The PGA Tour received a much-needed boost at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Jordan Spieth making his return after several months on the sidelines. Jordan Spieth has been out of action after undergoing surgery on the wrist injury which has plagued the three-time major champion over the past few years. And there were some mixed signs at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Spieth finishing well down the field following a third round of 79. However, a final day 67 saw him end the week on a high. Of course, Spieth finished outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings in 2024. So he was relying on a sponsor’s invite for Pebble Beach.
Colt Knost defends Jordan Spieth following criticism
And it seems that Spieth is now at the centre of a controversial decision ahead of the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines this month. Spieth has, once again, received a sponsor’s invite for the event. Some fans have hit out at the organisers for inviting Spieth to the tournament when some players are in better form. However, Colt Knost has hit back at some of the criticism of Spieth’s invite. Taking to X, Knost insisted that it is a no-brainer for the tournament to make sure he is in their field. He also hit back at those who have taken exception at Spieth being invited to two signature events in a row.
Spieth invite to the Genesis Invitational makes sense, but the PGA Tour cannot bury its head in the sand over issue
It is definitely a very flawed system. Of course, you can understand why the Genesis Invitational organisers have invited Spieth to their event given that he is one of the biggest names in the current game. Spieth is one of the players who actually moves the needle when it comes to viewing figures. However, it provides a little indicator of the problem the PGA Tour is having creating new stars. Spieth has not had a top 10 on tour since April 2024. So it is hard to make the case that he is there on merit. Perhaps the way forward is for every sponsor invite to be matched by an invite for the highest ranked player not already in the field. Ultimately, the PGA Tour is going to come unstuck sooner or later if they rely on the same names to bring in viewers regardless of how they have been playing.
