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Paul McGinley completely disagrees with what Brandel Chamblee has said about Jordan Spieth before the PGA Championship, ‘that is not the case’

Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images
Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images
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Jordan Spieth is going to be one to definitely watch at the PGA Championship, with the American getting another shot at completing the career grand slam this week at Quail Hollow.

When you look at Jordan Spieth‘s results this season, you would struggle to make a case that he is going to be in the mix this week. He has finished no higher than fourth on the PGA Tour with none of those results coming in a signature event.

Meanwhile, many of his peers are playing outstanding golf right now.

Nevertheless, Spieth is one of those players that you simply cannot write off.

Paul McGinley disagrees with Brandel Chamblee’s claim about Jordan Spieth ahead of the PGA Championship

Few will ever forget the manner in which Spieth won The Masters 10 years ago, and then followed it up at the very next major in the US Open. And he battled his way to clinch The Open Championship in 2017.

The 31-year-old has not won on the PGA Tour since 2022. But speaking on Golf Channel ahead of the PGA Championship, Brandel Chamblee said that there is reason for cautious optimism when it comes to Spieth.

Unfortunately, Paul McGinley did not see it the same way.

“At times this year, he’s played in tournaments like Texas Open, very tough fairways to hit under windy conditions. Only one player in the field hit more fairways than him. Cognizant, only eight players in the field hit more fairways than him. He’s had weeks where he’s the best in the field, or close to the best in the field strokes gained approach,” Chamblee said.

“So, since he last won a major championship, I would argue this is the best that he has played, and no place gives us more surprise winners – and it would be a little bit of a surprise if he did – than a PGA Championship. You’re not buying it, I know that.”

Jordan Spieth hits out of the bunker at the PGA Championship
Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images

“You sound like a defence lawyer pleading against all the odds. I love Jordan, and I said on the Saturday night of The Masters, if you love golf, you’ve got to be cheering another grand slam winner in Rory over the line. If Jordan gets in that situation, I would be the first to cheer him over the line Saturday night. I’d love to see another grand slam winner, particularly Jordan Spieth. I think he would represent the game wonderfully as a grand slam winner. But I don’t see it Brandel, I don’t see it,” McGinley replied.

“You saw the golf course there, it was firm, it was fast, it was brown. That’s not the case this week. It’s a golf course that he hasn’t excelled on and hasn’t played well around here, and it’s a long, wet golf course. I just think that there’s going to be too many questions asked of his game not being good enough. For me, I’m looking at the real ball-strikers coming through here this week the way the golf course is playing, and I don’t put Jordan in real elite. I know he’s got heart, I know he’s got scrap, I know he can fight, but he just doesn’t have enough game about him on to win on a test. This is one of the most difficult tests the players have on the PGA Tour, and now with a major championship, it’s even more difficult with the rough a little bit thicker.”

Jordan Spieth’s impressive stats on the PGA Tour in 2025

What has been impressive about Spieth’s performances this year is that there does not appear to be a clear weakness within his game when you look at the statistics.

He is just inside the top 20 on the PGA Tour for total strokes gained, and his worst performance sees him in 70th position. That would suggest that he is putting the foundations in place to build a more consistent game.

CategoryStrokes gainedJordan Spieth’s PGA Tour rank (2025)
Total0.82922nd
Tee to green0.70229th
Off the tee0.33230th
Approach0.15775th
Around the green0.21244th
Putting0.12769th
Credit PGA Tour

It remains to be seen if he can put himself back amongst the best in the world. And it would be a monumental task to do it this week when the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy are playing so well.

Whatever happens over the coming days, Spieth is almost certainly going to be fascinating to watch.