When Jordan Spieth told the world he was ready for a continuation of 2015, he was beyond serious.
Spieth, who won five events in 2015, is already 1-for-1 in 2016 and it wasn’t the fact that he won the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua last week, it was the manner in which he won.
He DOMINATED.
Domination as in an eight-shot victory against a field of nothing but winners from 2015. No ordinary field, winners, closers only.
When you look back at his week, Spieth had one major statement that rang louder than Big Ben in London.
“Just do the talkin’ with your clubs,” Spieth said after strangling the rest of the field with superior preparation, better shot-making and putting that most only dream about.
Spieth remained grounded and humble in the convincing performance: “I still say that it will be difficult to have a year like last year,” he said.
This just in: Jordan Spieth majors in difficult. He handles difficult, he thrives on difficult, he whittles away at difficult. He eats difficult for dinner.
He also had this revelation: “It’s all about the majors.”
Just so you can be sure where the kid is coming from. It’s two down and who knows how many more to go.
“What, I should have at least 80 more (major) chances,” Spieth said, figuring he might be good for another 20 years.
Only time will tell. Tiger Woods burned brightly, very brightly for 10 years and today when people talk about Woods, they are bringing up comparisons with Spieth.
“I’m nowhere near (Tiger Woods),” is what Spieth told everyone in Hawaii. “There’s no reason to compare yet,” Spieth said, “but it’s nice to be in that company.”
Spieth’s domination brings back thoughts of domination by Woods. Back when Butch Harmon was still looking over his shoulder, domination was a way of life for Woods.
This Jordan Spieth is a different cat.
And he has now put everyone on notice.
Again.
Spieth wasn’t the only player who showed up ready at Kapalua. Here’s a quick review of some of the rest:
Patrick Reed: It’s obvious that Spieth is driving his peers the way Woods did in his prime. Reed has made it known he wants to narrow the gap between himself and the world’s top three — Spieth, Day and McIlroy. He looked good all week and look for him to have a strong season.
Brooks Koepka: The folks at Nike have to be simply giddy about how their newest high-profile staff member performed at Kapalua. Koepka proved that you can switch equipment and still perform. He still needs a lot of polish but is good enough to win multiple times this year.
Brandt Snedeker: He’s clicking with Butch Harmon and it showed last week. His ball striking was really good and he said that Butch found something. Hmmmmm, interesting. In the past, Snedeker’s ball striking wasn’t on par with his putting. That could be changing.
Rickie Fowler: Leave to Rickie to come up with something off the wall. His high-top golf shoes and trousers with elastic cuffs made something of a weird fashion statement. The 12-year-olds will eat it up. On the course, Rickie was up to the task and performed well for this early in the season. Time with Butch Harmon is paying dividends for Fowler. Fowler was one of the five players who shot 20-under or better.
Jason Day: Day came in after almost 100 days off. Rust? After opening rounds of 70-73, Day shot 69-65 on the weekend. On Sunday, he every fairway and every green on his way to that 65, lowest round of the field. Day also revealed he’s still being treated for vertigo. Things aren’t simple for him but look for him to be a major factor this season.
Paddy Harrington: If there was a huge surprise last week it was Harrington. He’s 44 years old and you’d think his best golf is behind him. Could this be a comeback year for Paddy?
Bubba Watson: Same old Bubba. Still whining. Just slapped it around and shot 15-under on pure talent. This was more of a vacation for Watson. He’s not serious yet, probably won’t be until he drives up Magnolia Drive in April.
Dustin Johnson: Good guy golf announcer Peter Jacobsen put his butt on the line and declared that DJ “will win a major this year.” That’s fine Peter, only one thing: Who is going to do the thinking for him in order to get that done? Johnson shot 15-under on a course made for him. Only got beat by 15.
New Guys: Fabian Gomez, Kevin Kisner and Smylie Kaufman came ready to play and played well for first-timers.
Zach Johnson: The biggest name to switch equipment, Johnson started slow and finished fast with 67 on Sunday. The only problem with Parsons Xtreme Golf is that you would have to finish 21st in the event, like Zach did, to afford the clubs.
The tour stays in Hawaii this week for the first full-field event.
Spieth and most of last week’s field will be doing something else.
Spieth’s next stop is the HSBC event in Abu Dhabi in two weeks.
And like Tiger Woods used to be, Spieth is becoming the “must watch” guy in golf.
