Jordan Spieth may be gearing up for his latest Grand Slam attempt at next week's PGA Championship, but the three-time Major champion still looks to be battling ongoing wrist problems.
Having won the other three Majors, Spieth knows that a win at Valhalla next week will see him become just the sixth men's player to complete the fabled Grand Slam. However, the World No. 21 will not enter the week full of form, with four missed cuts in his last six events. The American is tied for 20th heading into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship but had a worrying moment after his drive on the 12th tee during his second round.
Having hit his drive, Spieth immediately grabbed his wrist and grimaced, with cameras picking up on him saying: "It hurt really bad."
The ongoing injury first affected Spieth at last year's PGA Championship and has flared up at a number of tournaments including the Players and RBC Heritage, where he was almost forced to withdraw.
While the 30-year-old has yet to find a permanent fix and is unsure about surgery, Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard has suggested Spieth consider taking a lengthy break to try and correct the issue.
“It’s clearly a problem, it’s clearly something which is preventing him from playing the golf that he wants to play, the golf that we all know that he’s capable of playing," he said on Golf Today before this week's tournament at Quail Hollow.
Spieth after his drive on 12: "[It] hurt really bad" followed immediately by holding his wrist and grimacing. Not great! pic.twitter.com/dZXpK6HZiUMay 10, 2024
"I spoke with Jordan about this last week, and he said he’s not going to make it worse, he’s not going to make it better by playing. The way he explained it to me is that he didn’t feel like it was a surgical procedure that was going to make it work.
"But when he talks about the idea that he doesn’t know when it’s going to pop out, and we’re talking about the ligament popping out of the sheath in his wrist, that seems to be terrifying. And I don’t know how you can possibly play professional golf with that looming over you.
"If we don't see a turnaround in the next few weeks, I think he has to make a decision on how he's going to treat this particular injury. Maybe taking six months off at this point is the best option."
Spieth gets underway at 11.50am local time alongside Nick Taylor in the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship.
