Back in the limelight on the course where he learned to play the game, Jordan Spieth looked at home on Monday. And home is a place the Texan has been getting mighty familiar with in recent weeks.
Spieth didn’t manage a victory during the 2024 season, and though he did make it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he was knocked out after the opening event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. But the three-time major champion had wrist surgery in late August and he’s hoping to make a big comeback once the 2025 season rolls around.
Spieth originally complained of a wrist injury the week before the 2023 PGA Championship, withdrawing from his hometown event, the Byron Nelson, which at the time was sponsored by AT&T. He ended the 2023 season at No. 15 in the world but has since fallen to No. 47 in the Official World Golf Ranking after what he termed one of his most frustrating seasons.
On Monday, as part of the inaugural Crush It! Cup youth golf tournament, a fundraiser at Brookhaven Country Club just outside Dallas — the course where he first honed his skills — Spieth made his first public appearance since the surgery and insisted he’s progressing nicely.
Golfweek: You’re a guy who plays with confidence and creativity. That’s your game. Has (the wrist injury) messed with you for a year or just kind of walk us through the mental state of having this.
Jordan Spieth: It was hard to measure, that’s why I didn’t get it done sooner. You know, it popped up here and there. There was no telling what would cause it and it wasn’t like hurting me swinging, so it was more of a how much is my subconscious making adjustments that are not good into the ball. I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home. Like when it would dislocate and I couldn’t get it back in, it would happen when I’m getting my daughter out of the bath, I’m putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn’t want it to continue and it happened more and more. And it wasn’t going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it’s just inevitable. And I had a time where you know if it is going to be something that was affecting me, significantly golf-wise, then that’s a bonus. If nothing else, then I do something that you know I can get back to actually shooting a basketball and throwing a baseball and playing with my kids. I’ll be more confident in what I’m doing on the course for sure because just because of knowing it’s in a good place.
GW: Can you talk about being on the outside of the Presidents Cup? I’m sure you’re enjoying the time and the rest that you haven’t gotten in the past but you’ve been one of the anchors of all these teams for a while, and it’s got to be interesting for you to be on the outside looking in.
Spieth: I missed the one in 2019 or ’20, the one in Australia. And I remember that being really tough. That was hard. I hated it. I was struggling in my game at the time, so I didn’t feel like I deserved to be there by any means and this one I obviously would have no business being there in my current state. So, it’s a little bit different but it still stings. It’s that hard to make those teams. You have to be that good year in and year out just to be considered one of the top 12 Americans. And I think Jim Furyk has an incredible team. I talked to him at length multiple times prior to this tournament. He asked different ways that maybe I can be involved. And it’s just at a very important part of my physical therapy so it’s just better for me to stay home and watch.
GW: You’ve done this in your career before where you kind of swooned a little bit and came back very strong with another great stretch. Do you feel like a little mental rest here is maybe something that gets you right back where you want to be?
2024 U.S. Open
Jordan Spieth plays his shot out of the 11th bunker onto the green during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Pinehurst No. 2. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports
Spieth: Yeah, I think it’s a great break for me. I’m gonna look at it that way, but at the same time, it’s like, in the middle of this, what can I be doing to stay sharp? What adjustments can I make? I’ll be kind of wet concrete coming back so I’ll be able to kind of mold things where I’ve been maybe struggling in some of my mechanics, I can get those mechanically sound. I’ve got enough time to wait until they’re very sound before I need to come back and be 100 percent. I’ve got to get the mobility back first and I need to get full mobility back before you then have to get the strength back. So stuff with the golf swing as I start back will start to feel very different week in and week out as I start to get the strength back in my left hand. So I imagine it’s going to be longer than a process to be like game-ready than when I can actually just swing a club, but I’m being very patient with it and very happy about the process.
GW: So in terms of PGA Tour progress with everything. I know this is something now that you’re a little more detached from than in the past, although not much. What’s your state on where we’re at right now? This has just been such an awkward time for golf in general.
Spieth: The best players at the top levels have significantly benefited from this scenario that’s probably unsustainable. And hopefully, that’s currently being worked out. It’s just between the two sides, two tours, the government being involved. You know, it’s not as easy as hey, ‘everybody, let’s just get together and figure this out in an hour.’ I’ve been very involved in all that, and I can assure you that as annoying as it probably seems from the outside it’s just it’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just the process of what needs to happen. It’s just going to take a little time.
