Jordan Spieth lost to fate. The 33-year-old arrived at TPC Southwind not wanting to miss out on the Tour Championship for a third consecutive year. He needed a solo 23rd or better this weekend to crack the top 50. But fate had other plans. Despite finishing tied for 19th, the 13-time PGA Tour winner couldn’t climb high enough in the FedEx Cup standings to qualify for next week’s BMW Championship. Speaking during his post-round press conference, Spieth opened up about his elimination.
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“It was a tall task coming in. I was going to need to finish essentially in the top 10 this week and fell just shy of it,” Spieth told reporters. “It’s funny, I just feel like I’m kind of getting back to playing really good golf, like it’s close to kicking off, and I’m not going to play a tournament for a long time. In some ways, I feel like I’m leaving some out there, and in some ways it’s a good thing because, as I mentioned after the first round, this will be the last time I finish like this for a while.”
When the week began, the Dallas, Texas, native was No. 54 in the FedEx Cup standings. As the St. Jude Championship progressed, however, it looked like he might break into the top 50, the cutoff to advance to the next playoff event in St. Louis. He carded rounds of 65-69-72 through the first three days.
He was well in contention until Sunday. His hopes quickly faded after an even-par round. He is now projected to finish No. 52 in the FedEx Cup standings, narrowly missing out on a spot in the next playoff event. But despite falling short at St. Jude, Spieth remains optimistic about his future.
“I’m very, very confident in what’s coming,” he added. “I just ran out of steam and maybe made a couple [of] bad decisions over about a six-week stretch on what I was working on, and I just didn’t quite have enough time to make up for it.”
Spieth was talking about his mid-season six-week slump. He tried to force a change in his swing, but that cost him: three missed cuts and zero top-10 finishes. For a former World No. 1 with 13 PGA Tour victories, including three majors, that kind of season is a far cry from what he can produce.
Still, Spieth wasn’t the only player fighting for a spot inside the FedEx Cup’s top 50. Brian Harman was hoping to break into the top 50 and even climbed to No. 51 briefly. However, after finishing T30 at the event, he dropped to No. 65 in the FedEx Cup standings. His No. 51 spot went to Keith Mitchell, who finished T34. The biggest beneficiary was Matt McCarty, who currently sits at No. 50 despite finishing T63.
As for the tournament itself, Scottie Scheffler registered his second victory of the 2026 season with an impressive eight-stroke lead over runner-up Si Woo Kim.
That being said, Spieth will have to try again next year. At 33, he still has plenty of time to rediscover his best form. If he can find his rhythm again, it will be interesting to see what the former World No. 1 can accomplish in 2027.