Imago
PGA, Golf Herren the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday – Third Round May 31, 2025 Dublin, Ohio, USA Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday golf tournament. Dublin Ohio USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xAaronxDosterx 20250531_add_db4_113
Imago
PGA, Golf Herren the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday – Third Round May 31, 2025 Dublin, Ohio, USA Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday golf tournament. Dublin Ohio USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xAaronxDosterx 20250531_add_db4_113
Jordan Spieth received five sponsor exemptions in 2025 for five Signature events. With that came a lot of heat from fans and players alike for stealing spots from more deserving candidates. Spieth never responded. Until now.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
In an interview with the PGA Tour, Spieth said, “It stinks. I was catching strays for no reason from guys who I had pretty good relationships with. Everyone’s going to ask. I’m not, like, paying (tournaments) to get in. There’s a reason that they’re going to pick me to go in. If it’s going to be helpful to their tournament, then they’re going to want me there, until they don’t want me there.”
The three-time major champ didn’t name-drop anyone, but he drew flak from various quarters, including media persons, analysts, podcast hosts, and fellow PGA Tour pros as well. “Tell Spieth I’ll play him for any amount he wants. I win, I get his five invites to the signature events,” said 47-year-old Robert Garrigus, a one-time winner on the PGA Tour, back in August.
The comment from Garrigus came barely a few weeks after Spieth sounded apologetic over the sponsor exemption saga. Explaining he didn’t like asking for them, the 32-year-old said, “Yeah, because I don’t — I didn’t like asking for exemptions this year at all. I was fortunate to receive a lot of them, but you just never know.”
Of course, that money match against Garrigus never happened, and Spieth silently ignored the jibe. But this time, though, he continued to answer the critics.
Further justifying his stance, Jordan Spieth added, “I’m doing anything anyone else is doing. I don’t want to have to do it.”
Imago
PGA, Golf Herren Travelers Championship – First Round Jun 19, 2025 Cromwell, Connecticut, USA Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the first tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Cromwell Connecticut USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBillxStreicherx 20250619_bs_sq4_0329
Considering how popular he is, Spieth was always a great choice for sponsors to provide an exemption. He brought in more viewership than many of his peers. Even if he didn’t earn the spot, fans are a lot more eager to watch him play than many with a PGA Tour card. That’s why he was also ranked fifth in the Player Impact Program for 2024.
It was also evident in a survey conducted by our flagship golf newsletter. 69.6% of the fans said Spieth deserved sponsor invites because he was still a needlemover, and ultimately, it’s the sponsors’ decision to accept or reject a request for exemption.
However, just because he’s getting a ticket into Signature events doesn’t mean Spieth is taking it lightly. He’s putting in the effort to try to automatically qualify for events as much as possible. Last season, he got four top-10 finishes, including one at the Memorial, where he entered via a sponsor invite.
But the 32-year-old might continue to face scrutiny. And he doesn’t have much time to prepare for it.
Top Stories
Jordan Spieth might have to rely on exemptions
Spieth has been winless since the 2022 RBC Heritage. A nagging wrist injury played spoilsport in his comeback hopes. Although he underwent surgery before the start of the 2025 season, Spieth didn’t get any chance of a long recovery. A key reason he continued to struggle last year as well.
This week, Jordan Spieth is set to appear in the season-opening event, the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii. He will be lined up against some big names, including Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, and Vijay Singh, who recently retained his PGA Tour membership through a controversial route.
Interestingly, the 32-year-old is already committed to his first exemption appearance of the season. Reportedly, Spieth will play at Pebble Beach in February. He is an ambassador of AT&T. Hence, the sponsors have invited him to participate in the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
This is one tournament that he has won in the past. Spieth would be eager to replicate his success from 2017 and win the event once again this year. However, if he fails to perform well, then he might be subject to a lot of criticism from the fans once again.
On top of it, Spieth is not eligible for all the signature events this season. Unless he performs well and net a couple of top-tens, it’s going to be incredibly hard for the three-time major winner to earn a spot at the remaining Signature Events. It should be noted that last year, Spieth didn’t receive an exemption at the Arnold Palmer Invitational despite formally requesting one.
“I’m bummed not to be [at Bay Hill] next week. It’s been a great, great place for me, and I really wish I was getting that start, but I needed to play better injured golf last year, I guess,” the former Masters champ said last year. He finds himself in a similar situation this year as well.
Related Newsletters
