Jordan Spieth lays out risky strategy for Open repeat: ‘Big deal’

In July 2017, Jordan Spieth was in full swing, at least according to the man himself when he spoke to the media at this week’s John Deere Classic.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever been in golf,” he said on Tuesday.

That month saw him take his third major win in three years, the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Swing problems and injuries have plagued his career ever since.

But the 13-time PGA Tour winner is finally back to full health and feeling confident in his game, just in time for the return of the Open at Royal Birkdale two weeks from now.

Spieth, who has not won since 2022, saw the recent Birkdale Open as the perfect place to cap his comeback and return to major glory.

Not only that, he has come up with a strategy to increase his chances of winning the Open. The problem is that the strategy could jeopardize his PGA Tour status next season.

Spieth ahead of Open: ‘If I stay on the course, the results will come’

Spieth’s results so far in 2026 have been a mixed bag, as he admitted Tuesday at the John Deere Classic. Although he hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle, he argued, “there has been a level of consistency that has been better than in previous years.”

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 failed to crack the top 10 this year, and his last three starts (MC at the Memorial, T56 at the US Open and T66 at the Travelers) have been disappointing.

“Last month I felt like I played the same level of golf and I didn’t get a lot out of it. I’ve had opportunities in other major events obviously to keep the type of way I was,” Spieth explained on Tuesday.

Regardless of how his record looks, Spieth feels that his game is in “really good shape” and that a comeback win could be right there.

“I don’t let it get to me. I feel like my game is in great shape. I’m not changing and I’m the best player 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 program

But while he felt his game was in good shape last month, his poor finish saw him drop to the top of the FedEx Cup.

After struggling to break into the top 50 at the start of the season, Spieth has fallen to 52nd. If he fails to return to the top 50 at the end of the season, he will not earn a spot in next season’s Signature Events.

However, following The Players Championship on Sunday, Spieth revealed that he is forgoing his next FedEx Cup scoring opportunity to head to Royal Birkdale early.

Next week is the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in Scotland, an event sponsored jointly by the PGA and DP World Tours. Spieth deserves to play in it and try to win some important points, but he doesn’t go.

“I thought without going to Birkdale before the Scottish [Open]”I’m not going in until Sunday night,” Spieth said the Associated Press on Sunday after the Travelers Championship.

That was an issue for him because he passed the major courses this year as he arrived early to practice in the management courses.

“The majors this year, I liked the ones I went to in the morning and played before the week, because the practice rounds are brutal. So the plan was to do that early,” said Spieth.

But Spieth is well aware of the FedEx Cup implications of his decision. That’s why he made the call to play this week’s John Deere Classic, which he won twice in his career.

To be safe, he’s looking at two more tour events after the Open as last-minute scoring opportunities.

“I’m 50 in the FedEx Cup, and that’s a big thing,” Spieth said the AP. “Now I’m going to do Deere, maybe Minnesota (3M Open) and Greensboro (Wyndham tournament).

Of course, if Spieth were to take his third John Deere victory this week, all of his FedEx Cup points problems would be solved, taking the risk out of his decision to skip Scotland.

You know what else would do the trick? Second Open victory at Royal Birkdale in two weeks.

On Tuesday, Spieth confirmed his plans to arrive at Royal Birkdale just days before the official practice rounds begin. He also said he was “excited” to see the new holes Birkdale added, and that he had “heard really good things.”

Spieth called Birkdale “a great golf course” and “one of the toughest courses we play in the Open.”

One question that remains to be decided before the 2026 Open begins is whether Spieth, the last man to win the Birkdale Open, will be considered the defending champion in two weeks, or if reigning Open champion Scottie Scheffler will take over.

“I joked with Scottie [Scheffler]. I saw him in the locker room before he went out for his last round. I said, ‘Well, are you the defending champion, or am I the defending champion? [at the Open]?’ He was like, ‘No, it’s you.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, you can’t do that. It’s you.’”