Jordan Spieth may have been absent from the golfing world for some time now, but his name has certainly popped up time and again. Only, that this time, it is not for a good reason. It is no secret that the once Golden Child of golf now relies on sponsor exemptions and his star power to get into signature events. However, after the RSM Classic, things may have changed for the worse for the 3-time major winner.

As reported by Len Hochberg of RotoWire, “Jordan Spieth fell out of the top 60 in the FedEx Cup point standings after the RSM Classic. That means no automatic entry into Pebble Beach and Riviera.”

Sami Valimaki won the RSM Classic 2025. Max McGreevy finished runner-up & Nico Echavarria ended the event at T4. That helped the three pros into the Aon Next 10. Essentially pushing out Spieth, Jake Knapp, & Kevin Yu out of the rankings.

He now stands at the 61st position in the FedEx Cup Rankings, becoming the first alternate for signature events in the 2026 season.

He was last seen at the TPC Southwind in early August for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he finished T38. It is safe to say that if he had chosen to play in the fall, when most high-profile players skip events, he would’ve been far safer. But with the RSM Classic done and dusted, Jordan may very possibly stand looking inside if he doesn’t get more sponsor exemptions next year.

Last season, Spieth used five sponsor exemptions to manage 927 points and a 54th FedEx Cup standing. He earned 254 points across those five starts. For reference, you needed 620 points to finish in the top 70 and qualify for the playoffs this year. Now, while he did 17 cuts in 19 starts, he made the top 10 in only four and the top 25 in only eight of those appearances.

Next year, Spieth will replace anyone who withdraws from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the Genesis Invitational. Considering that most of the field is already confirmed, he might already have a spot in them.

Tiger Woods will probably still be in rehabilitation after his seventh lower-back surgery. Hence, he might skip both events. Justin Thomas also announced his hip surgery a few days ago. Chances are that even he won’t make both the signature tournaments, opening the doors for Spieth to make the field as the first alternate. But the path to qualifying for the event won’t be as easy for the 32-year-old.

If anything, the golf enthusiasts who don’t like seeing Spieth take spots from the underrated talents, he himself isn’t as comfortable with the gesture.

“I didn’t like asking for exemptions this year at all,” Spieth told TriadGolf. “I was fortunate to receive a lot of them, but you just never know. And when you miss out on elevated events, the way it’s structured, they’ve got the best players in the world at all of them, and you don’t want to miss any of them.

“Next year’s going to be a really good year for me, I can feel it. It’s all coming along. I’ll be healthy, and just structurally putting, the mechanics are all getting really, really close. One good offseason should get me nailed down to where I could be as good as I’ve been. That’s my goal.”

While optimistic, Jordan Spieth will still need to rely on luck to secure automatic qualification because others can still earn a spot without making the FedEx Cup top-60 rankings in 2025.

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How can Jordan Spieth still lose a spot in the signature events in 2026?

A player can earn a spot in all signature events of a season in a handful of ways. They can finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for the BMW Championship. Those who don’t make the top 50 can rank in the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking or play well in non-signature events. However, there’s one more way that is quite controversial at this point: the sponsor exemption.

If unable to get a spot on merit, some players opt for a sponsor invite through favors with the right people or connections with the sponsors. With how Spieth’s year has gone, this has become a troubling point in his resume. Even though the sponsors would love to have an attention-grabbing golfer on the field to attract viewers, he might face some challenges.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am boasts a field size of 80 players. Jordan Spieth will get into the field directly because of the expanded field. As things stand, four spots are reserved for players who either win in 2026 or make it to the top 30 but aren’t already exempt. Even if all four join the field, that won’t affect Spieth’s chances.

However, that might not be the case for The Genesis Invitational. With Tiger Woods & Justin Thomas not playing, Spieth might make the field. However, that spot would first be given to someone who wins in 2026 or is in the Top-30 OWGR rankings but isn’t already exempt.

His friendship with Woods, though, might give him the required push there as well. It’s likely that he doesn’t qualify for the Torrey Pines signature event and might need another exemption there. He did confess to hating to do so earlier this year. Hence, we can only wait and watch what he does next season.