Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson: Millennials on the Move
Jordan Spieth & Lexi Thompson are leading a new generation of professional golfers.
Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson aren’t the only 20-somethings making a big splash on the pro golf circuits. The current number 2 in the OWGR, Rory Mcilroy, is 26 and number 3, Jason Day, is 28. On the women’s side Lydia Ko isn’t even there yet – she’s 18 – and Inbee Park, who’s 2nd in the Rolex Rankings, is 27. Golf is increasingly a sport dominated by the Millennial generation.
What makes Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson stand out in this young, vibrant Millennial generation of golfers isn’t their age, but their style.
Spieth wears his celebrity like he wears his Under Armour shirts, easily and naturally. He talks in terms of “we” rather than “me” and his inner circle is his family – his mom, his dad, his sister Ellie, whom he obviously adores. He asks for permission to spit on his putter.
Thompson like nothing better than playing golf with her brothers when they all have some time off. She signs autographs for her little girl fans until everybody who wants one has it and she occasionally gives away her golf shoes too. She’s a physically fit fashionista who is completely at ease with her body – a role model young girls slogging through adolescence badly need.
Jordan Spieth is sitting on the top of the OWGR. Lexi Thompson is challenging the top of the Rolex Rankings. They’re the top American male and female golfer, respectively. Spieth is 22 and Thompson is 21. They’re simply the best in the game and they’re both thoroughly enjoying the sweet taste of success in ways that juxtapose some traditional notions of gender role and taste.
Lexi likes muscle cars.
And Spieth likes houses
@JordanSpieth's new house is a golfers dream! https://t.co/7JXFTiYiHb pic.twitter.com/lWZSdYKPa2
— Valley of the Moon Club (@playvom) January 27, 2016
They both love the game of golf, which they play with an exceptional level of competence. Both have put 7 pro wins on their resumes. He has 37 top-10 finishes and she has 34. For Spieth, 2 of those wins are majors (2015 Masters, 2015 US Open), while for Thompson, there’s a single major (2014 ANA Inspiration). Spieth first major win came when he was 21, Thompson’s at 19.
Thompson and Spieth have followed a very similar career path that began in 2008 when they were both members of the United States Junior Ryder Cup team. In the afternoon portion of the first day at Valhalla Golf Club, the youngest American boy, 15-year-old Jordan Spieth, was paired with the youngest American overall, 13-year-old Lexi Thompson, in a mixed four-ball (better ball) match. They won five of the first seven holes en route to a 6-and-5 victory over Europe’s Stanislas Gautier and Lisa Maguire.
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Lexi Thompson turned pro in 2010, at the age of 15, and Jordan Spieth turned pro two years later, at the age of 19. Thompson has recently started putting with her eyes close and her putting stats – one of the weakest parts of her game – are improving. Spieth often looks at the cup rather than the ball on short putts. They’re both showing us some innovative tricks that can enhance focus.
Today their game stats are remarkably similar. They both make the cut in a bit over 80% of their starts. Spieth’s career low round is a 61, Thompson’s a 63. Thompson leads the LPGA Tour in driving distance with a huge 287.6 yard average and Spieth ranks 60th on the PGA TOUR with a 296.5 yard average. Spieth edges Thompson out on the putting surface, averaging 27.6 putts per round to her 30.69.
Wouldn’t you like to see them go head-to-head in match play? Given the new LPGA-PGA TOUR collaborative initiative, you could have the chance; and wouldn’t that be fun!
Next: PGA-LPGA Collaborative Initiative: For the Good of the Game
While we wait for that match, however, we’ll get to see Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson again join hands and represent the United States this summer at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, when golf returns to the Olympic venue.