Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, arguably two of the bigger draws in golf, have been informed they will not be receiving sponsor exemptions into next week’s signature event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, according to a report from Golfweek’s Adam Schupak.
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The news is particularly shocking when you consider that both Spieth and Fowler already received sponsor exemptions into the last two signature events on the PGA Tour schedule in 2025 – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. In the 80-man Pebble Beach field, Fowler and Spieth finished T-53 and T-69, respectively. At the Genesis, which featured a 36-hole cut and a 72-man field, Fowler tied for 39th while Spieth MC’d.
There are, of course, numerous ways to gain entry into the signature events, all of them involving the classic “play better” phrase. Neither Fowler nor Spieth had a very strong 2024, both players finishing outside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings at season’s end (the top 50 get into all eight signature events in 2025).
The other three ways to gain entry would be to win this week’s Cognizant Classic, be inside of the top 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking (Spieth is currently 70th, Fowler 95th) or to be inside of the Aon Swing 5, which rewards players currently in good form. The top five FedExCup points earners in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld and Cognizant Classic will get into the API next week.
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As Schupak reports, tournament director Drew Donovan did not name the four sponsor invites or divulge the selection committee’s criteria during a phone interview. However, Sam Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer, confirmed that he is a member of the sponsor exemption committee for the API and also confirmed that Spieth and Fowler, as well as Gary Woodland, would not be receiving invitations.Â
The more stunning admission, though, was why they would not be.Â
“What our team did was try to pick players that, you know, it’s about protecting and growing the game of golf as a whole,” Saunders told Golfweek. “And doing what’s the most balanced and fair process. Honestly, I think there was a lot of thought put into each and every player that was selected. At the end of the day, it’s who’s getting the ball in the hole the fastest that are the ones who get the opportunities. You can’t make everybody happy with exemptions. So you try to just do it as fair and balanced as possible.”
Rafael Campos, the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship winner, confirmed that he received and accepted one of the four invitations during a press conference last week at the Mexico Open. Saunders shed some light as to why that was.Â
“There are different levels of effort from each player,” he said. “And I will tell you from what I’ve seen, I don’t know that anybody’s written a more thoughtful letter and put more effort into requesting an exemption than Rafa Campos did. He’s genuine, he’s kind. He’s a steward of the game and that’s something that mattered a lot to my grandfather.
“One of my granddad’s final quotes was he considered himself to be a steward of the game and a caretaker of the game and I think Rafa Campos falls beautifully into that category. And you know, it’s also providing an opportunity that maybe he wouldn’t get otherwise, and certainly a well deserving player, and someone who embodies the spirit of Arnold Palmer quite well.”
Prior to the API becoming a signature event, Spieth had appeared at Bay Hill only once. Fowler, meanwhile, was an API staple. Barring a victory or a very high finish for him this week at PGA National, Fowler will miss the API for just the third time since 2010.Â
“Rickie’s one of my friends but it has to be non-biased,” Saunders said. “You try to make sponsor exemptions to be objective and not subjective. And I think that’s what our team did quite well. I think every one of us wants Rickie Fowler to be playing in the tournament, we love him. He’s been one of the best spokespersons on behalf of my grandfather and carrying on that legacy, nobody does it better than Rickie Fowler. Rickie had gotten a couple of opportunities for exemptions in the elevated events already, and that was something that had to be taken into consideration. You want other players to get opportunities. There’s a lot of players on the PGA Tour. And, you know, not everyone may be household names, but it’s about trying to provide the best competition.”
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
