Jordan Spieth knows he has his work cut out for him.
A three-time major champion, Spieth finds himself ranked No. 63 in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the final tournament of the regular season — the Wyndham Championship, which begins Thursday in Greensboro, N.C. The top 70 players in the rankings advance to the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Spieth, who has qualified for the playoffs in each of the past 11 seasons, is looking for a strong showing at Sedgefield Country Club as a means toward securing a spot in the BMW Championship for the second leg of the playoffs.
Only those in the top 50 after the first playoffs event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, will advance to the BMW and also qualify for next season’s signature events.
“Yeah, I think this is one of the better tracks that we get the opportunity to play all year,” Spieth said Tuesday. “I think it obviously has a lot of drama to it; we saw it now with the playoffs moving to 70. Whether it’s the playoffs or people making moves for eligibility, there’s a lot at stake at this event.
“My goal this week is to try to move up as far as I can in the FedEx Cup and head into the playoffs on a high note. I love the golf course; I think it’s spectacular. You can’t hide your game.”
Spieth, 31, gave it a run at this tournament back in 2013, only to fall short in a playoff to Patrick Reed.
This season has produced a mixed bag for Spieth, who has three top-10 finishes in 20 events with missing the cut six times. He shot a 70 in the final round to finish T25 at The Open Championship.
“My last event was The Open and I had a really good final round. I’m trying to kind of go off of that,” Spieth said. “Played in some pretty tough conditions that Sunday going off a little earlier and thought finishing on a high note there, I can maybe take into this week. I wasn’t sure if I was going to play it or not, I was going to kind of see how things were shaping up leading in and I’m really glad to be here. Yeah, there’s no real focus on next week because you don’t need to, it’s all about this week.”
Spieth also addressed the notion that he is being plagued by a lingering wrist injury.
“Yeah, it’s been a frustrating year because it’s been maybe my best driving year ever, and then the clubs that I make the most impact into the ground with, which normally are my bread and butter, have been pretty off,” Spieth said. “It’s not hurting, but subconsciously it’s hard not to look at the numbers and think this isn’t a coincidence.
“… I’m going to pretend nothing’s happening, fully trust it given that I’ll be able to get it fixed, and I know there’s a lot of golfers that have had similar situations and come back (next season) better than ever.”
–Field Level Media