Johnson Wagner says Jordan Spieth did something he’s never seen before at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson and it’s really encouraging for the PGA Championship

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If you only look at Jordan Spieth’s results from the 2025 season, it is extremely difficult to argue that the 31-year-old will be a contender to win the PGA Championship next week.

Jordan Spieth went into the Truist Championship 39th in the FedEx Cup standings. Meanwhile, he has registered just three top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season – with none of those coming in a signature event. Spieth has also not won a tournament since 2022.

His record in the PGA Championship is underwhelming. Spieth has two top 10s at the event, with the most recent coming back in 2019. It is, of course, the major which stands between him and the career grand slam.

Nevertheless, when Spieth tees it up at Quail Hollow next week, many will hope that he is in contention to finally win his fourth major title come Sunday.

Johnson Wagner says one part of Jordan Spieth’s game has never been better

And perhaps they have been given reason for encouragement.

Spieth finished fourth at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson last week after a flawless 62 on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch. And there was one part of his game in particular which impressed Johnson Wagner.

Speaking on 5 Clubs, Wagner suggested that Spieth’s play off the tee has potentially never been better across his career.

“What I will say, he is driving the ball right now – last week at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson, I’ve never seen him drive the ball like that,” he said.

“Fully committed, getting it out there, which you said to me last week or a couple of weeks ago, the fact that he can drive it the way he’s driving it now leads me to believe that there is a chance he can put himself somewhere in the mix at Quail Hollow, whereas before I would say it was a horrible venue for him because if you drive it crooked out here, you can’t get away with that for four days. But the way he’s driving it, I think it’s a glimmer of hope.”

How Jordan Spieth has performed off the tee since 2015

Much like Spieth’s career, it has been a real rollercoaster off the tee over the years. He was fairly impressive during the most successful years of his career. But the drop-off was significant.

Between 2019 and 2021, Spieth ranked outside the top 100 for strokes gained off the tee.

Perhaps it should not be a surprise that that part of his game has now improved, with Spieth’s wrist injury probably limiting how many shots he could hit which involved turf interaction.

But it would certainly be brilliant for the PGA Tour if the other aspects of Spieth’s game hit those previous heights. Few players capture the imagination quite like him.