Former PGA Tour pro makes claim about Jordan Spieth’s poor form

Former PGA Tour player Smylie Kaufman has offered his theory on why Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion, is struggling with inconsistency this season. Spieth hasn’t met his own expectations in 2024, though he showed a spark of his old form by making eight birdies in his first 12 holes at TPC Deere Run and finishing with a 63 at the John Deere Classic. Before this, it had been nearly a year since Spieth shot so low on the PGA Tour.

Earlier in the year, Spieth recorded three top-10 finishes, but since missing the cut at the Masters in April, he hasn’t finished better than T29. He’s fallen out of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking and currently sits outside the crucial top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, jeopardizing his exemption for next year’s Signature Events.

This marks the second consecutive season of poor form for Spieth, who hasn’t won since the 2022 RBC Heritage. He had enjoyed a resurgence in 2021 and 2022, breaking a four-year winless streak. However, his performance has declined, and he was notably absent during the Ryder Cup.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Spieth’s friend and NBC broadcaster Smylie Kaufman discussed Spieth’s slump with hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. Kaufman pointed out that Spieth’s current statistical profile is unusual for him. While Spieth has traditionally relied on his iron and wedge play, this year he ranks 16th in strokes gained off the tee but is 110th in strokes gained on approach and 80th in putting.

“He’s always been able to lean on his wedge game, his short game, and his iron game,” Kaufman said. “His putting was good to start the year, but his putting lately has really tailed off, and now he’s got an iron and wedge game that’s just mediocre by his standards.”

Spieth began the calendar year with a third-place finish at The Sentry but has struggled to contend since. He hasn’t posted a top-five finish since, missed five cuts—including the Masters—and was even disqualified from one event for incorrectly signing his scorecard. These struggles have caused him to fall outside the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking and outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Kaufman suggested that Spieth’s focus on improving his driving might have negatively affected the rest of his game. “Maybe there’s a correlation too, when you make swing changes, you start hitting it further. Sometimes there’s a driver swing the guys have, and sometimes there’s an iron swing the guys have,” Kaufman said. “And I think he’s kind of caught a little bit in between.”

Kaufman also speculated that Spieth might be distracted by off-course matters. Spieth has been heavily involved in the PGA Tour’s negotiations with LIV Golf’s backers and replaced Rory McIlroy on the policy board, leading to long hours in Zoom meetings.

Here are Spieth’s results for the 2024 season:

– The Sentry: 3rd
– AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T39
– Genesis Invitational: DQ
– WM Phoenix Open: T6
– Arnold Palmer Invitational: T30
– The Players: MC
– Valspar Championship: MC
– Valero Texas Open: T10
– Masters Tournament: MC
– RBC Heritage: T39
– CJ Cup Byron Nelson: MC
– Wells Fargo Championship: T43
– PGA Championship: T43
– Charles Schwab Challenge: T37
– The Memorial: MC
– U.S. Open: T41
– Travelers Championship: T63
– John Deere Classic: T26

Kaufman remains hopeful that Spieth will find his form again. “I keep wanting to believe that one week it’s all just going to come together,” he said. “But when you have so many things that are just slightly off, it seems like he pushes a little bit too much on some days to try to make something happen, instead of just letting the tournament come to him and letting his game come to him.”