Jordan Spieth fell short of his hopes for a strong finish at the Cognizant Classic that would open the door to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He did finish in the top 10 at Palm Beach, but the FedEx Cup points he earned were not enough to carry him to Bay Hill.
“I’m bummed not to be there next week,” Spieth told the media after finishing the final round of the Cognizant Classic. “It’s been a great, great place for me, and I really wish I was getting that start, but I needed to play better injured golf last year, I guess.”
The organizers of the Arnold Palmer Invitational made a surprising decision when they announced that Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler would not receive sponsor exemptions for the 2025 edition. Spieth has played the Bay Hill event three times in the last four seasons, finishing in the top 5 twice.
The three-time major champion played in the two previous signature events of the season thanks to sponsor exemptions. On both occasions, he left with underwhelming results, tying for 69th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational.
Jordan Spieth Cognizant Classic
Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches 2025 at PGA National Resort And Spa on March 02,… More Mike Mulholland/Getty Images
It must be said that Spieth has also had his share of good times during the current season. He tied for fourth at the Phoenix Open and is coming off another top-10 finish (T9) at the Cognizant Classic.
In fact, if you take a look at his cold stats, they show an excellent season so far, with four events played, three cuts made and two Top 10s, including one Top 5.
However, Jordan Spieth has shown no signs of resting on his laurels and has taken these results as an indicator that there is still room for improvement:
“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction,” Spieth said. “I really do feel like I’m playing good golf at about 60 percent of the control tee to green that I’m capable of doing and still able to come to a very challenging golf course and hit nice shots and shoot under-par rounds.”
Golf is better when Jordan Spieth (T-4) is in contention. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BqLt6vMby7
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) February 11, 2025
Spieth finished the Cognizant Classic at 14-under, five strokes behind winner Joe Highsmith. Making his career debut at PGA National for a PGA Tour tournament, the 31-year-old carded three rounds in the 60s, including a first-round 65 that proved decisive for the final result.
The 13-time PGA Tour winner confirmed that his next start will be at The Players Championship, which will be played at its regular venue, the TPC Sawgrass, one week after the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Spieth qualified for the tour’s flagship event by finishing inside the top 125 in the 2024 FedEx Cup standings
