Mr Nice Guy

Article from the Compleat Golfer Magazine August 2015.

After claiming the first two Majors of the year, Jordan Spieth has announced himself as a legitimate force in golf. He’s also softened the blow from the rapid decline of Tiger Woods.

It’s very easy to like Jordan Spieth. Or to put it more accurately, it’s particularly difficult to come up with any reason to dislike the young man – not that many people seem too inclined to try. At barely 22 years old, the double Major champion is the hottest property in golf right now and is yet another breath of fresh air in what is rapidly becoming the post-Tiger era of golf.

With Rory Mcllroy (a relative veteran at age 27) and Spieth occupying the top two spots in the World Ranking by some margin, it’s clear that the future of golf is not only in safe hands, but also exciting hands. For one month between the US Open and the Open Championship, the pair held all four Major championships between them and there’s little doubt that over the next two decades, Mcllroy and Spieth will be challenging for plenty more Major successes.

Spieth’s rise to prominence has been meteoric – he had no status on the US Tour at the beginning of 2013 – but the American has more than proved his mettle at every level he’s played. A standout college golfer at Texas University – where he played alongside South Africans Dylan Frittelli and Brandon Stone – Spieth was tipped for greatness well before he finished tie- 21 st in the 2012 US Open. That performance took him to the summit of the world amateur rankings and was enough to convince him that the time was right to ditch his degree and join the paid ranks.

Although he missed out at Second Stage of Qualifying School later that year – the only real slip-up in his career thus far – the teenager made the most of a handful of tournament invitations in 2013 to play his way onto the US Tour. From there he has not looked back.

Any doubters remaining after his dominant performance in the Masters earlier this year have been silenced by a second straight Major championship victory – at Chambers Bay, a long links-like course that favoured the big hitters. Spieth may not exactly rank as pop-gun length off the tee – he ranks 69th in driving distance – but he falls some way behind the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen, his nearest competitors in the US Open.

Not everything went exactly to plan for Jordan Spieth but he still managed to claim his second straight Major

His most effective weapon, however, is arguably the greatest leveller in golf – an ability to get the ball into the hole. Even on the bumpy greens at Chambers Bay, Spieth rolled in putts from distance and while he might not be the safest putter from inside six feet, he knocks in enough of them to ensure he is ranked as the best putter on tour by some distance.

It’s not just that he rolls in putts. Spieth is one of those X-factor players who seems to hole the big putts and pull off the right shots at the right time. The Americans refer to this as being a clutch player – someone who embraces the big pressure moments rather than fears them, and executes the right shots in them.

“Jordan is a tremendously competitive person,” reckons Frittelli. “He loves to compete and sees any head-to-head situation as a way to get better. His short game was his strength in college; he could make any putt in any situation and had the knack for playing better under increasing pressure. There was also an air of inevitability around him, that one day he would be at the top of the golfing world. This all speaks to his extreme mental strength. It’s surely the biggest factor in his success over his short pro career.”

Spieth wears the boy-next-door image well. The Texan is humble and respectful and he says and does all of the right things off the course. On the course, he appears calmer and more mature than many of his contemporaries in the heat of battle, with an analytical mind that encourages exceptional decision-making.

“He’s a first-class guy with an assassin inside,” explained Andy North, a two-time US Open champion. “You couldn’t ask for a better combination.”

To win two Majors by the age of 21 speaks not only of immense talent but great confidence, ability under pressure and level-headedness. One Major may be considered lucky, but two in a row proves there was no fluke.

One poor shot cost Brandon Grace a real shot at the US open, but his fourth place finish was enough to earn him a US Tour card

“He’s a grizzled veteran at 21 years old,” explained 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus. “Jordan is so beyond his years. I like everything about the young man. He’s polite. He’s humble. He handles himself so well, on and off the golf course.

“I think Jordan Spieth is a great person – just as I think Rory Mcllroy is – to carry the mantle for the game of golf.”

By the time you read this, there is every chance that Spieth will have picked up his third straight Major title – by winning The Open – in which case he will have propelled the PGA Championship from being just another Major to the most anticipated golf tournament in the modern era. For if Spieth is victorious in St Andrews, he will be gunning for golf’s Holy Grail – the Grand Slam of all four Majors in a calendar year. It’s never been done in the modem era and, given the depth of quality in the fields and extraordinary consistency required, the feat borders on impossible.

Understandably then, Spieth was not about to buy into the media hype about it after his US Open win took him halfway to the Grand Slam. “I think it’s in the realm of possibility,” he mused. “I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller is very much part of the youngster’s rise to prominence. A former high school maths teacher, Greller first carried Spieth’s bag when the world No 2 was still an amateur and the pair have developed a strong partnership – one that involves a lot of discussion before just about every shot.

“He deserves a lot of credit this week,” Spieth said after lifting the US Open trophy. “That was the best week he ever caddied.”

Greller brushed off the praise. “He’s one of the best players in the world, and I was just trying to stay out of his way. I’m sure he’s being nice, but it comes down to him just being one of the best players in the world.”

Not everything about Spieth is conventional. He displays a bowed left wrist at the top of his backswing and an awkward-looking flying left elbow after impact. If you look closely, you might even notice his unusual habit of looking at the hole, rather than down at the ball, when making short putts.

Still, with over $16 million in prizemoney in just two-and-a-half years (67 starts) on tour, Spieth has proven that his formula works – across all courses.

“Somebody who can win on a course like [Chambers Bay] and the Masters, these are just two different animals,” explained the USGA’s Mike Davis, who was responsible for the US Open set-up. “So he’s enough of a shot-maker. And the thing about Jordan is, when you watch him, he doesn’t do anything spectacular. You look at his entire game and say, ‘He’s not one of the best drivers, he’s not one of the best putters, but he does everything really well.”

Spieth is riding the crest of a wave right now. Much like Woods experienced during his dominant days, the lucky bounces are coming his way and good results are coming easily, but there will be a time when the momentum slows and he will need to dig deep to conjure up the results.

Until then though, let’s just enjoy what the golfing gods have kindly thrown at us – a deliciously appealing post-Tiger era of youthful, fearless golf with two precociously talented youngsters at the fore.

The woe of Woods

In a week where the world hailed the brilliance of young superstar Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods sank even further into decline.

The former world No 1 shot rounds of 80 and 76 to miss the cut by 11 strokes at 16 over par.

Woods looked lost on the course, trying to invent shots when, in most cases, the straightforward option would have sufficed.

His tee-box woes continued as he tied for 145th in driving accuracy, hitting 16 out of 28 of some of the widest fairways in US Open history. He tied for 128th in greens in regulation, tied for 151st in putting and tied for 104th in driving distance. Significantly, the former world No 1 – now ranked 205th made only three birdies in two rounds.

Is this rock-bottom for Tiger? We can only hope so, because it is difficult to watch the great champion struggle and wed like to see him return to form soon.

South African close calls in Chambers Bay

It had been a while since we had seen South Africans in contention in the final round of a Major, but in The US Open we had three players to cheer as the championship drew to a close.

Louis Oosthuizen’s back nine of 29 saw him finish one shot behind champion Jordan Spieth and the former Open champion must be ruing his opening round of 7-over-par 77.

Branden Grace (right) gave notice to the world of his big match temperament when he hung tight to finish in a tie for fourth, two shots back, after starting the final round with a share of the lead. One poor stroke – a wild slice out of bounds on the 16th – cost him a shot at victory.

Charl Schwartzel made a welcome return to form with a seventh-place finish, steadily improving each round after starting with a round of 3-over-par 73.