PGA Tour event’s Jordan Spieth decision leaves fans divided

Jordan Spieth will not compete at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill next week, after his poor run of form saw him fail to qualify automatically or through a sponsor exemption.

Jordan Spieth will not be at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill next week after failing to earn a sponsor exemption, and the decision has split the opinion of golf fans.

Spieth is one of the biggest names in the game, but the former Masters champion has been far from his best over the past year. He currently finds himself 70th in the Official World Golf Ranking, having fallen as low as 84th earlier this month, before performing well at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

His failure to find a consistent run of form on the PGA Tour has seen him lose his eligibility in the circuit’s Signature Events, meaning he is forced to rely on tournament invites.

He was handed one at the recent Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, but the same can not be said for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Whilst he is clearly not playing his best golf, some fans believe Spieth still deserves his place having announced himself as a staple of the Tour in recent years.

One tweeted on X: “Golf viewership has been tanking, so why not exclude two of the biggest fan draws. Ok,” whilst another simply wrote: “Awful decision.” A third then added: “Do they really wonder why golf viewership is struggling?” before a fourth fan commented: “I think Spieth should get one. He’s playing well coming off injury.”

On the other hand, however, some fans have a simple message for Spieth and Rickie Fowler, who also missed out, and that was to play better. Another X user chimed in: “I’m fans of both of them but if the Tour wants people to take these signature events seriously, they can’t use the sponsor’s exemptions for the same guys as popularity contests every time. This is the right thing to do.”

This point was backed up by another fan, who posted: “It’s an invitational so the AP committee can go with whoever they want. If these 2 want to be part of it next year, they have ample opportunity between now and then to rectify it.”

Before another wrote: “Just because several years ago you were a very competitive player shouldn’t guarantee you an exemption to play in a golf tournament where they will struggle to make the cut.” Sam Saunders, the grandson of the great Palmer, helps hand out the invites and explains the reasoning behind the decision.