As I thought about what to write for today’s newsletter, I kept coming back to this clip of Jordan Spieth talking about how he didn’t receive a sponsor exemption to this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Sam Saunders made this a story early last week when he explained to Golfweek why Spieth and Rickie Fowler weren’t selected. Fowler’s reaction, however, was quite different from Spieth’s: “Play better … at the end of the day, play well and that’ll take care of it.”

The annual stop at Bay Hill is now a signature event on the Tour schedule, meaning it has a limited field with a bigger purse and more FedEx Cup points up for grabs. This company has been clear with its stance on sponsor exemptions, especially at signature events, so I won’t bang that drum anymore. Instead, let’s focus on Spieth’s comments.

“It’s been a great, great place for me, and I really wish I was getting that start, but I needed to play better injured golf last year, I guess.”

Bay Hill has been a “great, great place” for Spieth with a pair of T-4s, but he doesn’t have a deep history there since he just made his event debut in 2021. Jordan didn’t need to “play better injured golf last year,” he just had to play better golf. Invoking an injury is pretty weak, even for a professional golfer. Or as my colleague Joseph LaMagna wrote on Friday, just write a better letter.

Deep down, I’m a Spieth fan, and I’ve defended him for a long time, but this quote was a bad look for the 13-time winner on Tour. In his two previous handouts, he squandered both signature event exemptions with a T-69 (out of 78 players) at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a missed cut at the Genesis Invitational. Spieth had a slight smirk on his face when he gave the quote, but he clearly wasn’t joking. Other than the fact his name is Jordan Spieth, why does he deserve a spot? Where did this entitlement come from?

Spieth’s injury and subsequent struggles on the course have been well documented. Yes, it’s a bummer that he wasn’t at his best last year to earn his way into this season’s signature events. But just like life, sometimes golf isn’t fair. It’s meant to be a meritocracy (despite the hypocrisy of sponsor exemptions). The entire point of the Tour’s new schedule model is for players like Spieth, who aren’t qualified for signature events, to play their way into the more lucrative tournaments. To his (slight) credit, Jordan played the Cognizant Classic for the first time in his career last week to attempt to play his way into Arnie’s event. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

If Jordan wants a guaranteed spot next year, he’s going to have to earn it. And he’ll be better off for it.

More from Mastercard

We’ve seen the commercial-free hour courtesy of Rolex during broadcasts of the U.S. Open.

This week, Mastercard is changing things up for the Arnold Palmer Invitational with sponsored segments highlighting player-caddie conversations during live play. The aim of the activation is to air fewer commercials while also adding entertainment for viewers. By using more on-screen graphics, announcers will allegedly lay out so fans can hear the interactions, which was a top response from the Tour’s Fan Forward Initiative.

According to Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter, “Mastercard also will have an on-site ‘Creator Studio’ that allows creators to make content and network with others.” LIV Golf execs are kicking themselves for not thinking of this first.

Fewer commercials and announcers plus more player interactions equals a great idea on paper, but forgive me if I don’t trust NBC or Golf Channel to nail this presentation given their track record of below-average broadcasts over the last few years. I do, however, trust Josh, who saw a demo and thought fans would like it, “if done well.”

We’ll see.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.