Jordan Spieth Unfortunate Update After Withdrawing From Travelers Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dibyendu Mondal | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 7:35 AM ET

On Thursday at TPC River Highlands, Jordan Spieth was forced to withdraw mid‑round from the Travelers Championship, a first in his 297‑start PGA Tour career, after suffering sudden tightness in his shoulder blade that made swinging impossible

Spieth, a three‑time major champion, began the first round visibly laboring through his opening holes, posting a 5‑over score through 12 holes before he halted play on the par‑5 13th.

Despite receiving on‑range treatment from his physio, the pain intensified, compelling him to concede the round and depart the course via cart.

“It was just like midway through on my irons,” he explained during a press conference on Thursday. “Everything was great in my gym session, and I’ve been very, very excited to go out and play. Things have been getting better and better, and then my right [scapula] just kind of locked, like tightened midway through the warm‑up."

"I just kept hitting, and then all of a sudden it was moving up," Spieth added. "Everything around it started to and then it was over the left and then it was like everything, so I stopped. It was both sides of my neck and upper back.”

After ending his warm‑up 30 minutes early, he consulted Marnus Marais, who also treats Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, but couldn’t regain mobility.

"I was just going to try to see if I could somehow get through at even... just finishing even if it's ugly, and then I hit my tee shot on 13, and it legitimately really hurt," Spieth admitted.

"It's only going to get worse to finish the round, and it's not worth it. I thought that was the time."

During warmup, my right scap tightened and despite trying to push through, pain spread to my neck and upper back. By 13 tee, I realized I had to stop. I’ve never had to WD before, and hate that it happened at @TravelersChamp - a tournament I love. Thanks everyone for the support!
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) June 20, 2025

Spieth hadn't changed anything in his routine and is clueless as to what could have caused this issue.

"I've never withdrawn from an event ever anywhere at any level, so I didn't really know what to do. It just became too much. It's unfortunate," He said. "I've been doing everything right, and I think it was just very random."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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