It hasn't been Jordan Spieth's year.
The gifted Texan has struggled to produce the kind of golfing magic we've become accustomed to seeing over the last three years.
In fact, Spieth hasn't won since clinching The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale 14 months ago which, for a serial winner like him, has to be considered a duck.
2018 has been immensely frustrating for the 25-year-old. A Sunday charge at Augusta wasn't enough to stop Patrick Reed winning The Masters. Since then, Spieth has registered just a single top-10 and will hope the Ryder Cup in Paris at the end of the month can stage his resurgence as the Americans aim to win the biennial event back-to-back for the first time since 1993.
But Spieth is facing bigger issues than his game. The three-time major winner is in danger of missing out on the season-ending Tour Championship in two weeks. If he fails to make it to East Lake, it will mean Spieth has played 24 tour events this season, one shy of the requirement.
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1038500333008252928
Spieth needs to be no lower than 30th in the FedEx Cup standings after this week's BMW Championship.
Through 54 holes, he is projected to finish 31st in the standings, so he needs a solid showing in the final round to squeeze into the Tour Championship.
"Each year I've had an opportunity to win the FedEx Cup at the end of the year," Spieth said. "It's certainly highlighted and a goal. This year in the current state I'm in a more difficult position to win the FedEx Cup than I've been in the last five, six years. At some point in your career, you'll be stuck in a position that's more difficult than other years."
The rule of having to play 25 events was only introduced at the start of 2017 season. No player has fallen short of the requirement so it is unclear what would happen to Spieth should he fail to fulfil the quota.
According to
ESPN, he faces a fine and a possible suspension. This will all go away with a fine round on Sunday, of course, and Spieth thrives under pressure, so we're thinking he's going to pull it out of the bag.
