Don’t expect to see Jordan Spieth on Twitter after his next bad round

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Last week, after a disappointing 76 in the opening round of the Valspar Championship, Jordan Spieth checked social media to find the PGA Tour insinuating that he might feign injury and withdraw from the tournament and a ‘fan’ describing him as “garbage” and that, putting aside, every aspect of his game is average. 

Spieth understandably took umbrage and reacted to both posts. He later deleted his posts, and has now spoken of his regret at taking the bait.

“You’ll probably never see me do that again,” says world number one Spieth. “There’s really not a point. I should never respond to any of that, just let it go and by the time the next tournament rolls around no one even remembers it.”

Emotions inevitably run high after a bad round, and the immediacy of social media gives players a chance to vent their frustrations, but also exposes them to criticism from ‘fans’ merely seeking attention. 

“There’s going to be plenty of people to have their own opinion, and plenty of people that don’t like the way I play the game or handle things,” adds Spieth. “I’ve got to be confident in what I’m doing and know that many more do appreciate it.”

“I was a bit bored on Thursday afternoon and I was just looking at my feed, and after a tough round not good things are popping up. So you can imagine if someone was talking to you like that. Anyway, I got over it quickly.”

Spieth isn’t the only player to have a social media run-in during the last week. Ian Poulter, never shy of speaking his mind, wasn’t impressed when a spectator at the Valspar shouted at him during the round, in an attempt to put him off. Poulter asked for the spectator to be removed, but wasn’t overly pleased when he turned to Twitter to boast about the incident.

Poulter took a screenshot of the tweet and posted it on his Twitter account, where he has 2.18 million followers. He also tagged the spectator’s employers, saying “I’m sure FSC Athletics and FSC Sports are very proud of your professionalism”. 

The fan had the last laugh, responding, “Thanks Ian! Wanna watch the Ryder Cup together?!?!”, suggesting that Poulter won’t have anything better to do come Hazeltine in September.

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