JJ Spaun's benched putter comes back to fuel opening 64 at BMW

JJ Spaun opened the BMW Championship with a 6-under 64 at Bellerive Country Club on Thursday, sharing the first-round lead behind seven birdies and a single bogey. The round came one week after Spaun benched the putter that won him last year's U.S. Open, then decided to bring it back.

Why did Spaun switch putters again?

Spaun had gamed the same L.A.B. putter for most of the past two seasons, including the 64-foot birdie putt that clinched his 2025 U.S. Open title at Oakmont. Earlier this year he moved to a heel-shafted L.A.B. model, then switched brands entirely to a Scotty Cameron with toe hang, chasing the feel of a toe-swing putter that L.A.B. doesn't make. That putter carried him through a strong stretch at the Travelers Championship and in Scotland, but he began missing short putts and finished T34 at last week's FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. He put the old putter back in the bag for the BMW Championship.

Put the old faithful back in, my old L.A.B. putter.

The move paid off immediately. Spaun made 132 feet of putts on Thursday, including a 30-foot downhill birdie at the second hole, and ranked third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at 3.303. He entered the week ranked No. 16 in the world, a step down from a career-best fifth last year.

What did Spaun do for his team this year?

Spaun's win at Oakmont has come with perks for the people around him. Last month, ahead of the Genesis Scottish Open, he arranged a round at the Old Course at St Andrews for his caddie, Mark Carens, and swing coach, Adam Schriber, through a connection at the R&A. It was the first trip to St Andrews for both Spaun and Schriber; Carens had last played there roughly 40 years earlier as a teenager. Spaun described the outing as partly a scouting trip for next year's Open Championship, set for the Old Course.