Jordan Spieth insists he’s close to reaching the winner’s circle again. He just has to stay the course.
Despite a more than four-year drought and without a top 10 finish this year, Spieth told reporters in Japan this week that his game improved as the year went on and that he’s excited to get back to work after a seven-week layoff after missing the top 50 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in the middle of August.
“I had a lot better season than the results showed,” Spieth said. “I’m really excited about what the next bunch of years can produce going forward.”
Perhaps most telling is that the former world No. 1 — who had his 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons derailed by injury — said he felt unrestricted by any health concerns ahead of the Baycurrent Classic.
“I feel as healthy and strong as ever,” said the 33-year-old Spieth, who is back in Japan for the first time since 2019 and making his debut at Yokohama Country Club. “I feel that my mechanics are more sound than they’ve been for a while. It’s just about giving myself more and more opportunities to get comfortable at or near the lead again where I can push — where I finished 11th to 19th most of the weeks this last year, I can push that up to having a good chance when I tee off on Sunday and being at or near the lead.
“I like the position I’m in,” he added. “I feel that I can stay the course, and it’s close. I’ve been in a lot of different positions in my career and this is a very exciting one, gets me excited to go out and work and love what I do.”
In addition to shaking off the rust this week in the Land of the Rising Sun, Spieth has to deal with the pressure of playing himself into 2027’s signature events.
As No. 55 on the FedExCup Fall standings, he currently slotted to play in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational fields but must stay inside the top 60 to solidify those berths.
Hence why he’s returning from the lengthy break after the first PGA Tour playoff event in Memphis.
“I took close to four weeks off,” said Spieth, who vacationed with his family in Montana before coming back home to Texas and starting to play again.
“I was playing some really good golf to finish the season and I felt like I just ran out of weeks,” he added. “Had a good chance to put some great weeks together and just missed out the last few weeks of the season. So I was pretty excited for this offseason. I didn’t feel like I have to work on a ton of things, I just need to be playing more and practicing knocking in more putts.”
Weight gain?
Spieth spent a majority of his press conference talking about two subjects — putting and his love for Japanese cuisine.
On his short game, he revealed to reporters he’s been working on speed control and considering a new ball — the V1 from Titleist — this week.
“Been testing it the last couple weeks and I think that I’m going to put it in play this week,” Spieth said of the V1 on Tuesday.
Off the course, Spieth will have to work on showing some restraint from one of his favorite meals — sushi.
He joked with the media that he’s gained five pounds since arriving in Japan Sunday night.
“I can’t stop eating,” he said.
“We were in Tokyo last night and found a sushi spot there, then the food at the golf course has been second to none,” he added.
Aside from praising the food and the Japanese fans, Spieth called it a blessing to able to see other cultures and travel across the world while doing what he loves.
“I haven’t done it in a little while with a young family, but now hopefully soon I can start to bring my family and do this more,” he said.
Better gauge
Spieth said when he plays tournaments on difficult courses, he can get a better gauge on what he needs to practice back at home in Texas.
But make no mistake about it, this is a business trip for someone who’s astutely aware of his 2026 tournament finishes.
“I came here to try to win the golf tournament,” Spieth said.
“Coming out of it I’ll know a lot on what I want to do over the next couple months to get ready for what I think is going to be a really good season next season.”
