It hasn’t been a good year for Jordan Spieth, at least by his standards. After at the season-opening event in Maui and finishing T-6 in his third start at the WM Phoenix Open, Spieth has just one top-10 in his last 17 starts. He was a non-factor at the majors, he’s down to No. 39 in the World Ranking and though he should squeak into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he will need either a win this week at the regular-season finale in Greensboro or a strong showing in Memphis to be eligible for all 2025 signature series events.
One of the causes for this performance could be a nagging wrist injury, which Spieth suffered in 2023. Speaking to the media Tuesday at the Wyndham Championship, Spieth acknowledged it’s an issue he’ll have to fix this offseason.
“Yeah, it's been a frustrating year because it's been maybe my best driving year ever, and then the clubs that I make the most impact into the ground with, which normally are my bread and butter, have been pretty off,” Spieth said. “It's not hurting, but subconsciously it's hard not to look at the numbers and think this isn't a coincidence.
“I've been taking trips out as well as being in contact with a lot of doctors, getting it scanned again and trying to figure out what the next move is.”
Spieth’s not kidding. Despite ranking 14th in strokes gained/off-the-tee, he enters the Wyndham ranked 114th in SG/approach, a jarring figure given Spieth has led the tour in the category in the past.
“I'm going to pretend nothing's happening, fully trust it given that I'll be able to get it fixed, and I know there's a lot of golfers that have had similar situations and come back better than ever,” Spieth said. “I like to think hopefully I have 10 to 15 years of prime and some of my best golf left, so I'll be optimistic about the process. But I'm not quite sure exactly what I'll do and where I'll do it, but unfortunately something kind of has to get done. And I've never experienced anything like this before. Just trying to take my time making sure things are done right at the right time.”
Spieth is scheduled to have at least two appearances left in 2024, playing this week in Greensboro then next at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, barring a postseason run, Spieth—who has made nine appearances for the American teams at the Ryder and Presidents Cup, including a perfect 5-0-0 record at the 2023 match against the Internationals—is on the outside looking in for a Presidents Cup pick this fall, entering Wyndham outside the top 20 in the team standings. Spieth would have the option to play in the tour’s reimagined fall schedule, but with the aforementioned wrist problem, it’s likely he would skip most of the autumn portion of the season.
As Spieth mentioned, the most frustrating part of the wrist injury is the lack of pain.
“I'm not in any pain playing, that's what's confusing. If I was, I wouldn't have played anymore,” Spieth said. “It's all off the golf course weird little things where my tendon will kind of pop out, sublux or dislocate out of the groove and then I've got to get it back in or else I wouldn't be able to grip a club. If it's a problem at all, I'm not withdrawing from an event. It's a very weird scenario and one that's been a little frustrating because I would have liked to have known this is the answer or this is the answer and just have to figure it out.”