Jordan Spieth entered the Masters Tournament last Thursday in a bit of a funk. The defending champion had been jetting off all over the world in the months preluding the crown jewel of golf’s major championships, and many pundits thought it would not fare the 22 year old well. However, the Dallas native returned to his 2015 form and rattled off a first-round score of 66 — good enough for first place by two strokes.
After going wire-to-wire to win the green jacket last April, Spieth continued his summer of dominance by winning the U.S. Open and falling just short in both the Open Championship and PGA Championship. With an illustrious record already under the young professional’s belt, Spieth looked to be the favorite this past weekend. However, a strange thing began to happen: Golf’s golden boy began to falter. He followed up his opening-round 66 with a 74 on Friday, followed by a 73 after cuts were made on Saturday.
Fortunately for the upstart University of Texas at Austin alumnus, the rest of the field experienced similar shortcomings. Spieth, after arguably his two worst rounds ever at the Masters, still held a slim one-stroke lead over challenger Smylie Kaufman heading into Sunday’s final round.
With a second consecutive green jacket, Spieth would have joined the likes of Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to achieve the feat. Had he done so, the comparisons between Spieth and a young Woods would have grown. They still may.
Now, as Spieth has been part of the new youthful age of golf ushered in by the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, he has the honor and the stress of constantly being under the microscope on golf’s biggest stage. And while he has often been pegged as Woods’ replacement for the sport, Spieth still has a long way to go. Maybe that is why the ending to his 2016 Masters campaign hurts so much more — the coronation has been put on hold.
Spieth opened up the final round with five birdies on the front nine and further extended his lead, but then the wheels fell off. Turning in two consecutive bogies to start the final nine, Spieth’s lead was cut as England’s Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey charged up the field.
When Speith approached the 12th hole, he did so with confidence. And why shouldn’t he have? It all appeared so simple: a par-3 with only 155 yards to the hole. One simply needs to use an iron in the tee-box to lay their shot just short of the relatively large water hazard, before lofting a second shot onto the green and putting to make par. Granted, it’s easier said than done when danger lurks around every corner. The hole’s sneaky treachery led to Nicklaus famously declaring it “the most dangerous par-3 in the game.” Jordan Spieth learned that lesson the hard way.
Spieth began the hole by following in his footsteps from the previous day. He used a 9-iron — a club he is known for — to hit his first shot to the cusp of the riverbank before gearing up to chip it over the hazard and onto the green. What happened after that is anybody’s guess. Spieth unraveled, struggled to anywhere near the pin, ultimately registered a quadruple-bogey. Kaufman said the showing “just kind of stunk to watch.” While Spieth valiantly tried to make a historic comeback with birdies on the 13th and 15th holes, his dreams of another green jacket had sunk to the bottom of the river at hole 12.
Now one simple question remains: Where does Jordan Spieth go from here? Last season’s feat of coming just a few shots short of golf’s Grand Slam at the ripe age of 21 is borderline impossible to replicate. Spieth must search inwardly for how to approach the rest of his professional golf existence. He’ll play in countless other tournaments, and he can’t let this moment define him. Many athletes, such as Pedro Martínez or Tom Brady, thrive in the limelight as the heightened pressure elevates their play to a place far above their normal competitive level. Others falter when the moment calls for a valiant performance. If the young Texan is to forget about the weight of this athletic catastrophe hanging over his head, he first must determine how to approach the next 18 holes.
So, Jordan, what will it be? Will you force yourself to succeed under intense pressure or just simply try to play good golf? Either way, we’ll all be watching with bated breath.
