Jordan Spieth has disclosed that his wrist has popped out of place an astonishing twelve times in just five months ahead of The Open. Yet the resilient American refuses to be defeated, declaring that every good day feels like a return to his peak.
Once the golden boy of golf, Spieth's ascent was meteoric. Back in 2015, he arrived at St Andrews for The Open on the cusp of an unprecedented single-year Grand Slam and poised to claim the World No.1 spot.
His victory at Birkdale two years later with the Claret Jug in hand seemed to herald an era of Spieth supremacy. But since then, major wins have eluded him.
Currently ranked 34th globally, it's hard to fathom there are 33 better players out there, but Spieth's recent record speaks volumes. Yet, what fans haven't seen is the struggle behind the scenes.
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The 30-year-old has been battling a persistent issue for six months, now revealing the severity of his wrist problem. Spieth has laid it all out: "My tendon essentially dislocates. It's dislocated about a dozen times since February.
"When it does, I can't grip the club. When I get it back in, I'm fine, but my brain is just saying: 'Don't do it.' I am realising it has been inhibiting me more than I originally thought, so I am going to have to get it fixed. It's not uncommon.
"A few guys out here have had similar surgery done and I think I might have to do it when my season ends. It's not happening during golf rounds, which is the reason why I can play.
"It's happening when I am at home with my kids and it's a random turn. I can get it back and hit balls within an hour later. It's a very weird scenario. That has, unfortunately, impacted my consistency, especially with the clubs that are into the ground more.
"So my bread and butter of short irons and wedges have been holding me back as I have been driving it great and had a really good year putting. I guess I trust it as much as I can and, hopefully, it lasts for another month or so."
Those who know Spieth well understand that these challenges arent standing in his way. In fact, he remains positive and believes he's making progress in the right direction.
He commented: "The one golfer (Tiger Woods) it hadn't happened to still has had it happen because of injury, you just don't play the what could have been game with him. With everyone else, I guess it's just part of the game.
"You never want it to be and, when it is, it sucks because you know what you are capable of and the game is more fun when you are towards your ceiling. Everything feels easier. But it's more embracing the climb back up.
"If I go through a day and I think: I did a little better today and I had a great time doing it, those days are as good as when you win. When you win, it's sometimes like: What's next? It's a weird thing.
"The goal is to win tournaments, but truly to win tournaments is because you conquer yourself, you conquer the mental physical side of the competition.
"So if you can find that accomplishment day-in and day-out, then you start working your way up that way and it is kind of the game you play in your head with golf that you learn after 10 or 15 years out here that you don't really have to learn when you are 16-years-old."
"(Being World No.1 and winning the Open) can feel like quite a while ago, for sure. Just because of valleys I have experienced in between then and now, I didn't really have any before that.
"So the idea of trying to get it back to a certain place is a tougher task than when you are top just playing well week-in and week-out.
"The game seems a bit easier. You still work hard, but you don't have to force the work and stuff versus I feel like I have put in more work in the last couple than ever without a whole lot to get out of it. You can look at any swing I have made in quite a while and, mechanically, it's not as sound as what it used to be.
"It's not from a lack of effort or not knowing what to do, I have just been inhibited in my ability to do it and that's what I am finding out. It helps me a little bit because it's not like it's something that I am not finding.
"If there is something I actually can't do, then it's like: Well, okay, I'll get it fixed and then I'll be able to do it again and it's at least an answer."
