When JJ Spaun went on his first date with his now-wife, Melody, his attempts to impress her with his golfing career didn't quite hit the mark. The 35-year-old, who is set to make his Ryder Cup debut this weekend, soon realised that his profession alone wasn't enough to dazzle her.

Compared to some of his team-mates on the US Ryder Cup team, Spaun was a late bloomer, only clinching his first major victory at the US Open in June this year. Despite golf being a significant part of his life, it took Melody a bit of time to grasp its importance to him.

"I was like, 'yeah, I'm a pro golfer'. Because I thought I was cool," Spaun, reminiscing about his and Melody's first date, confessed to Golf.com in 2023. "But she's like, 'I don't even know. What does that mean? Like, does that mean you're like rich or something?'"

"I was like, 'no'. And she's like, 'I don't really care'. And I was like, 'all right'. And we went like mini-golfing or something, and she's like, 'this is lame.'" Despite this initial hiccup, something clearly resonated between them - they've been happily married since 2019 and have two daughters.

By 2023, Spaun was already rating his wife a perfect 10 for embracing the lifestyle that comes with being a professional golfer. "She's really big on me having a balance in my life. So it works," he added.

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Spaun was 31 when he claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory in 2022, but 2025 has proved to be a genuine breakout campaign. Alongside his inaugural major triumph in June, he came agonisingly close with play-off heartbreak at both the Players Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He secured his Ryder Cup spot automatically following the latter, despite suffering defeat in his sudden-death play-off against Justin Rose. Spaun eventually locked up a second-place finish on the points standings for the US team behind Scottie Scheffler.

Spaun will be one of four Ryder Cup newcomers alongside Russell Henley, Ben Griffin and Cameron Young. His teammate Scheffler, the world's No.1 golfer, also faced challenges helping his future spouse grasp precisely what his profession involved.

And this journey commenced whilst he and wife Meredith were courting during their school years. "I won the US Junior in 2013... and in 2014, I had the opportunity to play in the Byron Nelson as a high school student," Scheffler said.

"And Meredith, like I was at her house one day, we were hanging out with her dad or something, and the commercial came on TV. "And she was kind of looking around, she was like, 'wait a minute, isn't that next weekend, isn't that what you're doing?'

And I was like, 'yeah, that's what I'm doing'. She's like, 'wow, that's cool'. And I was like, 'OK.'"Spaun, Scheffler and their fellow golfers are set to spearhead the US team at the Ryder Cup this weekend.

The prestigious event is taking place at the renowned Bethpage Black Course in Long Island, New York, and will run from Friday to Sunday.