Uncertainty about the state of his game is looming over Jordan Spieth’s ‘weird’ season.
Jordan Spieth’s season may seem uneventful based on his statistics: he has only achieved two top-10 finishes in six starts, placed 33rd in the FedEx Cup standings, and struggles with approaches to the greens (ranking 118th in SG). However, when delving deeper into his performance for this year specifically – even by Spieth’s usual standards of unpredictability – there is an unusually high occurrence of peculiar events. It should be noted that relying solely on numbers does not provide a complete picture.
Starting his season at The Sentry in Maui, Spieth encountered some odd events. During the Wednesday pro-am, he broke his gamer driver and had to search for a substitute while struggling with accuracy on Kapulua’s wide fairways – hitting only half of them which ranked him near last among players. Despite this setback, Spieth maintained good play throughout the week and found himself in contention on Sunday when things turned strange once more. On hole 15, after partner Harris English’s ball interfered with his shot placement requiring moving it temporarily before replacing it back into an unfavorable divot hole position; later followed by landing another drive onto another unideal spot on 17th finally finishing two strokes short behind winner Chris Kirk anyways – showing resilience despite all obstacles faced!
Spieth’s first tournament after a break occurred in early February. At the 54-hole AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was affected by rain and deemed strange for everyone involved, he tied for 39th place. A week later at the WM Phoenix Open – an event notorious for its raucous crowds- Spieth found himself among fellow players tasked with crowd control due to heightened emotions in what felt like an already charged atmosphere this year .During Sunday’s round on the final hole (the18th), a fan yelled during his backswing causing him to lose focus whereupon Spieth displayed frustration by tossing his iron down and uttering “What the F—.”
A week after, the Genesis Invitational was held at Riviera. Spieth began strongly with a remarkable five-under 66 on day one. However, he faced challenging flu-like symptoms on Friday and managed to score only 73 in that round. Unfortunately for him, this performance would not count since he had made an error by signing for par instead of bogeying the fourth hole as actually happened- leading to his disqualification from the competition due to technicalities; rules are strict and stringent! Afterward via Twitter Jordan said it hurt deeply knowing he couldn’t continue into weekend play – taking full responsibility nonetheless.
Spieth had a relatively uneventful week at Bay Hill in mid-March, playing four rounds and tying for 30th with one over. However, the following week was filled with more peculiarities when he found himself involved in Rory McIlroy’s drop controversy during the Players Championship. In both instances where McIlroy splashed tee shots on hole 18 and 7 of the opening round, Spieth along with Viktor Hovland helped determine if McIlroy correctly dropped his ball according to golf rules – something not entirely uncommon among players. Nonetheless, given their strong presence amongst high-profile names within that group sparked attention around this episode as it became widespread news about what occurred on that particular day. The atmosphere grew tense specifically on hole seven when Spieth stated to McIllory “Everyone who witnessed your shot is certain that it landed below the line.”
McIlroy fired back, “Jordan, who do you mean by everybody? Can you clarify?”
After that round, Spieth refrained from speaking to the media but did so following his second round. He fielded seven questions overall, five of which pertained to McIlroy’s drops.
Two of the queries focused on a scheduled meeting between Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (which invests in LIV Golf), and members of the PGA Tour Policy Board player directors – one being Spieth. During his press conference, Spieth didn’t delve further into what was discussed during said meeting; however, it served as another reminder that golf is not all that he has been thinking about amidst an unusual period for those involved with designing courses throughout the PGA Tour circuit. “I believe I have managed to balance everything reasonably well,” stated Spieth this week. “That doesn’t mean my attention isn’t scattered though- but right now these feelings will only pass.”
Was Spieth’s performance affected by the distractions at Sawgrass? He did not confirm this, but it is evident that he was not in top form. Despite favorable scoring conditions, Spieth fell short with scores of 74-72 and missed the cut by three strokes.
This week’s Valspar Championship seems to be another missed opportunity for Spieth, who is currently on track to miss the weekend once again. After completing two rounds at Innisbrook and sitting at one over (69-74), he finds himself just shy of the estimated cut line.
After his first round, Spieth expressed that “this year has been unusual.” He added that while he’s played well, there have been some odd situations like having the flu and a broken driver which affected his results. These unexpected incidents leave him feeling uncertain about where things stand currently.
Spieth had a challenging experience on the par-4 2nd at Innisbrook during his Friday game. His ball ended up next to the base of a pine tree after he tugged his tee shot. He consulted with caddie Michael Greller and despite not being pleased by any option, he took an appropriate shot given the unusual circumstances of this year.
Turning towards the tree, he utilized his left hand to swing and chop the ball back into the rough.
