On Saturday night, JJ Spaun took a seat inside the TPC Sawgrass media center and tried to claim he wasn’t built for this. ‘I wasn’t raised or groomed to be a professional golfer,’ the 34-year-old said.

There hasn’t been much to challenge that thesis over the past 12 years. The American has played in 227 PGA Tour events. He has won only once; he is currently ranked No 57 in the world.

And then, on Saturday afternoon, Spaun nestled into a vibrating ‘rocket ship’ that convinced him he really could compete with the greatest of all.

‘You put this headset on and an eye-mask… it was like a 10-minute session. I sat down and it was telling me to breathe in positivity.’ 

The chair’s message? ‘”When you arise from this, you’re going to feel like you’re ready to take on the day”, Spaun recalled. ‘Maybe that’s what I needed.’

JJ Spaun faces a three-hole playoff against Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship

The little-known American came within inches of securing victory and the $4.5million prize

Spaun and world No 2 McIlroy are tied on 12-under-par after the final round at TPC Sawgrass

The chairs cost $10,500 and claim to be ‘the most advanced general wellness and stress management device in the world’,

Spaun’s date with the Shiftwave came during the long rain delay that disrupted the final round of The Players Championship. He clambered out, returned to the course and put himself on the brink of a $4.5million payday.

On Monday morning, Spaun will return to this iconic course for a three-hole shootout with Rory McIlroy. It is the least he deserves after these four days, when his guts and guile prove he is exactly where he belongs. 

‘I like being in the spotlight now,’ he said. ‘I proved it to myself, coming down the stretch.’

On 18, he was 3ins from securing a remarkable victory. But his 30ft putt came up agonizingly short and he finished in a tie with McIlroy on 12-under-par.

A few hours earlier, Spaun had been worried about missing his Sunday night flight. ‘Then the delay happened, I saw the forecast, and I said: “No, no chance (I’m making it)”.

‘But then I had one for (Monday) morning, as well, at like 7am… but that ain’t happening. I’ve got to figure it out. Good problem to have, I guess.’

Spaun led after day one of this championships. He was third after day two and he topped the leaderboard heading into this final round. 

But then McIlroy moved three clear on Sunday and it seemed that Spaun’s race was run. He had gone two-over-par through the first eight holes. ‘I was a little tentative, a little scared,’ he admitted. The Shiftwave helped change all that.

As McIlroy had a late wobble, Spaun made fine birdies and 14 at 16 to reel in the Northern Irishman. He nearly followed it up at 18, too.

Sandwiched in between was a gutsy par at the treacherous 17th. Throughout it all, he barely showed a flicker of emotion.   

Before this, the American’s record at The Players read: missed cut, missed cut, tied 64th

To think McIlroy has won 27 PGA Tour titles to Spaun’s one. To think that before this, the American’s record at The Players read: missed cut, missed cut, tied 64th. 

The biggest barrier for Spaun, he said, has been a lack of self-belief. This week should do wonders for that. No matter what happens.

Spaun has played with McIlroy before and he is happy to cede the spotlight. ‘Everyone expects him to win,’ he said. ‘I don’t think a lot of people expect me to win. I expect myself to win. That’s all I care about.’

It took a while for the American to find out he was due back on Monday morning. ‘I thought we were just going to go straight to 17,’ he said.

Now he has time for another trip to the Shiftwave. ‘Maybe I should,’ he said. ‘It’s a little intense.’ But clearly it works.