You know there is one thing common between Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth: they are desperately waiting for that elusive win. They’re competing, they’re contending… but they’re still that victory seems to slip through their fingers.

At the WM Phoenix Open, Spieth came agonizingly close, finishing in a tie for fourth, while Thomas ended up T6. Spieth, who last won at the RBC Heritage in 2022, has been battling back from a wrist injury that sidelined him for a significant stretch in 2024. Despite his wrist still not being at full strength—and even jamming it again at the AT&T Pebble Beach—he put up a fight, shooting a 68 to finish at 16-under.

It was the kind of performance that reminded everyone just how good Spieth can be. His short game was sharp, his ball striking looked solid, and he even pulled off a ridiculous left-handed shot with a putter from a bush—something only Spieth could attempt and somehow make work. But in the end, it still wasn’t enough to snap his nearly two-year winless streak.

After the tournament, Thomas was asked about both him and Spieth finding themselves in contention again, and what it meant for their friendship and the game of golf. He summed up his response in just 4 words, “We love to compete,” JT said. “We love to have chances to win tournaments. Although we both had a good week, we’re not going to finish the week satisfied without getting the trophy. I know we both have really wanted to push each other again and get back doing it out for tournaments, so hopefully, this will springboard a little bit of a stretch of that.”

Thomas, who also last won in 2022 (at the PGA Championship), knows exactly what Spieth is going through. The frustration of near-misses, the hunger to win, and the pressure that builds with every event where they come up just short. While we can’t say what’s been holding JT back, Spieth’s fire to get that trophy was indeed evident. The WM Phoenix was his second event of the season, and he indeed proved that winning is just a matter of when than if. In fact, his coach Cameron McCormick also believes that he can (win) this year.

Jordan Speith’s coach sees a special comeback in the making

If there’s one person who truly understands Jordan Spieth’s journey back to the top, it’s his longtime coach, Cameron McCormick. And according to him, we’re seeing a different version of Spieth—one that might just be on the verge of something special. Speaking with Gabby Herzig of The Athletic, McCormick shared,  “This is a different Jordan. You’ve got a Jordan Spieth that is living and demonstrating patience and living and demonstrating acceptance. He’s been very easy to work with—more easy than most other times in my history coaching with him and more accepting of this being a process.”

That’s a pretty big statement. Spieth has always been one of the most intense competitors out there, but for the first time, he physically can’t rush things. His wrist injury—which had been nagging him since 2018—finally reached a breaking point last year, forcing him into surgery in August. For eight weeks, he couldn’t even hold a putter. No chipping, no grinding, no magic escapes from impossible lies. Just rest, rehab, and a whole lot of waiting.

But instead of fighting the process, he’s leaning into it. At Pebble Beach, he admitted that he’s trying to “give myself some time.” That’s not something we’ve heard from him before. And McCormick sees it as a major turning point.

“There are many blessings that come out of the experiences that we go through. Oftentimes, they push us to transform, sometimes in emotional ways or psychological ways. This has been a psychological and emotional transformation opportunity that he’s really recognized and kind of leaned into,” McCormick said.

The question now is, what does this all mean for Spieth’s game? He might not fully realize it yet, but McCormick has a feeling something big is coming. And if that’s the case, maybe—just maybe—that long-awaited win isn’t too far away.