Why was Jordan Spieth exempted from the 2025 Genesis Invitational? What made him eligible for participation in Signature events? Spieth had a less than mediocre 2024 barely able to challenge for a title. Moreover, he had missed most of the last quarter of the season due to his ongoing injury issues. He has been incredibly inconsistent for a while now. Spieth’s relevance as a professional golfer has taken a major hit because of that. And yet, the 31-year-old is getting exemptions in every event possible.
But the criticism against him is just as valid as the reasoning behind his inclusion. The likes of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, & Co. may not perform at the same caliber as they used to. But, they still are some of the most marketable golfers on the PGA Tour. They bring much more to every tournament they are a part of than just their gameplay. Spieth is extremely influential in the world of golf. Hence, the sponsors don’t mind the criticism as long as they gain the viewership due to his participation.
This was the topic of discussion in the latest Drop Zone podcast between James Colgan, Dylan Dethier, and Sean Zak. Colgan stated that he had spoken to a number of broadcasters recently. Most of them are still baffled about the drastic drop in the PGA Tour’s viewership last year. To this, Zak stated, “My universal truth in terms of what delivers solid ratings is if there are PIP guys involved”. The analyst went on to explain how PIP or the Player Impact program rewards golfers who have had a lot of success on and off the course.
During the podcast, Zak went on to share, “There is a reason why Collin Morikawa was Mr. Number 11 despite winning a lot. Because he’s not really as popular as Jordan Spieth is”. Jordan Spieth is the 5th highest-ranked player on the 2024 PIP table. He sneakily bagged a handsome $4.5 million reward from the PGA Tour. This came as a surprise because of his mediocre season in 2024. However, the irony is that the PGA Tour received a lot of backlash for not including him in the featured group. Just goes to show the influence he has on the community. Commending the 3x major winner’s fame, Zak added, “ratings, when Spieth is involved, go up”. He also gave examples of how Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, and other popular golfers’ appearances ensure the “ratings go up”.
Zak also explained why the PGA Tour saw a drop in ratings in 2024. “The ratings crumbled eventually when you took half of the PIP guys and you brought them to Riyadh or to Adelaide or to playing golf in the middle of the night,” said the reporter with a sneaky jab at the 2025 LIV Golf Riyadh event. He believes that “if you bring back all the PIP guys, you have them all in one place, I think you can expect there to be a little bit of leveling off close to where golf was in 2021.” He may be talking about golfers like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka.
As a closing remark, Sean Zak stated, “You need the good guys healthy, you need the good guys playing against each other, and you need them playing well”. Having all the big LIV Golf names back on the PGA Tour will certainly help increase the competition in the league. That will surely increase the popularity, viewership, and TV ratings of every event.
PGA, Golf Herren AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – First Round January 30, 2025 Pebble Beach, California, USA Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Pebble Beach Spyglass Hill Golf Course California USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKylexTeradax 20250130_kkt_st3_028
Coming back to Jordan Spieth, was he really that badly injured to miss out on a huge chunk of the 2024 season? Let’s go through his injury timeline.
How bad was Jordan Spieth’s injury?
Anyone who has seen Jordan Spieth play from 2015 to 2017 would know how good he used to be. There was a time he was getting compared to the GOAT; Jack Nicklaus. Spieth also received mentorship from Tiger Woods during his youth. He was all set to be the next big thing in golf. Unfortunately, his major wrist injury in 2017 sidetracked the career he could have had.
Since then, the 31-year-old hasn’t been able to find his game and has been constantly troubled with recurring injuries. That continued for majority of his remaining career that saw him only win 2 more titles till 2024. In fact, his last win came in the 2022 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
In August 2024, Spieth started having troubles with his wrist again. He went under the knife after the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. After 5 grueling months of recovery and rehabilitation, Spieth confirmed that his wrist is in the best shape it has been since he first injured it. And fans witnessed a glimpse of the old Spieth in the 2025 WM Phoenix Open as he finished the tournament at T4.
Havin said that, do you think having Jordan Spieth competing regularly solve the PGA Tour’s viewership issues? Share your views in the comments section.
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