Jordan Spieth has missed his second cut in the space of a week at the Valspar Championship, with the 2015 Masters champion struggling for form ahead of next month’s trip to Augusta National. Spieth headed into this week’s Valspar as one of the tournament favourites, but failed to find his best form at the Copperhead Course in Florida. Across the opening two rounds, the American found himself one-over-par for the week, missing the halfway cut by one shot.
Thursday’s opening round saw a solid start for the PGA Tour star, as he made six birdies on the way to beginning his week with a two-under-par 69. Friday, however did not go to plan, making just one birdie in his second round, adding four bogeys to his card to finish his tournament with a disappointing three-over 74,
That score left him on the wrong side of the cut line. It was another frustrating outing for Spieth, who failed to make the weekend for the second time in consecutive events. He opted for a different approach to many big names, with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark and Scottie Scheffler all opting to skip the tournament with one eye on Augusta.
Last week’s Players Championship saw more of the same for Spieth, as he ended his tournament two rounds in, finishing his opening two rounds at two-over. During his visit to Copperhead this week, Spieth opened up on his recent struggles, which included him falling ill and cracking a driver, in what he described as a ‘ weird ‘ past year.
“I didn’t really take anything from TPC Sawgrass,” he said on Thursday. “I kind of look back to Bay Hill and think, okay, where am I really at, because I never really know leaving Sawgrass. It just — same stuff. I’m not doing anything different. It’s been a weird year. I’ve played well.
“I’ve had some weird circumstances that have kind of thrown some results out the window the last — I had the flu and a cracked driver, just random stuff that’s, like — so I’m kind of a little uncertain of where things are.” He will no doubt be keen to find something in his game in the coming weeks, with the Masters right around the corner.
The three-time major champion has opted to skip the two-week swing in his home state of Texas, with the trip to Augusta growing ever closer. The PGA Tour will head to the Houston Open next week, before the Valero Texas Open seven days later – the final two events before the 2024 Masters.
Spieth has enjoyed previous success at the latter, wining the Valero Texas Open in 2021, seeing off Charley Hoffman by two shots in San Antonio. That year he went on to finish in a tie for third at Augusta just one week later, but will now prepare for next month’s opening major of the campaign away from competition.
