Here's what Jordan Spieth said after withdrawing from the Travelers Championship

AI-assisted summary
• Jordan Spieth withdrew from the Travelers Championship during the first round due to worsening neck issues.
• Spieth experienced sudden tightness in his upper body during warmups, which spread to his neck and back during play.
• This is the first time Spieth has withdrawn mid-round in his career.
• Spieth believes the injury is unrelated to overexertion and hopes to recover quickly.

CROMWELL, Conn. — Jordan Spieth’s return to TPC River Highlands ended far earlier than he expected on Thursday. The 2017 Travelers Championship winner withdrew during the first round after completing 12 holes, due to neck issues that worsened throughout the day.

Spieth was 5 over after making bogey on No. 12, having made three bogeys on the front nine, followed by another dropped shot on the 10th.

A nagging, mysterious tightness in his upper body began during warmups and quickly escalated.

“Everything was great in my gym session,” Spieth said outside the front door of TPC River Highlands before walking to his courtesy car and leaving the property. “I was really excited to play — things have been trending in a great direction. But midway through the warm-up, my right scapula just tightened up out of nowhere.”

Spieth initially tried to play through the discomfort, which soon spread across both sides of his neck and upper back. He cut his warm-up routine 30 minutes short and received treatment from a physiologist that he works with, Marnus Marnais, who also works with Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas. The hope was that he could manage the discomfort and complete the round.

That hope quickly faded.

“As I was playing, I just wasn’t moving very well. And then it just kept getting worse,” Spieth said. “I told myself, ‘It’s a signature event, there’s no cut — if I can somehow finish, even if it’s ugly, what’s the downside?’”

But after hitting his tee shot on the par-4 13th — a shot that caused a sharp jolt of pain — the decision became clear.

“Walking off the tee, I thought, ‘If it’s getting even harder to turn, I’m not going to be able to make a swing that’s even useful,’” Spieth said. “I hit a bunker shot (from the 13th fairway) and realized I just couldn’t do it. It was only going to get worse.”

Spieth said it was the first time in his career — at any level — that he’s withdrawn mid-round. He admitted he wasn’t sure exactly how to handle it in the moment, but believed pushing through would only increase the risk of long-term damage.

The timing is especially frustrating for Spieth, who has shown signs of steady improvement in recent weeks and was optimistic about his chances in Cromwell. He noted how well he played in the pro-am and how confident he felt heading into the tournament.

Spieth said it was incredibly frustrating to withdraw because he has played a lot of golf recently — 10 out of the last 12 weeks — and felt like this event might be his best chance to win.

Spieth suspects the injury may have stemmed from something as benign as sleeping the wrong way, describing it as “completely random” and unrelated to any overexertion. He also does not feel his aggressive schedule played a role either.

With his second child expected to arrive in a few weeks, Spieth plans to use the time off to heal and reset.

“Hopefully, after a few days and going through the right process, I’ll be right back to where I was,” he said. “But yeah — it’s a bummer. Especially at this event.”

The PGA Tour confirmed that Spieth's playing partner, Luke Clanton, will play as a single tomorrow at the same time that they were scheduled to go as a pair, 10:45 a.m. Eastern.