Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

By Joel Beall
Jordan Spieth’s quest to reverse his fortunes will have to wait two more weeks.

Spieth, who’s been mired in a slump for the better part of two seasons, was expected to make his 2020 debut at the Sony Open, a tournament where he posted a T-3 in 2017. However, the three-time major winner withdrew from the event on Saturday, as he’s battling a cold. The news was first reported by the Associated Press and Golf Channel.

Instead, Speith will make his first start of the new year at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, which begins Jan. 23.

Spieth, 26, is currently No. 44 in the World Rankings, his worst position since the summer of 2013. He has made three starts in the 2019-’20 PGA Tour season, highlighted by a T-8 at the CJ Cup, and finished 16th out of 18 players at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in early December. In spite of his struggles, the Texan remains confident a turnaround is on the horizon.

“Just working on some stuff to try and get it back to where it was kinda years 2015-’17,” he said at the Hero. “We found some stuff that was certainly different so we’re trying to work it back … we’ll just see.”

The Sony Open has not announced a replacement for Spieth as of Sunday morning.