Jordan Spieth Confirms Plans to Have Surgery on Injured Left Wrist After FedExCup Playoff Exit | Golf News

Jordan Spieth said he is planning surgery on his injured left wrist after his season ended with an early exit from the FedExCup playoffs.

Spieth finished nine-over par at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which put him near the bottom of the 70-player ranking, far from the top-10 finish he needed to advance.

The American player first injured his wrist 16 months ago, ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship, and has since tried various treatments in an attempt to avoid surgery.

“I need to have the operation as soon as possible, and then I will explain in detail what I need to do from there,” Spieth said Sunday.

The problem is a tear in the sheath that holds the tendon in place in the left wrist.

The problem has not gone away, and Spieth could never have foreseen how serious its effects on him would be.

Spieth said he spoke to several people and that recovery takes about three months, with physical therapy starting after the sixth week.

“If I don’t have a reason to try to get back quickly — and I don’t — I’ll probably go as slowly as possible,” he said.

Sunday marked the second time Spieth failed to advance beyond the first round of the FedEx Cup.

He was ranked No. 100 in the 2020 season when the top 125 qualified. Now only the top 70 reach the postseason and Spieth was ranked No. 63, needing a top 10 to advance. He tied for 68th.

Spieth began the 2023 season with five top-six finishes before injuring his wrist for the first time and withdrawing from the Byron Nelson. He has since had just four top-six finishes, along with a sixth-place finish against a 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

He was ranked No. 10 in the world at the time of his injury. Spieth was ranked No. 43 before the St. Jude Championship. He has failed to make the cut eight times in 21 tournaments this year.

“I kept trying not to make excuses for myself because it didn’t hurt when I swung,” Spieth said. “But it doesn’t seem like a coincidence, considering the amount of time, and the results are exactly the same every single week. So I’m very confident.”

“I think there’s some clarity in doing it,” he said. “There’s also some uncertainty, so it’s a little scary. But also, if I can learn to have some patience, which I’m not very good at, then I think I can come back stronger.”

Spieth called it the most frustrating year he has ever had to endure.

“I had to do a lot for myself and then I also had to deal with some unpleasant circumstances,” he said.

Spieth agreed to join the PGA Tour board when Rory McIlroy abruptly resigned last November, just as the tour was hiring Strategic Sports Group as an investor in its trading company PGA Tour Enterprises while also seeking to secure an investment from Saudi backers LIV Golf.

This year at Pebble Beach he played a test match using headphones so he could participate in a conference call.

Even more frustrating was having a good driving year: He finished 13th in the key statistical category off the tee. Spieth said that could be explained.

“This year for me has not been a good scenario for anything that has had an impact on the ground,” he said.

He declined to say when he would have the surgery, and he has time to spare. He is ineligible for The Sentry at Kapalua in early 2025. Spieth said that, depending on his recovery, he could seek an exemption for the Hero World Challenge in early December in the Bahamas.

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