The mask appeared on the second day. Spaun looked into the crowd, spotted his wife Melody holding up a printed face of the “Clarkson’s Farm” host, and had his answer to the “surprise guest” she had teased before the tournament. Three days later, he was lifting the DP World Tour’s flagship trophy.

Spaun beat Manuel Elvira by two shots on Sunday, September 20, birdieing four of his final five holes on a chaotic afternoon in Surrey. His 17-under total held up after Elvira double-bogeyed the 18th when a par would have forced a play-off. Elvira, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Aaron Rai finished tied for second at 15-under.

A December habit in the Cotswolds

The Clarkson affection is a family thing. The Spauns spend part of every December in the Cotswolds, where the Amazon Prime series is filmed, and Melody was the one who pulled her husband into the show.

“We’ve grown fond of him, along with the English culture, we actually take holidays in December in the Cotswolds, and we really enjoy his show,” Spaun told reporters at Wentworth.

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“I went to his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, with the hopes to catch a glimpse of him but he wasn’t around.”

Melody kept the mask hidden until the tournament started.

“She said we would have a surprise guest following me this week if I competed in the tournament and sure enough it was Friday morning, I see the face of Jeremy Clarkson and her holding it. Jeremy was there in spirit and I think he brought me good fortune.”

A cottage on the line

There is a private wager underneath the Clarkson story. After Spaun lost a play-off to Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship in March 2025, Melody suggested that any tournament win from him would justify buying a Cotswolds cottage. Spaun pushed the price up himself and told her nothing short of a major would do it.

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He delivered that major three months later at Oakmont, taking the 2025 U.S. Open. Wentworth adds a Rolex Series title and makes him the third American to win the BMW PGA Championship, after Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel.

Elvira comes undone on 18

Elvira had shared the lead down the stretch after eagling the 17th, and needed only a par on the 72nd hole to force a play-off. He drove into a fairway bunker, sent his recovery through the green, chipped into more sand and walked off with a double-bogey.

McIlroy had produced the loudest roar of the afternoon with birdies on 12, 14 and 17, but he also found the fairway bunker on 18 and closed a shot outside a play-off.

For Spaun, it was his second DP World Tour title after the 2025 U.S. Open, and his first Rolex Series win.

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“The stars kind of aligned this week for me to come out on top.”

The DP World Tour moves next to the Open de France, which starts on Thursday at Le Golf National.

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