.J., anything you need, you tell me.’ He told me what was going on. It was about getting the right kind of care," Bessette said.

In this case, it was a new product that allowed insulin to be inhaled instead of injections, far easier to manage on the course. Bessette also connected him with a doctor in Los Angeles who worked with athletes on how to handle blood sugar levels.

“He is very well connected with the diabetes community, so all these doctors were at my disposal,” Spaun said.

A tough road is nothing new to Spaun. He was a walk-on at San Diego State. He spent three years on developmental circuits before reaching the PGA Tour. He had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour, fell as low as No. 584 in the world ranking in 2021 and won for the first time a year later at the Texas Open.

Spaun has dips in form, as most golfers do. He was worried a year ago about losing his card until he pulled it together late last year. He was getting closer, losing in a playoff at The Players Championship to Rory McIlroy, before his epic breakthrough at Oakmont.

It resonated in some corners more than others.

“It was awesome to see him have the week he had,” said Eric Cole, who also has Type 1 diabetes and has risen from the mini-tours to play in six of the last seven majors. “It's cool to see diabetes doesn't slow him down. He has a lot of extra stuff to deal with behind the scenes.”

Imagine the thrill for Bessette when he watched Spaun overcome a misdiagnosis and manage Type 1 diabetes to handle the highest pressure in the game. Bessette can relate. He qualified as a hammer thrower for the 1980 Olympics that the U.S. boycotted.

“I think this is one of the most amazing achievements in sport for somebody who has Type 1, whose sugar levels are up and down, trying to keep them under control and win the U.S. Open,” Bessette said. “Are you kidding me? It's brutal competition for four days. I told him, ‘I’m amazed by what you did.'"

Spaun returned to the Travelers Championship this year with an empty tank. He said blood sugar levels crashed hard after he won at Oakmont, from the battle on the back nine but more from the emotion and celebration and all the media obligations that followed.

Five years after he hit an 85-yard shot onto a red umbrella, he returned with a big silver trophy as the U.S. Open champion. Bessette was beaming, and the connection wasn't lost on Spaun.

“He’s kind of been there for me the whole way,” Spaun said. “Even when I got my diagnosis corrected, I guess, it was even more so helpful to have JDRF and Andy on my side to kind of help me navigate another new territory.”

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