First things first.
Wanted to present the opinion/observation on Jordan Spieth’s Open Championship triumph from the man who knows more about winning majors than any human on the planet.
Of course that would be Jack Nicklaus. This was his take on Twitter (yes, can you believe Jack’s on Twitter?):
“Jordan Spieth’s Open victory was a great display of guts, determination and skill. Jordan semi had the wheels falling off on 13 with that tee shot. And while it did take him a long time between the tee shot and the next shot, Jordan figured out what to do. I don’t know if I would have figured out to go over to the driving range on that shot.”
Okay, let that be the final appraisal of Spieth’s journey to victory at Royal Birkdale.
Spieth turns the ripe old age of 24 on Thursday (July 27) and one of the questions we ask today:
Is Jordan Spieth a generational talent and how long before he bags the career Grand Slam?
And it wouldn’t be proper unless we also drag Rory McIlroy into today’s conversation.
A quick look at the current Top Ten players in the world along with age and number of majors looks like this:
No. 1 Dustin Johnson, age 33, one major.
No. 2 Jordan Spieth, age 24, three majors.
No. 3 Hideki Matsuyama, age 25, no majors.
No. 4 Rory McIlroy, age 28, four majors.
No. 5 Sergio Garcia, age 37, one major.
No. 6 Jason Day, age 29, one major.
No. 7 Jon Rahm, age 22, no majors.
No. 8 Henrik Stenson, age 41, one major.
No. 9 Alex Noren, age 35, no majors.
No. 10 Brooks Koepka, age 27, one major.
Quick addition shows that Jorday and Rory combine for seven majors while the other eight in the top 10 have just four combined.
The new conversation in golf will be who gets the career Grand Slam first — Spieth or McIlroy.
Spieth needs the PGA, McIlroy needs The Masters.
Second part of that conversation: can either Spieth or McIlroy get to 14 and tie Tiger Woods?
Rory nabbed his first major when he blew the field away at the 2011 U.S. Open at rain-soaked Congressional. He then grabbed the 2012 PGA then had the huge year in 2014 with the Open Championship AND the PGA. But then he’s struggled since.
At this point, McIlroy struggles mightily with his putter and the ball strikings not what it was three years ago. He’s changed equipment, been bitten by the injury bug on a regular basis. If anything, his stock is up-and-down.
On the other hand, Spieth had the huge year on 2015, blew the 2016 Masters and left us all wondering about the recurring scar tissue.
Even Spieth admitted to a little golf PTSD during the final round at Royal Birkdale last week.
The PGA at Quail Hollow in three weeks is the site where McIlroy nabbed his first PGA Tour victory and if Rory’s going to snap out of his funk, then it may be there. He and Spieth are the pre-tournament favorites with those who take wagers on such activities.
Dustin Johnson certainly hasn’t been the same since he went all Humpty Dumpty on Wednesday prior to the Masters.
Jason Day looks lost.
Hideki Matsuyama isn’t winning any American hearts because he won’t learn English and probably prefers it that way — no media requests. Americans simply don’t want to sit there and have to wrestle with an interpreter.
Sergio may be one and done, same for Stenson.
Alex Noren hasn’t shown any major strength yet.
Jon Rahm will win a major soon and Brooks Koepka showed he could play at the Open Championship. He’s not done either.
Which brings us back to Spieth and McIlroy.
Spieth has shown he can overcome adversity. Rory hasn’t.
And that’s what golf and life is all about.
Isn’t it?
2 Comments
RM
Well, I’m with you that this is the most compelling and positive conversation now. On the downside, I suppose we can ponder what has happened with DJ and Day seemingly overnight.
I do take a little issue with the Rory analysis. He was (I think) only 21 in 2011 at the time of his Masters collapse. I thought then and still think his Open victory only a couple of months later where he steamrolled the rest of the field was an incredibly gutsy display of rebounding from adversity.
What his problem may be now is curious (equipment change, injuries and over intensive workout regime, complacency, focus, combination or none of the above, who knows?). But I would say 2011 was a pretty big indicator than he can handle pressure and bounce back from adversity in a big way. The way he stared down and challenged the Ryder Cup crowd away from his home turf also was to me a sign of a pretty tough competitor who isn’t daunted by challenges.
Tom Edrington
Rory has a lot of fans, no doubt, he’s also gotten incredibly wealthy over the past five years…..a lot of these young guys can lose their drive and hunger as their net worth rises past the $50 million mark. When I watched him at this year’s U.S. Open and Open championships, he played his best golf when the pressure was off. It will be interesting to see who gets their missing piece of the Grand Slam first. Rory should do well at Quail Hollow — bomber’s paradise. Would more than love to see Spieth end the conversation quickly and win it.