Sometimes math can be silly and Jordan Spieth will find that out on Monday. His new perch atop the world rankings will last only two weeks as Rory McIlroy, who did not even play this week, will regain his world No. 1 status.
Jordan Spieth will lose his world No. 1 ranking to an idle Rory McIlroy
Spieth had his worst tournament of the year just two weeks after earning the No. 1 spot but he’ll lose that status to a guy who didn’t even tee it up at The Barclays.
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Spieth overtook McIlroy by a narrow margin with his solo second place finish at the PGA Championship two weeks ago. Given his incredible season, his march to the top spot in the rankings seemed inevitable, even with the sizable advantage McIlroy had to start the year. It was only making official what everyone else already knew all summer: Spieth was the best player in the world.
The reigning Masters and U.S. Open winner, however, looked nothing like the player we’ve watched all year this weekend at The Barclays. Spieth checked out of the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs early with just his third missed cut of the season. The last MC came at The Players in early May and the other one was at Torrey Pines in early February. He had not carded back-to-back over-par rounds since the final event of 2014.
All of it was a bit startling to watch after everything we’ve come to expect from Spieth. He was sloppy with his irons, off with his wedges and looked confused with the putter. His first-round 74 he called his “worst round in years” given the way he drove the ball (11-of-14 fairways). Friday’s march was not much better and he never really got close to threatening the cut line, going quietly on the back nine and posting a 3-over 73. At 7-over, he was five shots back of just making the weekend.
It was obvious Spieth never really felt comfortable on this Plainfield Country Club course. He came right out and said it on Thursday, “I’m not a big fan of the course, it doesn’t fit me very well particularly.” He’s won before on courses he wasn’t crazy about, but this Donald Ross design got him at a point when his game wasn’t his sharpest and he was clearly frustrated with some of the breaks he was catching during the two-day 74-73 slog.
After the round, Spieth said he’s “searching for answers,” which is sort of odd and humorous to hear from the guy finishing up the best season in maybe 15 years on the PGA Tour. He’ll have a full week off with the next leg of the postseason, the Deutsche Bank Championship, not starting in Boston until next Friday. McIlroy is expected to return to action at that event after resting his ankle this week. When he does, he’ll be No. 1 in the world again.
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