NASSAU, Bahamas – Eleven years ago, Jordan Spieth blitzed the field at the Hero World Challenge, cruising to a 10-shot victory over the elite field. It served as a launching pad for the best season of his career when he won two majors and was world No. 1. This week, he returns to the 20-man field needing a special invite from tournament host Tiger Woods. He’s fallen to No. 70 in the world and is winless in more than three years.
Spieth, 32, had wrist surgery in the 2024 off-season and showed flashes of his old self this past season. He is making his first start on the PGA Tour since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August in this unofficial event. After hitting a few bags of balls in the warm sunshine, he said he’s been hard at work to regain the level of play that made him a three-time major winner and 13-time Tour champion.
“I feel healthy,” he said. “I feel like I should have the structural integrity of my swing by the time I get to January. I’ve gone through phases with it, but this is a good trial run, test it out here this week and if I finish first or 20th, as long as I’m sticking with what I’m working on, then I’ll be making progress.”
Spieth continues to work on his swing with longtime instructor Cameron McCormick. He said transferring the feels to the golf course has lagged behind schedule. “I’ve had to reverse bad habits. It takes a long time,” he said. “When you get a few months off, you have the ability to make bigger changes than you do in the season.”
Still, he said he wasn’t ready to play in September and October and while he considered playing the World Wide Technology Championship last month in Cabo and even the season-ending RSM Classic at Sea Island, he realized it made more sense to wait to the Hero, where he would be guaranteed four rounds and it’s a little closer to the start of the season.
“I know I can do exactly what I want to do, which I haven’t done in years and years and years. I’m just not doing it every time,” he explained. “When I can do it, 80 percent of the swings, then I can win a golf tournament, but if I’m doing it, 20 percent of the swings, then it’s going to be hard because the club’s not in the same position that I’m planning on it being.”
Spieth finished the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 54 in the standings, failing to secure status in the signature events for 2026 and dropped to No. 61 by the conclusion of the FedEx Cup Fall. He said he’s raring to go for 2026 and expects to start his season at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
“I’ve been off for so long. Hit the ground running, probably play a lot on the West Coast,” he said. “I want to work my way into events. I don’t want to use exemptions. I don’t want to ever have to use that again. It’s sucked the last couple years.”
This is a big year upcoming for Spieth and trusting his swing in battle will be critical for his success. That’s why the Hero matters to him as a barometer of where he is in the pursuit of what he called the structural integrity of his swing.
“This will be a good gauge on what shots are harder, what shots are easier. What am I doing better? What do I need to work a little more on?” he said.
