Following an eventful Tuesday in which Jordan Spieth spent around 70 minutes on the driving range and played a nine-hole practice round with Jon Rahm at Oak Hill, it’s still not clear if the 29-year-old will even be playing come Thursday.
Spieth, a winner of the Masters, US Open (both 2015) and the Open Championship (2017) needs to win the PGA Championship to wrap up the career Grand Slam.
Severe pain in Spieth’s left wrist forced him to withdraw from last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. After flying from his home in Dallas to upstate New York on Monday night, Spieth arrived at the course Tuesday with the wrist heavily wrapped with medical and KT tape. A group that included his caddie Michael Greller and swing instructor Cameron McCormick watched him cycle through every club in his bag on the range. Spieth seemed to be in a good mood, with no visible signs of discomfort evident. Nor were there seemingly any issues with his swing.
Exactly what kind of shape he is truly in, however, is unclear as Spieth did not speak to the media on Tuesday to field any questions about his status. He’s also not scheduled for a formal press conference on Wednesday.
Rahm appeared to approach Spieth curiously on the range, as if to check on how he was doing. The two, however, opted to play nine holes together on a crowded, windy course, bouncing from hole to hole to avoid the backup.
Spieth had finished with a T-4 at the Masters then lost the RBC Heritage in a playoff before missing the cut at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago. He is now back in the world top 10 for the first time since last summer. Given that the PGA Championship is the last major he’s missing—he’s trying to win the Wanamaker to complete the Slam for the seventh time—it would be a bitter pill to swallow if he was forced to withdraw.
Spieth is currently slated to play with Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry, teeing off at 8:22 a.m. on Thursday (Thursday 10.22pm AEST). Should he withdraw, Aaron Rai is first alternate.
