Jordan Spieth has now reached the ripe old age of 23.
It would be nice, wouldn’t it, if suddenly he got the ultimate gift and that “A” game of his from last season showed up this week at Baltusrol for the PGA Championship.
You see, Jordan Spieth has had the difficult task of living up to being Jordan Spieth.
Everyone keeps waiting for the kid who won the Masters, won the U.S. Open, could have won the British and lost to a record-setting effort by Jason Day at last year’s PGA, to show up this season. He almost did at Augusta National, but the disaster at the 12th hole set his universe off kilter and it has stayed that way through the other majors this season. He was no factor at either the U.S. Open or the Open Championship two weeks ago at Royal Troon.
“I think I’m the same player. I think I’ve gotten a bit too frustrated. There’s been less talking about each shot with Michael (Greller), I’m trying to simplify things. I feel I’m trending in the right direction right now. I set my own expectations so high. Have I met them? Not yet. I’m hitting the ball farther. My short game has gone down just a bit but I’m working on that,” Spieth said on Tuesday afternoon at Baltusrol.
Spieth has carried the burden of huge expectations after his 2015 season to remember. He has still won twice but he’s done it without that spectacular ‘A’ game that showed up so often last season.
He looked back briefly on last year’s PGA when Jason Day ran away from Spieth and the rest of the field. “I threw everything I had at him that week. It’s gonna happen in the course of a career.”
It happened that way for Mickelson with Stenson last week and Spieth acknowledged that he now knows how Mickelson must have felt.
As far as this week, it’s pretty simple for Spieth. Yes, he is hitting the ball longer as shown by his 314-yard shot in Tuesday’s long drive contest. But his ball striking and short game simply haven’t cut it in the last two majors.
And that’s what he needs –that ball striking and short game — as he celebrates his 23rd birthday today if he wants to be a factor this week.
