Golfer with Type 1 Diabetes, J.J. Spaun, Wins U.S. Open

‍J.J. Spaun, a professional golfer who lives with type 1 diabetes (T1D), won the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. 

The U.S. Open is one of golf's four major championships, alongside The Masters, The Open Championship (also known as the British Open), and the PGA Championship. This prestigious tournament takes place annually in June at a different location each year, where 156 players compete for the title. 

Given the intense pressure of the event, onlookers and close friends were stunned by Spaun’s performance, especially considering the impact that stress can have on individuals with T1D. His journey to championship success while managing T1D has been anything but straightforward.

Impact of Stress on Type 1 Diabetes

Stress has a detrimental effect on type 1 diabetes, especially when it is prolonged and frequent. There is plenty that can trigger anxiety with T1D, whether it’s a hectic schedule, a lack of nutritious foods, unstable blood sugars, irregular hormone shifts, or big life changes—in Spaun’s case, aiming for a championship title.

Nothing is off the table. Everything can impact your health with T1D. When one aspect is even a little off in your life with a chronic illness, it can have a nasty and quick ripple effect if not managed with the right mindset, mental healthcare, and close connections to your healthcare team.

For professional athletes like J.J. Spaun, there is undoubtedly a lot of pressure on the green amplified by the undertone of not being able to quickly address diabetes nuances while mid-game. How he’s managing type 1 diabetes can become a reflection of his gameplay. 

View T1D Strong’s full profile series of athletes living and excelling with type 1 diabetes: Unstoppable Athletes with Type 1 Diabetes. 

Misdiagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

Spaun’s journey with T1D wasn’t linear—he was initially misdiagnosed. In an interview with the PGA Tour, he described his symptoms clearly. This background is crucial to understanding Spaun’s hero journey.

“I was losing weight rapidly,” Spaun said. “I lost about 20 pounds in a month, and I was losing energy. I wasn’t sleeping well. I was feeling—just, you know—lethargic 24/7.”

That’s when Spaun went to his doctor to seek medical attention. He knew something was off. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he was exhibiting some of the classic warning signs of type 1 diabetes. Still, because of his age, the doctors who diagnosed him inferred it was type 2 diabetes (T2D).

“They did my blood work and saw that my glucose was super high, which is—obviously—signs of diabetes,” Spaun said. “Given my age at the time—I was 28—they assumed I was a type 2.”

Spaun adhered to a type 2 diabetes treatment plan that included increased exercise and a healthy diet for approximately two years. Eventually, he sought advice from a doctor friend who recommended that he see a specialist, specifically an endocrinologist.

“That’s how we determined I wasn’t a type 2,” Spaun said. “Things have been better ever since.”

Luckily, Spaun was able to connect with the right specialists before his condition worsened. When meeting with an endocrinologist, Spaun discovered he had latent-autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) or type 1.5.

Misdiagnoses, such as Spaun's, can pose significant risks, particularly when access to treatment and healthcare providers for accurate diagnoses is limited. 

More than half of all new cases of type 1 diabetes occur in adults over the age of 18. Misunderstandings like these can negatively affect health outcomes, which is why it's essential to recognize the signs and maintain a curious mindset in healthcare, whether you’re the practitioner or patient.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

Common symptoms of type 1 diabetes include:

Frequent Urination

When blood glucose levels are high, sugar is lost in the urine, causing frequent urination. This does not mean having to go several times a day. It’s several times an hour and for longer than usual. This happens mainly at night for some people.

Extreme Thirst

With high sugar levels, glucose is lost in the urine, which can cause dehydration. Drinking to quench your thirst and getting no relief is a common diabetes symptom.

Increased Appetite 

In addition to extreme thirst, your stomach could feel like a bottomless pit. No matter how much you eat, you still feel hungry.  

Abdominal Pain/Vomiting

Gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, bloating and abdominal pain could indicate undiagnosed T1D. It could also be a symptom of high blood sugar, leading to dangerous diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA).

Feeling Tired or Lethargic 

The lack of insulin causes high glucose levels in the blood, which are not properly distributed to cells and muscles for use as fuel. This is why one might feel incredibly weak and lack energy.

Rapid Weight Loss or Loss of Muscle Bulk

Without insulin for energy, your body breaks down its own fat and muscle, resulting in sudden weight loss.

Itchiness around the Genital Area or Regular Bouts of Thrush

The increased sugar can relate to yeast infections, itchiness, pain in and around the vagina, and a thick white discharge or redness. There could also be pain when you urinate or have sex.

Blurred Vision

Damaged, enlarged blood vessels can swell and leak, causing blurriness. This stopped blood flow causes the lens of your eye to change shape.

Slow to Heal Cuts and Bruises

Poor circulation causes wounds to take longer to heal. This is because it takes more blood to get to the wound site to fight off the infection.

Fruity Breath

Since the body cannot break down muscle for energy, the accumulation of ketones in the blood and urine gives off an odd, fruity smell.

Heavy Labored Breathing

In some cases, individuals may reach the point of DKA before being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Here, the person may experience heavy, taxed breathing.

Interesting Fact: Type 1 diabetes symptoms can mimic those of a viral infection and often occur after viral illnesses, such as COVID-19, mononucleosis, or the flu. According to the National Library of Medicine, there are several viral triggers for T1D.  

Dry Skin

Having dry skin is another common symptom associated with high blood sugar. 

Embracing His New Diagnosis and Treatment Plan

“It’s all about perspective out here (on the green) and life in general,” Spaun said. “You have to take it one day at a time and enjoy the process. I’ve learned not to care so much about the little things that can ruin your day or golf round or hole. Having my mind in a better state and being more positive has helped me across the board in everything in my life—whether it’s golf, my health, or day-to-day living.”

Spaun has played an active role in the T1D community since learning about his diagnosis. He has donated to Breakthrough T1D (Formerly JDRF), wears a Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and has explored quick-absorbing insulin therapies, such as Afrezza inhaled insulin, with the guidance of Breakthrough T1D CEO Aaron Kowalski. (Kowalski also lives with T1D).

The PGA Tour shared that Spaun takes a similar approach to managing type 1 diabetes that he applies to golf. Spaun is self-taught. Despite having many connections, Spaun recognizes the importance of listening to his body and checks his smartphone often when golfing.

Throwing in the Towel Isn’t in Spaun’s DNA

“At that time (of my misdiagnosis), I was on my way out of the tour,” Spaun said. “I wasn’t playing well. I was going to lose my card. I was thinking if I could even be here a year from now, it would be kind of crazy. To be in the same spot and win the same week, it’s like it was meant to be.”

Spaun proved to himself that so long as you keep working hard, anything is possible.

“You never know when it’s your time,” Spaun said.

Described by Golfweek as the industry’s “Yorkshire Terrier," Spaun continues to “punch above his weight." Despite considering retirement just a year ago, Spaun's goal is to be elite, and Golfweek noted that his attitude is what carried him into the final rounds. 

Spaun exemplifies what it means to be a type 1 warrior and not to let type 1 diabetes control you or your dreams.

Refusing to give up, he took back the final putt during the 2025 U.S. Open just in time to make his daughter proud on Father’s Day. Golfweek says Spaun walked off the green to sign his card and make it official with his daughter, Emerson, in his arms. He could proudly tell her he was the winner that day.

He undoubtedly made thousands more in the diabetes community feel the same pride and celebration. Type 1 Strong wishes him sincere congratulations on his U.S. Open championship!