‘I thought I was done’: Jordan Spieth nearly withdrew during first round of RBC Heritage after aggravating wrist injury

Jordan Spieth nearly withdrew during the first round of the RBC Heritage after a tendon in his wrist “popped out” while hitting a greenside bunker shot on the 13th hole Thursday. Spieth “jammed” his left wrist into the bunker bulkhead during his follow-through, which caused his ECU (extensor carpi ulnaris) tendon to pop out.

“It’s a thing that’s recurring,” Spieth told PGATOUR.COM on Friday at Harbour Town Golf Links. “I was lucky because most times it comes out, and I can’t turn it (left), and so I would have been screwed. It’s the ECU (extensor carpi ulnaris) tendon. It came out and came right back in its groove.

“On (hole) 14 yesterday, I thought I was done for the week,” Spieth continued. “Then (the tendon) came back in, and I was like, ‘alright I’m good.’”

Spieth said the incident was a byproduct of his ongoing ulnar nerve injury, which has plagued him since last year. The injury kept Spieth out of last year’s PGA Championship. He aggravated the wrist in October and again during the Valero Texas Open earlier this month.

Spieth spent the rest of Thursday’s round trying to keep the tendon from popping back out. After bogeying the 13th, he finished with five straight pars to card 1-under 70. Spieth received treatment on the wrist between rounds and had it wrapped before his Friday afternoon tee time to ensure the tendon stayed in place.

“Because my (wrist) sheath is torn, it doesn’t really hold (the tendon) in as well,” Spieth said. ”It’s one of those things, like it’s not affecting speed, anything like that. It’s just– managing it. So today it was just, with the tape the way it’s on, it’s going to inhibit (the tendon’s) ability to create any issues.

Spieth said the wrist “felt good” on Friday. He played without issue, shooting 4-under 67. At 5-under overall, Spieth is tied for 23rd heading into the week. Spieth plans to keep the wrist tapped through the weekend.

“I may as well keep doing it,” he said. “I don’t really like wearing tape, just because, I don’t know, I feel like I’m going to play racquetball or something. I’ll do it the rest of the week, I’m sure, just to be sure.”

Spieth wasn’t concerned about the injury outlook moving forward.

“I know what the issue is, the problem is I’m not giving it any time to heal right now,” he said.

Spieth is not in the field for next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.