Jordan Spieth’s Exemption Into Genesis Invitational Sparks Meritocracy Debate

Despite finishing 80th in the 2024 FedEx Cup standings, Jordan Spieth has received a second sponsor exemption into a 2025 signature event.
Jordan Spieth has received a sponsor exemption into next week's Genesis Invitational.
Jordan Spieth has received a sponsor exemption into next week's Genesis Invitational. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

On Monday, the Genesis Invitational announced a handful of sponsor exemptions for next week's signature event at Torrey Pines's South Course. The event was moved to San Diego due to the devastating wildfires around Los Angeles.

Jordan Spieth, who finished 80th on the 2024 FedEx Cup points list, was among those who have received a sponsor exemption.

The decision brought some backlash, highlighting how PGA Tour fans have criticized LIV Golf for the lack of meritocracy involved when choosing players for the league.

Spieth only had one finish in the top 20 in all of 2024, though he did battle a wrist injury that required surgery. He made his first start of the season last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, also on a sponsor exemption (one of his primary sponsors is AT&T) and finished T69 out of 78 players.

The PGA Tour has seen a decline in ratings through its first four events prior to Pebble Beach, with slow play and poor TV coverage dominating the conversation. The Tour also is still missing a handful of stars with Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm playing LIV Golf. Therefore, having Spieth in the field in a signature event makes plenty of sense in theory.

Spieth, 31, has 13 PGA Tour wins including 3 major championships on his resume. He’s also one of the most polarizing players in the game.

In addition to Spieth, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland also received sponsor exemptions into the event. It’s unclear at this time whether Tiger Woods will tee it up for the first time this season.


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Matt Vincenzi
MATT VINCENZI

Matt Vincenzi is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, covering golf. Before joining SI in October 2024, he worked as a golf writer for GolfWRX and the Action Network. He is a graduate of Bridgewater State University and has been covering professional golf for five years.