Tour pro J.J. Spaun was struggling. Then came Kevin Kisner’s tough love

Kevin Kisner saw the skill. And the skepticism. 

The former, of course, can struggle to break through because of the latter, and Kisner thought that was what was playing out with J.J. Spaun. He had game. And doubts. 

So Kisner put his arm around Spaun. Gave him some tough love. The story came Sunday, during Golf Channel’s final-round coverage of the Players Championship, where Kisner was working as an analyst — and Spaun was working with the 54-hole lead.     

According to announcer Dan Hicks, the moment came during the 2022 Valero Texas Open. 

“I was just fortunate enough to play with him a few times,” Kisner said during the broadcast, “and I could see the talent and how good he was. And he really would get down on himself while we were playing the rounds and I was thinking it was costing him shots. 

“So I just pulled him aside, put my arm around him.”

What did Kisner say?

“Told him he was too good to be treating himself that way,” the longtime pro said. “It’s too difficult out here. You got to be your biggest fan.”

Notably, Spaun talked about the thought on Saturday night. People have been telling him similar things, he said. 

“I slowly have to prove myself,” Spaun said, “and people tell me that I’m better than I am or I’m better than I think I am. It’s just about believing in it. That’s kind of always been the barrier is believing that I can do it and not being discouraged by poor weeks or poor rounds or poor finishes.

“I think if I can just dig deep and have that self-belief, then yeah, we’ll see where things end up.”

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Kisner’s story gets better, though. 

Spaun went on to win the ’22 Texas Open. 

Said Hicks on the broadcast: “And then later on, Mark Carens, his caddie, came up to you and said, Kiz, thanks for giving him a kick in the butt a little bit.” 

Said Kisner: “Yeah. He won later on and I’d actually kind of forgotten about it. And Mark came and said, I think it’s almost time for another one, Kiz.” 

Did Kisner get a percentage of the winner’s check?

Said Kisner on the broadcast: “No. I’m still looking for it. I sent a few invoices, haven’t received anything.” 

Said Hicks: “And we didn’t know that Kiz was part psychologist. It’s added to his resume.”