Jordan Spieth's “frustrating” 2024 season mercifully culminated with a second-to-last place finish at the St. Jude Championship on Sunday — therefore eliminating him from the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Spieth battled a confounding wrist injury all season — the result of a torn ligament in 2023. The 3-time major champion finished 66th in the FedEx Cup standings. In 22 events, Spieth carded three top-10s — all before mid-April. He failed to contend in a major.
Despite producing the most prolific driving season of his career, the legendary short-game maestro mightily struggled around the greens — presumably a symptom of wrist issues.
Now, facing “ASAP” wrist surgery, the 32-year-old is uncertain about his PGA Tour future. Here's the latest on Spieth.
Jordan Spieth facing “scary” PGA Tour future
Perhaps fittingly, Spieth finished his all-over-the-place PGA Tour season with a wild 18th hole at TPC Southwind, capped with a 30-foot putt for … double-bogey. He was 9-over par in Memphis, tied with Rory McIlroy for T69.
“I've got to have it operated on ASAP, and then I'll go through the process of what I'm supposed to do from there,” Spieth said about his offseason plans.
Recovery is about three months, he said.
“If I don't have a reason to try to rush back, which I don't, I'll probably just take it as slow as I can,” he added.
Because he finished outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup, Spieth is not automatically eligible for next year's eight Signature Events. Once he returns, he can work to qualify through preliminary PGA Tour events, and/or hope for sponsor's exemptions.
“I kept trying not to make excuses for myself because it didn't hurt when I was swinging,” Spieth said Sunday. “But it doesn't seem coincidental based on the amount of time, and really the results being the exact same every single week. So I'm very hopeful.”
“I think there's some clarity in getting it done,” he said. “There's also some uncertainty, and so it's a little scary. But also, if I can learn to find some patience, which I'm not very good at doing, then I think I could come back stronger.”
The first 2025 PGA Tour event is the Sentry, at Kapalua in Hawaii, in early January (a signature event). In Memphis, Spieth indicated he might try to enter the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December.
(Notably, Spieth is not a member of any of the six star-studded rosters set to take part in the inaugural season of TGL, the tech-infused arena golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, slated to premiere in early January. His decision not to participate could be attributed to injury concerns.)
Spieth also acknowledged putting “a lot on my own plate” in 2024, referencing off-the-course PGA Tour duties (not to mention being a husband and father of two toddlers). Spieth joined the PGA Tour policy board in fall 2023, after Rory McIlroy stepped down.
Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, and Peter Malnati comprise the policy board, which has been spearheading efforts to steer the PGA Tour amidst competition from and negotiations with LIV Golf.
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