The comment Jordan Spieth made about dealing with setbacks which surprised Gabby Herzig, it was ‘very different’ from what she was expecting

Add as preferred source on Google

With the most famous wait for the career grand slam now over, Jordan Spieth will surely be braced for even more attention heading into the PGA Championship next month.

Ever since the PGA Championship in 2017, Jordan Spieth has been one victory away from joining the exclusive club Rory McIlroy was finally granted access to at this year’s Masters.

Spieth, of course, flew out of the blocks at the start of his career, winning the first two majors of 2015. He did not finish outside the top four in the majors that year. Meanwhile, he moved three-quarters of the way towards the career grand slam with his win at the 2017 Open Championship.

Unfortunately, the last few years have been a lot more frustrating. Spieth has not finished in the top 10 at the majors since the 2023 Masters. His last PGA Tour victory meanwhile, came one year earlier.

The surprising comment Jordan Spieth made about dealing with setbacks in his career

It remains to be seen if Spieth can ever return to the level he found himself at at the start of his career. His form in 2025 has been mixed – continuing the theme of the last few years.

But it would appear that it is far too soon to write Spieth off when it comes to winning at least a fourth major. Speaking on 5 Clubs, journalist Gabby Herzig suggested that she was taken aback by Spieth’s recent response to being asked about how he deals with setbacks.

“I think it’s funny, Jordan Spieth is 31 years old, and I think a lot of us talk about him as if he’s a washed up golfer trying to crawl his way back. I think back to 2014, 2015, Jordan Spieth could have won 10 of these things in everyone’s eyes. But now, he’s been injured since 2018. He’s been crawling his way back from that wrist injury for a really long time, I think that’s something a lot of people overlook, and he’s in a completely different place in his career than a Rory for example. But he also has that career grand slam possibility,” she said.

“And going into the PGA, I think it’s definitely going to be a discussion, but a different one at that. The mind of Jordan Spieth is very singular. I go back to my reporting on that story on scar tissue, and I was actually able to speak with Jordan himself at The Players Championship, and his response to the idea of scar tissue was very different than I was expecting. He treated it as more of this idea of experience. Even on the 12th hole at Augusta, he acknowledged that now when he steps up to that tee box, he just thinks about the hole in a different way. He uses it as information, as intel for his game. So that just gives you a sneak peak into how Jordan processes these things.”

The remarkable way Jordan Spieth reacted to his infamous collapse at the 2016 Masters

The golfing world was left stunned when Spieth made a mess of that 12th hole at Augusta National nine years ago. Before that, it appeared that he had the tournament under control and was about to retain his title.

However, his reaction that day was remarkable. He made two birdies in his next three holes. Meanwhile, judging by his comments after the round, he was able to take such an incredible view of what was happening.

“I can’t imagine that was fun for anyone to experience, other than maybe Danny’s team. And those who are fans of him,” he said.

“At one point I told Mike, I said, buddy, it seems like we’re collapsing. And I wanted to be brutally honest with the way I felt towards him, so that he could respond with what was necessary to get us to rebound. And we did. I rebounded. I hit a great drive, I hit a good 7‑iron, got a tough break. I made two birdies coming in and almost made a couple more. 

“But, boy, you wonder about not only just the tee shot on 12, but why can’t you just control the second shot, you know, and make five at worse, and you’re still tied for the lead.

“Big picture, this one will hurt. It will take a while.”

Obviously, he had to present Danny Willett with the green jacket that day, so he could hardly leave Augusta immediately after his round. But his words hardly suggest that he was simply going through the motions to get through with speaking with the media as quickly as possible.

If he is able to do that immediately after one of the most dramatic collapses in recent golfing history, then it is no surprise that he is having little issue rolling with the punches at this stage of his career.