The best word to describe Jordan Spieth in the year 2026 is mercurial. For several holes, or maybe even a round or two at a time, he’ll look like the player who captured three major titles between 2015 and 2017. But look away for a moment and suddenly he’s trying a flop shot over 10 porta-potties to save double bogey. If they ever build a Jordan Spieth theme park a la Dollywood, it will be all rollercoasters.
That ride continued on Friday at Aronimink when Spieth shot a two-over 72 following an opening round 69 on Thursday. The disappointing round likely knocked Spieth out of career-grand-slam contention for yet another year, but it did include a few highlights that showed just how obscenely talented he can be when all systems are firing. Don’t take our word for it, though. Just listen to Justin Thomas.
Can’t put into words how incredible this is and how MAYBE 5 people in this tournament could even hit that shot let alone try it during a major, and pull it off haha
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) May 16, 2026
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That’s high praise from the fellow SB2K alum, but Spieth’s sawed-off 70-yard knockdown deserved it as the Texan attacked a pin position very few other pros in the field would have been brave (or stupid) enough to take on. Another former John Deere Classic winner, Michael Kim, took things a step further, saying Spieth was the ONLY player in the PGA Championship field who could have (or perhaps would have) pulled off a shot like that.
5??? No way. Only 1 😂
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) May 16, 2026
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It’s fun to see that even PGA Tour pros love Jordan Spieth as much golf fans do. They also recognize his crazy brand of genius, and though it can be infuriating at times, they know better than anyone that it’s in perilously short supply in the robotic world of modern golf. Whether Spieth’s maverick game can hold up over four rounds at a major is another story. The talent pool and consistency level across professional golf now is incredibly deep and dauntingly high, and the reality is that Spieth’s best days are likely behind him. But like JT and Kim, as long as Spieth continues to tee it up, we’ll be there enjoying the ride.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
