Jordan Spieth is most definitely going to be one of the names to watch at the PGA Championship next week, with the Texan looking to complete the career grand slam.
There have been few signs that Jordan Spieth is ready to end his seven year wait for a fourth major title since his return from injury at the start of the year. The 31-year-old has two top five finishes, but neither has come in a signature event on the PGA Tour.
Nevertheless, fans cannot stop themselves from hoping that Spieth will be able to produce the brilliance which evokes memories of when he became a superstar back in 2015.
There have been glimpses of Spieth’s quality over the first few months of the season. And he produced perhaps his best round of the year so far on Sunday, as he shot a bogey-free 62 on Sunday at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson to move up nearly 20 places on the leaderboard.
The part of Jordan Spieth’s game which as good as there has ever been
Of course, it is nearly impossible to ever count Spieth out.
In a conference call hosted by ESPN involving The Golfing Gazette, Curtis Strange was asked about whether Spieth has the game right now to put it all together over four major rounds after playing alongside Scottie Scheffler at TPC Craig Ranch. And Strange suggested that it is certainly going to be box office viewing whatever happens.
“Let’s not forget he’s coming off a wrist injury, surgery. That takes time. When he plays well like he did last week, consistently well, shoots a really good last round, that speaks volumes for not only us to talk about but for him, more importantly. He’s gaining confidence, as each good round he gains more and more confidence, on this comeback trail,” he said.
“Let’s not forget when he won all the majors and all the tournaments at such a young age, they came so quickly. Obviously there’s some kind of letdown after something like that, and can you sustain that over the next eight or ten years. He didn’t. One was because of some injuries.
“But his ball-striking — just look at the stats, his ball-striking is not near what Scottie Scheffler’s. What does he have to do? He has to chip and putt like we know Jordan can, and sometimes that doesn’t happen every single day. Jordan is going to be an explosive player but maybe not as consistent as Scottie.
“When Rory busted on the scene, everybody compared him to Tiger. Well, maybe nobody is ever going to play as consistent as Tiger did. Tiger was one of those generational players, as Rory is, but Rory is going to be explosive and sometimes not quite so good. But when he’s good, he’s better than everybody else.
“So Jordan is on his way back. Everybody is good to see it. As Scotty [Van Pelt] said earlier, we don’t have to — I can just take a break when he’s on TV and let him do all the commentary. So he’s fun to watch. I’ve got to tell you, when he misses a green, I’m on the edge of my seat because he is as good as there’s ever been. He’s in the class of Mickelson, Watson, Seve, that type of short game player. So it’s always fun to watch.”
Why Jordan Spieth may be struggling to rediscover the magic from the early part of his career
Few would have ever believed it had they been told in 2017 that Spieth would not win another major before 2025. It appeared that he was destined to rewrite many of the history books – even if he was yet to hit the heights of 2015 again.
But perhaps it would be unfair to be too critical of Spieth’s last few years. As well as dealing with injury, his life has changed away from the golf course with the 31-year-old becoming a father.
And speaking on the call, both Scott Van Pelt and Strange pointed out that Spieth’s priorities will have inevitably changed as the years have gone on.
“I think he’s one of those players that won so early that it created — we’re so — I started to say screwed. That’s not the right word. Tiger just changed the calculus for everybody, and he created this avenue where you’re thinking, well, can anyone be — no. No, no, no, no. That’s one dude,” Van Pelt said.
“And Spieth won so much so early. He’s got 13 wins and, of course, a PGA away from a Slam that maybe it created the idea that he’s supposed to win like 50 times or something.
“I know that his life is in a great place. He’s got a couple of beautiful kids, another coming. And I think he’s a happy dude, and he’s working hard at his game. And I believe that he’s the guy that will win again and win multiple times again just because he’s too talented not to.
“But to see it side by side with Scottie is to grade yourself with — it would be like taking a test with the smartest kid in the class, and that kid gets 100. Well, even if you get a 92 you feel like, damn, I’m not that smart at all. Well, no, you’re smarter than a lot of people; this person right here aced the test.
“I think Scottie — look, Scottie was graded with a sharp pencil last week to the tune of 31-under. But that round Sunday shows you what’s there. He’s a tour winner again. I think he and we just need to let him have some time. JT didn’t win for quite a while, and he busted through this year and won one at Harbour Town. Spieth will again. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was sooner than later.”
Strange added: “One other thing I just thought about. When you picture — remember, this four or five gangsome of young players, Jordan and Justin and the rest of them, Smylie, they’ve all since then — when they were all single, golf was number one on their mind, in their life, they lived it, they drank it, they slept it. They’re all married now with children. Life doesn’t get in the way, but it changes. And it changes for the better. But sometimes your focus is not the same as it used to be.
“Everybody tries to navigate that in their own way the best they can. It’s life. It’s growing up. It’s maturing. It’s being complete. It’s all those things that we talk about.
“Golf sometimes takes a backseat, and that’s okay.”
Hopefully Spieth can get some luck with it comes to his fitness now. There is still so much time for what could be an even more successful chapter in his career.
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