With three major championships already under his belt and double-digit victories on the PGA Tour, Jordan Spieth is eligible for the World Golf Hall of Fame when he becomes of age and is destined to be a sure-fire member in one of golf’s most exclusive clubs. He won’t have to wait much longer to become part of the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.
Spieth, who turned 30 late last month, will be among 11 former Texas student-athletes who will be inducted this September into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.
These 11 individuals will be recognized as the Class of 2023 in an induction ceremony in Austin, Texas, on Friday, Sept. 15.
Spieth, part of the 69th Men’s Hall of Honor, was a member of the men’s golf team at Texas during 2011-12 before turning pro. During his abbreviated tenure as a Longhorn, Spieth was a consensus first-team All-American and finalist for the Ben Hogan Award as the National Player of the Year during his one full season of collegiate golf and led the Longhorns to the 2012 NCAA Championship, which was played at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles.
The newest members of the Hall will receive a special salute during the Texas football game versus Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Getting into the top 30 for the Tour Championship is the goal but more pressing is making the top 50 for the BMW.
Friday turned out to be a big day for a couple of golfers eyeing the Tour Championship.
Only the top 30 make the season-ending field at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and Lucas Glover was 49th before the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. But thanks to his Friday 64, which got him to 10 under and into the outright lead at TPC Southwind, Glover rocketed up to third in the FedEx Cup Playoffs projected standings.
Jordan Spieth was also a big mover Friday, shooting a 68 to take over solo second, a shot back of Glover. That moved him from 31st, a spot outside of Atlanta, to sixth.
Other big movers up the projections: Sungjae Im went from 32nd to 18th and Lee Hodges from 35th to 30th.
Also worth noting: the change at the top, as Scottie Scheffler is now No. 1, replacing Jon Rahm atop the standings. And with Glover up to third, Rory McIlroy is bumped back to fourth, while Max Homa is also down one to fifth.
More pressing, however, is making the top 50 for next week’s BMW Championship. Here’s a look at two golfers who improved their standing, as well as the two who moved the wrong way in the points race.
Jordan Spieth’s first tournament round as a 30-year-old was a vintage performance.
Spieth’s irons were dialed in, his putter was hot and he used his trademark imagination when needed, including drawing up a beauty in his mind at the par-5 16th en route to a chip-in eagle. It all added up to a stellar bogey-free 7-under 63 at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Thursday, his lowest first-round score of his season and a one-stroke lead over Tom Kim at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The 30-year-old Texan, who entered the kickoff of the PGA Tour’s three-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs in 31st place, missed reaching the 16th green in two shots.
“Right of that green is normally dead,” he said.
Not for short-game wizard like Spieth. From 43 feet away from the hole, Spieth closed his stance and the face of his 60-degree wedge and one-hopped a pitch into a ridge that jumped on to the green and rolled right into the hole for eagle to improve to 7 under for the day.
“I hit that shot three or four times to that pin on Tuesday,” he said. “I looked to see if it was right on line, and then as it was kind of moving in, it was cool…it’s a cool feeling.”
Spieth notched six top 10s, including losing a playoff at the RBC Heritage, but was winless during the regular season. On Thursday, Spieth made birdie on three of his first five holes, tacked on another at 11 and before his eagle heroics added another birdie at 15.
Heavy overnight rain delayed the start of play and forced the use of preferred lies in the opening round. Soft conditions made the course gettable and Spieth took advantage by hitting 15 of 18 greens. His putter took care of the rest.
“This is the best I’ve seen him putt in some time,” analyst Colt Knost said on Golf Channel.
Spieth noted that he had been working on his putting, which held him back at the British Open last month, early in the morning before the Dallas heat became unbearable. Spieth sank a couple of clutch par putts at Nos. 12 and 17 to keep his card clean.
“They feel better than the birdie putts,” he said. “They really do.”
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Here are four more things to know from the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Although the U.S. vs. Europe duel is still two months away, the players destined to represent the stars and stripes have begun to cement themselves. As it stands now, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay are the other five automatic qualifiers along with Scheffler.
There are several superstars on the outside looking in, including Jordan Spieth, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler.
All three players could receive captain’s picks, but a lot can happen between now and selection time.
However, vice captain Fred Couples did give us a bit of insight during his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show, The Fred Couples Show.
“Here’s the guys that are not confirmed and need to make a case,” his co-host George Downing said. “No. 7: Max Homa.”
“I’ll say Max Homa’s gonna be in Italy,” Couples replied. “I’ll say Max Homa’s gonna be in Italy, without getting anyone in trouble.”
Couples was then asked about Cameron Young.
“Cam Young will be in Italy,” Couples said.
Max Homa of the United States walks from the 17th tee on Day One of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 20, 2023 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
How about Jordan Spieth?
“Will be in Italy,” he said.
When asked about Keegan Bradley, Couples replied: “The rest is — I’m stopping.”
Including those three players, the U.S. Ryder Cup roster looks like this: Scheffler, Clark, Harman, Koepka, Schauffele, Cantlay, Homa, Spieth and Young.
Three spots on the 12-man team remain open, with names like Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, and Fowler still hoping for a phone call.
“I’m glad he’s playing this week. The whole world knows that JT’s gotta go to, is it Minnesota, and then Greensboro? He’s gotta go to those places and play well,” Couples said.
The six automatic qualifiers for the U.S. will be official after the BMW Championship, the second of three FedEx Cup Playoff events. After East Lake, captain Johnson will make his six captain’s picks.
But after listening to Couples, it sounds like three of those spots are already taken.
Come the Open Championship, Spieth seems to find his way toward the top of the leaderboard every year.
“Go get that!”
With those three words, Jordan Spieth instructed caddie Michael Greller to fetch his ball from the hole after he sank a 50-foot eagle putt at the 15th green at Royal Birkdale that propelled him to victory at the 2017 British Open.
The Spieth legend grew that day and his words became more famous than the dramatic putt he holed. Spieth captured his third major and third leg of the career Grand Slam, and while the wait to join the exclusive Grand Slam club continues, Spieth never tires of talking about his Open Championship heroics.
In advance of the 151st British Open at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, Spieth, a Rolex testimonee, was kind enough to participate in this wide-ranging Q &A through his partnership with Rolex, including those about winning the Open in 2017, thoughts on links golf and more.
The final men’s major championship of the year is here, as the best players in the world have descended upon Royal Liverpool for the 2023 Open Championship.
The last time the world of golf was at Hoylake was nine years ago when Rory McIlroy earned the title of 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year. McIlroy enters the week in great form with six straight top-10 finishes including a win at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.
The reigning Open champion, however, is Cam Smith, who chased down McIlroy at the Old Course last season. Smith also won in his last start at LIV Golf London.
Here are eight of the best groupings for the first two rounds of the Open Championship. All tee times listed are Eastern Standard Time (Hoylake is five hours ahead).
While names such as Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom Kim, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler are residing at or near the top of the leaderboard at the Genesis Scottish Open, there are several big names leaving The Renaissance Club early this week.
Adam Scott, for example, opened with a 2-over 72 on Thursday and dug himself too big of a hole. A second-round 3-under 67 wasn’t enough, and the Aussie is headed to Royal Liverpool a few days early.
Seventy-seven players made the weekend, with the cut coming in at 2-under 138.
Here are seven big-name players who missed the weekend at the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open.
When PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan returns to the job following “a medical situation,” he will face an immense challenge to take the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund from concept to reality if he wants to tap into “north of a billion dollars” in investment. But he has an even bigger job to address — especially if he wants to keep his job — winning back the trust and confidence of his players.
Monahan, who has been recovering from an undisclosed medical issue that was announced on June 13, sent a memo to players last Friday informing them that he would be returning to the job Monday, July 17. When he does so, he will have to address a membership who have used words such as “betrayed” to describe their outrage with the announcement that the PGA Tour had struck a secretive deal to form a commercial entity with Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the financial backer behind the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan has admitted that he comes off as a hypocrite for his about-face, but he will need to show more contrition to win back the trust of the players — if that is possible.
During his Wednesday press conference in North Berwick, Scotland, Xander Schauffele, the defending champion of the Genesis Scottish Open, confirmed that his level of trust in Monahan has taken a hit.
“If you want to call it one of the rockier times on Tour, the guy that was supposed to be there for us, wasn’t. Obviously, he had some health issues. I’m glad that he said he’s feeling much better. But yeah, I’d say he has a lot of tough questions to answer in his return, and yeah, I don’t trust people easily. He had my trust and he has a lot less of it now. So I don’t stand alone when I say that,” Schauffele said. “Yeah, he’ll just have to answer our questions when he comes back.”
Schauffele recounted how on the morning of June 6, when the framework agreement was announced at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC, Schauffele was laying in bed with his French bulldog when his wife informed him of the news.
“I just remember laying there and I wanted to go back to bed, and then I was kind of like laying there, one eye (open), then my phone just started going off,” Schauffele said. “Unfortunately, I had to wake the little guy up and had to get my day started.”
Schauffele was asked if the news brought any peace and harmony to him.
“I would say peace and harmony is definitely the opposite of what the announcement brought to us players for the most part,” Schauffele said. “But like I alluded to or said earlier, I think in any tough situation, something good will happen. It may not seem like it when you’re stuck in, knee-deep in some of that. But for the most part, I do expect some good things to come from everything that’s happened, and hopefully, it’s some of our players getting more of that transparency that we have been asking for, for quite some time.”
Jordan Spieth of the United States talks to the media during a press conference prior to the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 12, 2023 in United Kingdom. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Jordan Spieth seconded the notion that more transparency about the deal is needed.
“Honestly, we’re very much in the dark on it,” said Spieth, a three-time major winner and former player director on the Tour’s board. “You talk to a lot of other players, it’s been quite a shock from the get-go… I guess Jay is returning Monday and I’m sure as he starts to speak with you guys, maybe things have gone further. Clearly, I think we would probably [have] liked to have seen him at the Senate hearing (on Tuesday, July 11) if he was able to do so, just as a representative of the Tour. But I don’t know if there’s anything that concerns me. I just hear, if you name one factor of it, I’ve probably heard yes and no on either side of it on about every piece of it.”
Asked to address the trust issues Monahan will have to navigate when he returns, Spieth said, “Yeah, quite a bit, just based on conversations I’ve had with players, and I think he realizes that. I’m sure he’s preparing for a plan to try and build it back.”
Also on Monahan’s to-do list? Filling the empty seat on the Tour’s board after the resignation of independent director Randall Stephenson. The former AT&T CEO and Chairman served 12 years and also has been a mentor to Spieth, who has been an AT&T ambassador for a decade.
“I think he did as much as anybody to help put (the PGA Tour) in the right place,” Spieth said. “I think it’s a huge asset that we lost.”
“The 49ers beat my Cowboys every year, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!”
Jordan Spieth has confirmed that he and fellow golf star Justin Thomas have completed a deal to become minority owners in Leeds United.
Spieth added that Rickie Fowler, who confirmed the trio’s interest in the Championship club last month, has pulled out of the deal.
Following its relegation from the Premier League, Leeds was taken over by 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Spieth said that although he’d prefer to be getting involved with a Premier League team, he’s confident that the 49ers group has the ability to succeed in its stewardship of Leeds.
“Relegation wasn’t ideal, but we got involved with the 49ers group about purchasing a larger share and getting in with them doing things so successfully as they do everywhere they’ve touched,” Spieth told Sky Sports News.
“We thought it would be a cool opportunity. It’s a big city, historic club, great venue in Elland Road, and once we looked into it we realized it could be really exciting.
“They (the 49ers) renegotiated after relegation and it was possibly a better deal — as long as they can get promoted soon.
“I’m excited to have a team I’m emotionally invested in. I’ve watched the Premier League intently for a few years. Hopefully, we’ll be back very soon.”
Spieth confirmed that the deal has been completed, though he added that Fowler pulled out due to the club’s relegation.
“It’s done. Myself and Justin with a minority stake. The 49ers beat my Cowboys every year, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!
The three PGA Tour stars went on a couples outing to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
With back-to-back tournaments in the UK coming up at the Genesis Scottish Open and the British Open, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler took this week off from the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and flew across the pond early to take in the sights.
On Sunday, the three PGA Tour stars went with their wives – Annie Verret (Spieth), Jillian Wisniewski (Thomas) and Allison Stokke (Fowler) – to the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The featured match on Sunday, Day 7 of the biggest tennis event in the world, was No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic taking on Hubert Hurkacz.
