Jordan Spieth is finally coming back, and not everyone is happy. The 31-year-old has been out of action since his appearance at TPC Southwind. He played in the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2024 before going back into recovery mode. Unfortunately, Spieth has been troubled with a wrist injury for far too long for him to catch a clean break in his career.

But that might all change in the coming week. Reports suggested that the golfer has recovered to his best health after his most recent rehabilitation break. It was also confirmed by the upcoming event AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am’s—slated from January 30 to February 2—official X handle on January 13. “This one is major 🌟 @JordanSpieth has committed to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and we can’t wait to see him back in action,” the caption read. Great news, right? Well…

The 3-time major winner is on the entry list for the tournament on sponsors exemption. Unfortunately, that does mean some up-and-coming talent who had been performing well recently will miss the opportunity. Fried Egg Golf recently posted an article about the situation and shared their harsh opinions on the situation.

The article followed the conversation between Brendan Porath and Joseph LaMagna of The Coop. Porath shared various ways someone can qualify for Signature events like the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But he didn’t fail to mention that “the field is more interesting with Spieth in it”. He began by saying, “The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will publish its full field list later today. Jordan Spieth is not otherwise qualified for this event. But he already “committed” to play it more than 10 days ago. Why? Well, obviously that last little “qualification” criteria, the sponsor exemption.”

“Joseph, the field is more interesting with Spieth in it. I’d also argue, in this very specific case, it is also better. He is very popular and, of course, a longtime endorser of the telecom (is this antiquated now) title sponsor. Is this, on its face, all that bad?” Porath asked, talking about the ‘infamous’ sponsor exemptions…

For the unversed: As per PGA Tour’s eligibility criteria, the organization allows players to be inducted into a tournament without qualifying. As per sources, players are selected based on their popularity factor—ones that can attract larger audiences, and help boost ticket sales. But in Spieth’s case, this also means something bad…

As LaMagna pointed out, “…This sponsor exemption, like all sponsor exemptions, is a complete farce. Putting aside the philosophical issue that handouts fundamentally compromise the notion of meritocracy, sponsor exemptions harm the PGA Tour’s product in a more direct way. 

Spieth didn’t qualify for Signature Events in 2025 because he didn’t play well enough in 2024. The entire point of the Tour’s “new” model is that Spieth should then show up to the Farmers Insurance Open – or other non-Signature Events – and play his way into the Signature Events. That’s how the model is supposed to work.” And it’s true, Jordan Spieth had a terrible 2024 compared to the standards he has set in the past. He only missed the cut 7 times and his best finish was 3rd at The Sentry 2024. The Dallas local ended the season at 67th on the FedEx Cup leaderboard.

Top Comment by Lloyd Beard

No he won’t win, he’s a fluke and his best is behind him.

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LaMagna added, “The entire point of the Tour’s “new” model is that Spieth should then show up to the Farmers Insurance Open – or other non-Signature Events – and play his way into the Signature Events”. He seems to suggest that Spieth would have earned qualification if he had just chosen to make his return in the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open.

Seemingly frustrated, the journalist added, “Instead, he’s playing on a handout at Pebble Beach next week while better, less marketable players sit on the bench. Sure, you can tell me that this field is more interesting with Spieth in it. I’m excited to watch Jordan attack Pebble, a golf course on which he’s been successful. But the Farmers Insurance Open field also would’ve benefitted tremendously from his participation, arguably much more than Pebble will. Nonetheless, Spieth is making his season debut on a sponsor exemption at Pebble Beach instead of earning his way into that field like (mostly) everybody else.” After experiencing so many withdrawals recently, this week’s PGA Tour event could have definitely benefited from the inclusion of Jordan Spieth on the field.

The conversation ends with LaMagna sarcastically stating, “Spieth is making his season debut on a sponsor exemption at Pebble Beach instead of earning his way into that field like (mostly) everybody else”.

Joseph LaMagna’s views about the entire Jordan Spieth situation are quite understandable. But fans will be more focused on the return of the 13x PGA Tour winner than debating whether it’s fair for him to steal someone’s spotlight.

Having said that, let’s take a look at what the fans can expect to see from Jordan Spieth at Pebble Beach.

Spieth’s performance at Pebble Beach

Jordan Spieth is quite familiar with the Pebble Beach Golf Links. The 2015 Masters Tournament has made it to the final stages twice in the previous years. He won the title in 2017 during his wild run of form. To say that he dominated would be an understatement. Spieth had already secured 17-under par 198 in the first 3 rounds. That would have been enough for him to finish at the top of the table. In the second place, Kelly Kraft had only managed to reach -15 after the 4 rounds had commenced. This just shows how dominant Jordan Spieth was throughout the tournament.

The 31-year-old nearly managed to achieve the feat again in 2022. Ironically, his -17 after 4 rounds of play was not enough to topple Tom Hoge. Spieth was the one who was placed second this time around despite his 9-under par 71 on the penultimate day. However, if Jordan Spieth manages to replicate either of these scores in 2025, he will surely be the man to beat at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Do you think Jordan Spieth will be able to win the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament? Share your views in the comments section.