PGA Tour insider: Jordan Spieth is off Ryder Cup team until he plays his way on it

Will PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth make the U.S. Ryder Cup team?

Since making his debut at the biennial event as a swashbuckling 22-year-old in Gleneagles, the three-time major champion has always been regarded as a lock for the red, white and blue. 

But times have changed and 2025 captain Keegan Bradley has already threatened to break up the boys' club. 

One man who firmly believes Spieth's spot is currently in danger is golf reporter and insider Alan Shipnuck.

Shipnuck, who penned the explosive tell-all book that forced Phil Mickelson into a self-imposed exile, believes Spieth is currently 'fading away' into an average PGA Tour player. 

This year marks the 10-year anniversary since his legendary 2015 season that saw him win a green jacket and the U.S. Open. Spieth also finished runner-up at the PGA Championship.

Shipnuck was asked by Dan Rapaport in his latest podcast whether we should 'bury the memory' of that version of Spieth. 

"We knew in the moment that it was going to be one of the greatest seasons in golf history and it was entirely likely that he was going to have peaked at 22," Shipnuck said. "The guy [has] only won twice in eight years.

"It's sad the way he just keeps fading away."

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Pressed on Spieth's Ryder Cup chances, Shipnuck said he believes he simply has to play his way onto the team. 

"You would have thought that he was a lock for a quarter century but there's just something missing.

"He had some magic and he was the guy who could always summon the right shot at the right time; the chip-in, the long putt, whatever it was the ball would just dive into the hole. Somehow that's just been lost."

Shipnuck added: "There were always holes in his game, but he found a way to overcome them with just this incredible knack for scoring - he's lost that touch and the weaknesses are becoming more glaring."

According to the sportswriter, it's looking unlikely that Spieth will get back to his former glory. 

"It's melancholy man," he said. "We thought he was going to be this rocket ship and we were all going to get to watch something extraordinary and now he's just become pretty much an ordinary PGA Tour player and it's a bummer."

Spieth has only played six PGA Tour events so far this year. 

He only returned to the course in February after he had surgery on his wrist last August.

His best finish so far was a T4 at the WM Phoenix Open. 

Spieth finished 59th at the 2025 Players and shared 28th at the Valspar Championship last week.