A promising start with a 1-under 71 on Thursday, June 4, followed by a disappointing 7-over 79 on Friday, Jordan Spieth missed the cut for the 2026 Memorial Tournament. Despite giving his best at Muirfield Village, his iron game let him down: 7 of 18 greens hit. But that didn’t stop him from giving the event the proper respect it deserved.

On Sunday, the 13-time PGA Tour winner confessed to Jim Furyk that he had come to Muirfield Village a week ago to prepare for this year’s tournament. When the captain of Team U.S. for the 2027 Ryder Cup asked further about his prep, Spieth explained: “I was the only one practicing Sunday afternoon. It was like a dream. I approach it like a major because it plays like a major. It’s the closest we get to one.”

The $20 million event hosted by Jack Nicklaus is one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour calendar. Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, and Nicklaus have dominated Muirfield, each winning multiple times. So Spieth’s dedication to preparing for it doesn’t come as a surprise.

Spieth’s best finish at Muirfield remains a T3 in 2015, leaving him winless in 14 attempts. Like Spieth, Rory McIlroy has never won the Memorial, despite 14 appearances.

But that has been the case for the 2026 Memorial Tournament in general. It’s not just Jordan Spieth who has struggled on the field this week.

Jordan Spieth’s struggles at Muirfield Village reflect the tough course conditions

Muirfield Village hasn’t been kind to anyone this week, not just Jordan Spieth. The three-time major winner shot a 6-over par in the first couple of rounds. He was certainly one of the most shocking names to miss the cut alongside Rickie Fowler and Robert MacIntyre. But the rest of the field isn’t doing too well.

After 54 holes, most of the pros had scored an 8-under par or worse. Only J.T. Poston had broken through the ranks and posted a 12-under par. Hence, he created a 4-stroke lead going into the final round of the event.

The defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, delivered the most shocking performance of the week. The #1 was looking to match Tiger Woods’ record of becoming only the second golfer to win three consecutive Memorial Tournaments. Instead, with rounds of 73-72-68, he remained far away from the top of the table to pose as a threat to Poston.

So, even if Spieth had made it past the cutline, he might not have fared well in the field. Maybe next year will be Spieth’s year.