The PGA Tour prides itself on being the home of serious, merit-based golf, especially when compared to LIV Golf. Tour loyalists often highlight the grueling qualification process, the cutthroat battle for FedEx Cup points, and the purity of earning your place in events. Yet, nothing tests this “serious golf” mantra more than the controversy surrounding sponsor exemptions. Take Jordan Spieth for example. Despite a forgettable 2024 season where he finished 80th in the FedEx Cup standings, Spieth found himself gifted a spot at the prestigious Genesis Invitational—an event that typically requires top-tier performances to enter. This was the second special exemption Spieth has received into a signature event this year, which has led to questions over Tour’s meritocracy claims.

Spieth missed most of the last quarter of the season due to his ongoing injury issues. He has been incredibly inconsistent for a while now, finishing just once in the top 20 in all of 2024. As a result, his relevance as a professional golfer has taken a hit, yet the 31-year-old is getting exemptions in every event possible. This led to many fans saying that the PGA Tour was “unserious,” and alleged that it was a “Closed system.” But there are merits to a player like Spieth being part of a signature event like the Genesis Invitational. 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.

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.”

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 was the 5th highest-ranked player on the 2024 PIP table. PIP rewards golfers who generate the most positive interest in the PGA Tour and Spieth seemed to have an impact, bagging a handsome $4.5 million reward from the PGA Tour.

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.”

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.

The sponsors, who pump in the money, would obviously want the most popular players in the event. It creates a more entertaining product. Guys like Spieth and Thomas being a part of the event bring value to the tournament immediately. AT&T put $20 million on the table for their event and it would have been hard for the Tour to ask them not to have the player they sponsor in the field.

The Tour had a good week at Pebble as an average of 3.3 million watched Rory McIlroy win. Spieth received an exemption there as well.  The best previous TV ratings at Pebble came when he almost won in 2021.

The PGA Tour saw a decline in ratings through its first four events prior to Pebble Beach, with slow play and poor TV coverage dominating the headlines. The Tour also without a handful of stars with Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Jon Rahm playing LIV Golf. Hence, having Spieth in the field for signature events makes sense.

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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.”

At the start of the year, American Express saw a 57% drop in the ratings compared to last year. Stepp Straka’s win drew just 232,000 Sunday viewers, a stark contrast to the 534,000 Sunday viewers who watched Nick Dunlap become the first amateur winner on the PGA Tour in 33 years

It is not as if exemptions are in anything new in golf. The majors have them for players who might bring something to the event. Joaquin Niemann, for example, has been invited to the Masters for the past couple of years. But the Masters is an invitational and has the luxury to pick any player for their event. The same goes for the PGA Championship, while the U.S. Open and Open Championship are, by definition, open for anyone to qualify.

But the Tour is different. It is not supposed to be an invitational. It has a rigid structure, which means you have to be good enough to qualify. Going by this, Spieth and a few others should not be at the Genesis Invitational, but it is about what the sponsors want. Bigger names equals more eyeballs, which the PGA Tour desperately needs at the moment.

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. In addition to Spieth, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, and Gary Woodland also received sponsor exemptions into the event.

Coming back to Jordan Spieth, he did get back his touch at the WM Phoenix with a T4 finish, which helps somewhat justify his inclusion in the Genesis Invitational. After coming back from an injury, that caused him to miss out on a huge chunk of the 2024 season, he will look to make the most of the chances this year.

But the injury has hampered his progress over the years and it will be interesting to see if can put it in the rearview this year.

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 when he was being 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. The recurring injuries also haven’t helped his cause. That continued for the majority of Spieth’s remaining career that saw him only win 2 more titles till 2024. In fact, his last win came nearly 3 years ago in the 2022 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.

In August 2024, Spieth started having trouble 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. The fans would agree as they witnessed a glimpse of the old Spieth in the 2025 WM Phoenix Open as he finished the tournament at T4.

Having said that, do you think Jordan Spieth’s regular participation could solve the PGA Tour’s viewership issues? Share your views in the comments section.