One of the big talking points heading into the Arnold Palmer Invitational concerned the decision to not invite Jordan Spieth to Bay Hill following his eventful start to the 2025 season.
What has become abundantly clear at the start of the year is that golf fans care a lot about how Jordan Spieth fares. Of course, there was plenty of intrigue surrounding how he would get on after undergoing wrist surgery towards the end of last season.
But it has been vintage Spieth so far. Top 10 finishes came at the WM Phoenix Open and the Cognizant Classic, while he missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational and finished well down the leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Spieth mocked the decision to not invite him to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So he will head to the Players Championship with something of a point to prove.
Johnson Wagner predicts how Jordan Spieth will perform at the Players Championship
A victory at TPC Sawgrass would be a real statement of intent, particularly when you consider how impressive the 31-year-old has been at the Masters over the years.
But it seems that there are real doubts about his chances of success in the coming days. Speaking on 5 Clubs about the upcoming event, Johnson Wagner admitted that, while he is expecting Spieth to have his time to shine this year, he is not confident for him at Sawgrass.
“When you look at how he’s performed this year, yes he played well at WM Phoenix Open, yes he played well at the Cognizant. Both had very little rough. Pebble Beach, the same. When you look at his performances at Torrey Pines, heavy, heavy rough, he really struggled,” he said.
“Jordan can get creative when he misses fairways. But when you look at the stand rough that’s going to be at Sawgrass, it’s going to be more similar to the Genesis than either of those other events. I am not bullish on him playing well at the Players. I am extremely encouraged going forward this year, at a place like Augusta, potentially making the Ryder Cup team again – which I know is a massive goal of his. So I think, no, maybe not the Players. It would be a bit shocking to see him in contention. But moving forward, I think we’re going to see a lot.”
How Jordan Spieth has fared at TPC Sawgrass during his career
Spieth’s career record at the Players Championship is not an impressive one. He has teed it up at Sawgrass on 10 occasions, and missed the cut six times.
In fact, he has just one top 10 – and that came on his debut at the event back in 2014 when he finished tied for fourth. So it would certainly appear to be a course which does not suit his set of skills.
With that, it is little surprise that Wagner is not convinced that Spieth is going to be a factor later this week. But there is also a chance for the three-time major champion to make a real statement as major championship season starts to appear on the horizon.
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