Despite wrist flare-ups, Jordan Spieth aims to contend at Augusta National

A wrist flare-up prevented Jordan Spieth from practicing as recently as last Monday, but he finished 10th anyway at the Valero Texas Open.

With an approach of “constant TLC,” he hopes to keep the pain away and contend at his 11th Masters Tournament, as he so often does.

Spieth, 30, said Tuesday he has yet to fix a lingering ECU tendon issue in his wrist, which flares up unpredictably and thus inhibits his ability to practice for roughly 24 hours at a time. It also flared up on Monday of THE PLAYERS Championship last month (he missed the cut) and shortly after a third-place finish at The Sentry in January, he said Tuesday. When the flare-up occurs, he can’t practice that day, but he tends to feel better day-by-day – aided by a better understanding of the issue, which was perhaps misdiagnosed as an acute injury last May.

Unpredictable wrist and all, Spieth arrived at Augusta National with a full-throttle approach to chasing a second green jacket. He’ll tee off at 1:48 p.m. ET on Thursday in an entertaining grouping that includes Ludvig Åberg and Sahith Theegala.

“As the week goes on, it gets better and better, using it more and more, and I'm recovering more and more than, say, my days off at home,” Spieth, winner of the 2015 Masters, said Tuesday. “I'm getting treatment daily here. That's included with everything else that I didn't used to do.

“Since I've gotten more on top of it by December, I at least know what it is and how to get it quickly better. But, yeah, it's something that I don't think there's really anything I can do other than rest. And I'm not resting it anytime soon. So I'll probably take quite a bit of time when the season's over and see if it kind of sets it back in place and doesn't flare up as much.”

Spieth is often a popular pick at Augusta National and for good reason, having gone second-win-second in his first three Masters appearances (2013-15) and adding three more top-four finishes since, including a tie for fourth last season. His blend of innate creativity and tactical acumen matches Augusta National’s multi-dimensional canvas, which features nuanced slopes and tilts from the fairway through the green. Spieth lives outside the lines, which is seemingly more rewarded than penalized around Augusta (for those who game-plan accordingly). Although his results this season have been erratic, with back-to-back missed cuts before an entertaining T10 at the Valero (including a shot onto a roof), the Masters often serves as Spieth’s elixir.

“You have to have the right height and spin combinations,” Spieth said of Augusta National’s unique challenge. “Some shots the spin doesn't matter – they have to come in landing softly – and some shots you'd rather have them low and skiddy to be able to play up ridges and not have to land it into slopes and stuff.

“So there's a lot of imagination, but I don't know the place that requires more precision on a combination of height and spin, whether it's in a bunker or out of the fairway, than you see here.”

A troublesome wrist is nothing new for Spieth, either. A week after last fall’s Ryder Cup, he reaggravated his wrist while reaching for the toaster to make his son breakfast. Spieth was diagnosed at the time with ulnar nerve damage, which can impair movement or sensation in the wrist or hand, experiencing comparable symptoms to an ailment last May (forcing a WD from his hometown THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson) that he treated as an acute wrist injury. Looking back, though, there was no physical issue in May that correlated with how he felt, he said at last fall’s Hero World Challenge. With a better understanding of the ECU tendon issue, he’s now positioned to treat it more effectively, he said Tuesday.

Spieth’s forearm trouble dates to 2018, when he suffered a bone chip in his left hand, likely sustained during weightlifting. He refused to use it as an excuse but admitted in 2021 that he could have benefitted from surgery (which he opted against).

Aggravated wrist and all, Spieth expects nothing less than an optimized performance this week amidst the loblolly pines.

Spieth noted Tuesday: “I love contending here more than I do just about anywhere else, and I look forward to trying to do so this year."