American golfer JJ Spaun dedicated his win to Jeremy Clarkson after victory in the BMW PGA Championship.
The 36-year-old bizarrely credited his success to the former Top Gear host, despite never meeting him in person.
Spaun shot five-under-par in his final round, finishing two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Adam Scott and Manuel Elvira who were tied for second.
After scooping the £1.14million top prize, the American celebrated with his wife, Melody, who was captured with a cut-out of Clarkson’s face.
Spaun explained the couple are huge fans of Clarkson’s Farm and hoped to see him when they visited his pub.
He said: “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.
“I went to his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, with the hopes to catch a glimpse of him but he wasn’t around.
“My wife said we would have a surprise guest following me this week if I competed in the tournament and, sure enough, I saw the face of Jeremy Clarkson and her holding it.
JJ Spaun dedicated his win to Jeremy Clarkson after his victory in the BMA PGA Championship
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GETTY
“Jeremy was there in spirit, and I think he brought me good fortune.”
Melody echoed her husband’s words and said the Clarkson cut-out was their good luck charm at Wentworth.
“JJ and I are massive fans of Clarkson’s Farm. He’s educated us so much on British farming, and we absolutely love it.
“We see tramlines all the time now and know what they are. We’ve gone to his farm before and his pub, had his wonderful Hawkstone beer.
Spaun and his wife Melody are huge fans of Clarkson’s Farm
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REUTERS
“We promised JJ that Jeremy Clarkson was going to show up and, while he couldn’t be here in person, we decided to do a little Etsy cut-out of him and show up on Friday with him and surprise him in the morning round.
“He was so happy to see him that he brought him great luck, and so we had to bring him every single day, and here we are.
“So, yeah, we won’t be giving him up any time soon. Hopefully, maybe one day, we’ll get to meet him in person. That would be the dream,” she told the DP World Tour.
Spaun became just the third American to win the title, following in the footsteps of Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel.
Spaun became just the third American to win the title
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REUTERS
The 36-year-old felt he had a point to prove after being left out of the Presidents Cup side, using his omission as motivation.
He said: “We [him and captain Brandt Snedeker] haven’t spoken. But yeah, I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason.
“I’m so delighted to be here and just play this event. The extra motivation, I think that is the willpower that you kind of have, determination.
“Being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple of weeks ago was very disappointing, and I wanted to prove that I deserved to be on that team. I took care of my business this week, so all the best to my mates next week at Medinah, but I’ll be on the couch watching.”
