Following the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August last year, Jordan Spieth finally decided to address his nagging wrist injury. Spieth has struggled with the wrist ailment for much of the past two seasons. The injury involved the sheath that holds the tendon in place and it popped out during a moment late in the third round of the British Open at Royal Troon. Spieth underwent surgery and in September updated that “he should be plenty fine by the new year.”

Spieth has dealt with wrist issues since May 2023, when he injured it while playing with his son Sammy. He continued to play opting for a rest and recovery strategy but aggravated the injury in the fall of 2023 while reaching for a toaster in his home and was diagnosed with ulnar nerve damage shortly after. Post-surgery, Spieth began training lightly targeting a return for the new season.

“I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it’s my goal to be tournament-ready,” Spieth told Golfweek. After going winless last year and finishing 80th in the FedEx Cup, he was exempt from The Sentry, the 2025 season-opening tournament. But it was expected he would be in line for a return at the Sony Open in Hawaii starting on January 9, however, as it turns out, that won’t be the case.

PGA Tour released the list of the golfers scheduled to compete in the Sony Open for a $8.7 million purse. Spieth’s name was nowhere to be seen among the list of 144 players. It appears that Spieth is still undergoing rehabilitation from his wrist surgery. Even though his wrist injury occurred in 2023, Spieth has mentioned he started having troubles with it way before.

Last year on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Spieth said his wrist injury goes all the way back to late 2017 when he injured it during a training session. He said he didn’t get it fixed right away and fell into some poor swing habits. Yet, it was not until the injury while playing with his son, that he felt something pop and had to withdraw from the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Still, the injury did not bother him while playing but it would appear randomly off the course. He said he would just “kind of get the tendon back in place” and get on with it. But then it started interfering with his play as well.

Spieth clarified that the injury never hindered his game off the tee, but as he got closer to the green, it started playing with his head. Come 2024, he started feeling slightly better until he nearly withdrew during the first round of the RBC Heritage after a tendon in his wrist “popped out” while hitting a greenside bunker shot on the 13th hole.

Spieth’s injury kept getting worse and he finally opted for surgery to fix it once and for all. But it looks like a return to action is still far off. Meanwhile, amid his absence at The Sentry, his caddie had a surprise appearance.

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Debate

Earlier at the Sentry, Max Homa was sighted with Michael Greller, Spieth’s caddie. It was later confirmed that Michael Greller was a temporary caddie for Homa. Joe Greiner, Homa’s regular caddie was busy due to some personal commitments but he will be back for caddying for Homa for his next start on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth’s absence shouldn’t take away from the strength of the field in Hawaii.

Top names at the Sony Open Hawaii

Even though top names are missing the field, the list is still a great one for the fans. Out of the 144 players featured at the event, some will directly come after the Sentry while others will be at the course after a long break of the off-season. Round 1 & 2 leaderboard topper of the Sentry will be at the event, i.e. Tom Hoge and Hideki Matsuyama.

Along with them, Brian Harman, Lucas Glover, Tom Kim, and Keegan Bradley will also be on the watch list of fans. Not to forget, Billy Horschel, Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala, Nick Dunlap, and J.T. Poston will also be some names that fans would not want to miss at the event. With significant names on the list, it will be a true golfing experience for the players and fans. Who will be the winner of the opening drive according to you? Share with us your pick in the comments.