Jordan Spieth entered the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind with his season on the line as the PGA Tour playoffs began. The event marked the opening stage of the three-week FedExCup Playoffs, in which players competed for positions needed to advance to the BMW Championship.
The tournament featured several of the PGA Tour’s top players battling for movement in the standings, with the top 50 players in the FedExCup rankings earning a place in the second playoff event. Spieth arrived in Memphis ranked No. 54 in the standings and needed a strong performance to keep his playoff run alive.
Spieth made a strong start at TPC Southwind, putting himself in contention early in the week. His performance became a key storyline as the final FedExCup positions were decided after the first playoff event.
Jordan Spieth Misses BMW Championship After Finishing No. 52 in FedExCup Standings
Jordan Spieth’s PGA Tour season came to an end after he finished No. 52 in the FedExCup standings, missing the top-50 cutoff required to advance to the BMW Championship.
Spieth finished tied for 19th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship after rounds of 65, 69, 72, and 70, ending the week at 4 under.
Spieth needed a top-10 finish to have a strong chance of moving into the top 50, but his final result was not enough. Spieth said, ‘I was going to need to finish essentially in the top 10 this week and fell just short of it.”
He entered the tournament needing a solo 23rd-place finish just to have a mathematical chance of advancing.
Spieth opened the event with a bogey-free 5-under 65 to share the first-round lead and followed it with a 69 on Friday. However, a 2-over 72 on Saturday slowed his progress, leaving him needing a strong final round to move into a qualifying position.
In Sunday’s final round, Spieth shot an even-par 70. He was 2 under through his first 10 holes and remained around the top-50 mark before a difficult stretch on the back nine.
He made bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes, added a birdie on the 13th, and gave the stroke back with another bogey on the 15th.
Spieth later explained the challenge of his final round. “I needed to be almost flawless today,” he said. He also added, “I just didn’t execute enough shots and … a couple bounces could have gone one way or the other.”
A birdie on the 18th hole would have helped his chances, but his long putt from 35 feet came up short, leaving him with a par and ending his playoff hopes.
Jordan Spieth Remains Confident About His Future Form
Despite missing the BMW Championship, Jordan Spieth said he believes his game is moving in the right direction. He explained that his recent results did not fully reflect his confidence in his current form.
“It’s funny, I just feel like I’m kind of getting back to playing really good golf, like it’s close to kicking off, and I’m not going to play a tournament for a long time,” Spieth said.
Spieth acknowledged that he lost valuable time while working on his game during a six-week stretch but remained positive about what comes next.
“I’m very, very confident in what’s coming. I just ran out of steam and maybe made a couple bad decisions over about a six-week stretch on what I was working on, and I just didn’t quite have enough time to make up for it,” he said.
The result ended Spieth’s playoff run, but he viewed the week as evidence that his game was improving. He said he felt he was leaving opportunities behind while also believing the performance was a step toward better results in the future.
Spieth finished just outside the qualifying spots, while Sungjae Im was the only player to move into the top 50 after the tournament. The BMW Championship field will continue without Spieth as the remaining playoff contenders compete for the FedExCup title.
Jordan Spieth Dealt Concerning News as Season Ends at FedEx St. Jude