Jordan Spieth Says This Could Be the Reason Behind Recent Rowdy PGA TOUR Crowds

When I was walking around TPC River Highlands last week during the Travelers Championship, I had a thought pop into my head: it’d be pretty easy for someone in the crowd to have a pretty big impact on the tournament. One poorly timed scream, chant, or jeer, and the whole outcome looks different.

I’m not sure why that came out of nowhere. It’s been true for as long as golf’s been played. But with how galleries have behaved recently—see Matt Fitzpatrick at THE PLAYERS and the RBC Heritage or Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open—the fleeting thought wasn’t random.

On Tuesday, Jordan Spieth made me feel a little less crazy. He’s been thinking the same thing.

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During his pre-tournament press conference at the John Deere Classic, Spieth was asked about the tough crowds we’ve seen in recent weeks. The Texan singled something out, and it’s tough not to agree.

“I think the one thing that I'll point out is I do think that betting in golf is something that's going to have to be tackled here soon,” Spieth said, “because I don't know how much of, say, the Wyndham scenario was the fact that it was enticing to bet the field verse Wyndham on Sunday in a legalized betting state, and you could have had people out there that are essentially, you know, have $100 to $10,000, depending on who it is, on the field versus somebody else.

"In golf it's tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to. It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to.”

Spieth did go on to say that he played with guys 10-15 years ago who weren’t treated well, so this isn’t exactly a new development. He also added that the atmosphere at THE PLAYERS could’ve been lingering feelings from Bethpage Black.

“I will say that from what I've seen, a lot of times it has to do with betting, and that is in the last five years,” he said. “We'll see what happens with that.”

Legalized betting is only growing across the states, and the PGA TOUR visits plenty of courses where fans can place bets while outside the ropes. I’m not sure if there’s a great solution, unless the TOUR wants to go full Augusta National. But in that case, fans can just place their bets before heading to the course.

I’d imagine the problem is only going to get worse, but it’s nice to see one of the TOUR’s biggest names speaking out on it. It’ll be interesting to follow as the rest of the season plays out—I highly doubt we’ll see anything like what we did at Shinnecock Hills or Sawgrass once the golf world heads across the pond next week.

On that note, Spieth will return to Royal Birkdale in a few weeks, nearly a decade removed from his Open victory in 2017.

At the Travelers Championship last week, Spieth shared a funny moment with Scottie Scheffler, a tale he told to reporters at TPC Deere Run.

“I saw him in the locker room before he went out for his final round,” Spieth said. “I said, ‘Well, are you the defending champ, or am I the defending champ next week?’ He was like, ‘No, it's you.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, you don't get to do that. It's you.’”

If he wants to hoist the Claret Jug again as the Champion Golfer of the Year, Spieth needs to turn things around—quickly. In his last three starts, he missed the cut at the Memorial, finished T-56 at the U.S. Open, and T-66 at the Travelers Championship.

Luckily for him, the freedom of links golf has always suited his game. In 12 starts at The Open, Spieth made every cut and finished inside the top 25 eight times.

Regardless of form, he always has a chance at that tournament, especially at a venue where he’s already won. Still, it’d be nice to see him play some good golf in Silvis, Illinois, this week.