Pressure Mounts on Jordan Spieth to Fire Caddie of 14 Years as More Pros Split With Their Loopers to End PGA Tour Struggles

2025 was supposed to be a redemption arc for Jordan Spieth. What started as trivial wrist pain in May 2023 when the golfer was playing with his son, soon took a magnanimous form pulling Spieth down under. Ulnar nerve damage—read the diagnosis. And more than two years later, the repercussions are still palpable. However, this time, not just the golfing veteran but even his caddie Michael Greller has landed in hot water as the duo has seemingly failed to impress fans during the 2025 Valero Texas Open. But before we get to that…

For the unversed: It was in August last year that the 31-year-old got a much-needed wrist surgery. Spending nearly 12 weeks resting, Spieth finally made a return to action in January this year—making the cut in six of seven events. While he finished T69 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earning $34,500, the WM Pheonix Open was his best result this year at T4 with $414,000 in prize money. However, at the Genesis International, 54 players made it to the event with 18 missing out, including Spieth who shot 76-74 to miss by two. Since then, the veteran has finished T9 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches ($259,900), 59 at THE PLAYERS Championship ($56,750), and T28 at the Valspar Championship ($55,843). The controversy, though, reared its head as the 2015 US Open Champion took to the 2025 Valero Texas Open at the TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)—the gateway to the Masters Tournament next week.

In the third round of the event, Spieth (the 2021 Valero champion) made a bogey at hole 12, which seemed to be a turning point in his game, and fans couldn’t help but notice his struggles with reading the wind. The criticism was harsh, with one social media user igniting a slew of judgment from the community. “I’ve never seen a player so bad at “guessing” the wind . Just an embarrassment to the sport of golf right now,” the tweet from April 4 read, which has since been deleted. But in the golfer’s defense, the win soared at around 15 mph (with gusts to 25 mph), which made the playing difficult. Yet, the golfing star started well with a 5-under 67, but then followed with rounds of 73-73. Currently, Spieth (-3) sits T17, ranking 29th in Strokes Gaines: Around the Green.

Notably, this comes hours after Spieth had provided an update about his wrist in detail, and how it takes him 10-15 minutes to get them loose. “I wake up in the morning and my wrists do not feel the same, comparably,” he began before adding, “My left wrist, just to close my fingers, it feels like it’s twice the size, but after 10, 15 minutes, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt, it’s not sore, it just is so tight every morning after sleeping. So I think I’m a little surprised that that’s staying that way.”