Jordan Spieth is very much still one of the biggest names on the PGA Tour and his absence at the back end of last year was felt despite a poor year by his own standards.
Despite being a three-time major winner, Spieth hasn’t actually won on the PGA Tour since defeating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff at the 2022 RBC Heritage.
Spieth has now undergone surgery in the off-season on a troublesome wrist injury in a bid to boost his chances of getting back to the winner’s circle.
Spieth declared himself pain free in December, and ahead of his comeback at Pebble Beach in a few weeks, all eyes will be on how he performs.
However, while surgery has been successful, Rex Hoggard has outlined his concern with Spieth’s return.
Jordan Spieth told he should still be worried ahead of his comeback at Pebble Beach
Discussing Spieth and his impending return from injury on the Golf Channel podcast, Rex Hoggard admitted to being concerned about the three-time major winner.
“My bigger concern is that he didn’t finish inside the top 25 on the PGA Tour last year. He has struggled the last few years on tour. It is because of that injury,” Hoggard said.
“It takes me back to our conversation with our colleague Arron Oberholser. Him talking about how a very similar wrist injury essentially ended his career. He tried for years to play through it, he tried to have different surgery, to do all kinds of therapy on it and it just never worked. It really cut short a promising career.
“When it comes to Jordan he is a generational player. The major championships that he has won, what he did in 2015 when he was chasing down a single season Grand Slam, that is unheard of in the modern era. To be such a special talent and such a pivotal star in the game, he still finished fifth in the PIP this year and he didn’t compete hardly anywhere. He is still a star, and the name still carries the weight.
“But there is a caveat I would put on. There is a level of concern when you look at other players who have gone through similar injuries, how it’s impacted their careers and it’s worrying to be quite frank.”
Golf injuries that stopped PGA Tour players reaching their potential
Hoggard mentions the issue for Arron Oberholser above and it’s definitely a good point that certain types of golf injury can really hold a player back.
We only have to look at Tiger Woods, for example, as a player who might have won even more than he has had it not been for his horrific injury issues over the years.
Indeed, we saw just this year that Jeff Guan’s career is hanging in the balance after being hit in the eye, so it very much shows that golfers are still in the firing line.
Furthermore, legendary players like Ben Hogan (car crash) and Lee Trevino (struck by lightning) have suffered some of the most unfortunate injuries in golf history which affected their play.
For Jordan Spieth, this first tournament back will feel massive as he looks to get back to the player he once was.
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