In July 2017, Jordan Spieth was at the height of his powers, at least according to the man himself during his press conference at this week’s John Deere Classic.
“That was probably the best I ever was at golf,” he revealed on Tuesday.
That month saw him capture his third major victory in three years, the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Swing issues and injuries have hobbled his career since.
But the 13-time PGA Tour winner is finally fully healthy and feeling confident in his game, just in time for the Open’s return to Royal Birkdale two weeks from now.
Spieth, who hasn’t won since 2022, is eyeing the latest Birkdale Open as an ideal place to cap his comeback and return to major glory.
Not only that, he’s devised a strategy to maximize his chances at winning the Open. The problem is that strategy could risk his PGA Tour status for next season.
Spieth ahead of Open: ‘If I stay the course, the results will come’
Spieth’s results so far in 2026 have been a mixed bag, as he acknowledged on Tuesday at the John Deere Classic. Though he hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle, he argued, “there’s been a consistency level that was better than years past.”
In 17 starts, Spieth has recorded eight top-25 finishes, including a T12 at the Masters and a T18 at the PGA Championship. But he’s failed to earn a top 10 this year, and his last three starts (MC at the Memorial, T56 at the U.S. Open and T66 at the Travelers) have been disappointing.
“The last month I felt like I played kind of the same level of golf and didn’t get a whole lot out of it. I had some opportunities in some big events to obviously maintain kind of the trajectory I was on,” Spieth explained on Tuesday.
Despite how his record looks, Spieth feels his game is in “a really good state” and that a comeback win could be right around the corner.
“I’m not letting it get to me. I feel like my game is in a really good state. I’m more consistent and an all-around better player than I’ve been in a long time. If I stay the course, the results will come.”
Spieth risks 2027 PGA Tour status with Open prep plan
But while he feels his game has been in a good place in the past month, his poor finishes have seen him drop in the FedEx Cup standings.
After fighting his way into the top 50 earlier in the season, Spieth has now fallen to 52nd. If he fails to get back into the top 50 by season’s end, he won’t secure spots in next season’s Signature Events.
However, following the Travelers Championship on Sunday, Spieth revealed that he’s giving up his next chance to earn FedEx Cup points in order to head to Royal Birkdale early.
Next week is the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in Scotland, an event co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World tours. Spieth is qualified to play in it and try to earn valuable points, but he isn’t going.
“I thought unless I went to Birkdale before the Scottish [Open], I’m not going to get in until Sunday night,” Spieth told the Associated Press on Sunday after the Travelers Championship.
That was an issue for him because he’s had success at majors this year when he’s arrived early to practice on the host course.
“The majors this year, I’ve liked the ones I’ve been to early and played prior to the week, just because the practice rounds are brutal. So the plan was to do that early,” Spieth said.
But Spieth is well aware of the FedEx Cup implications of his decision. That’s why he made the call to play the John Deere Classic this week, which he won twice early in his career.
To be safe, he’s eyeing two other Tour events after the Open as opportunities to rack up last-minute points.
“I’m around 50th in the FedEx Cup, and that’s a big deal,” Spieth told the AP. “Now I’ll do the Deere, potentially Minnesota (the 3M Open) and potentially Greensboro (the Wyndham Championship).”
Of course, if Spieth were to capture his third career victory at the John Deere this week, all his FedEx Cup points problems would be solved, taking the risk out of his decision to skip the Scottish.
You know what else would do the trick? A second Open triumph at Royal Birkdale in two weeks.
On Tuesday, Spieth confirmed his plan to get to Royal Birkdale a few days early “before the official practice rounds start.” He also said he’s “excited” to see the new holes Birkdale has added, and that he’s “heard really, really good things.”
Spieth called Birkdale a “great golf course” and “one of the hardest venues we play in an Open.”
One question still left to be determined before the 2026 Open begins is whether Spieth, the last man to win a Birkdale Open, will be considered the defending champion in two weeks, or if reigning Open champ Scottie Scheffler will take the honors.
“I joked with Scottie [Scheffler]. I saw him in the locker room before he went out for his final round. I said, ‘Well, are you the defending champ, or am I the defending champ [at the Open]?’ He was like, ‘No, it’s you.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, you don’t get to do that. It’s you.’”
