Spieth ended up finishing two strokes behind an emotional Chris Kirk at Kapalua's Plantation Course on Sunday.
The American had to endure multiple stumbling blocks along the way.
First, his golf ball came to rest alongside Harris English's on the par-5 15th so he had to mark and move it. After English played his shot, Spieth was presented with a shocking lie.
At 16, his ball plugged under the lip of a fairway bunker. To make matters worse, his Titleist Pro V1x came to rest in another divot at the 17th.
For his part, Spieth said the plugged lie only cost him a full shot. "I played the others just fine," he said.
What was more surprising for the three-times major champion was just where his game was considering the time he's spent away from the game aftere the Ryder Cup, a bizarre wrist injury he sustained whilst making his son's breakfast, and the hours he's spent helping the PGA Tour policy board strike an agreement with the PIF and a group of American investors.
"It's been a tough balance," he told reporters in Kapalua.
"I certainly didn't put anywhere near the time [practicing] that I had wanted to prior to this event, so in that sense as far as, call it a month ago, I'm a bit surprised at where I'm at right now with my game, which is in a good way.