Jordan Spieth just needs a break to get his game back

Jordan Spieth is in the middle of a full-blown slump. He says he knows what he needs to fix, but it’s becoming clear that the thing he needs most is a break.

Jordan Spieth is more than one of the best young golfers on the planet. He’s also got a mind for the game like few other players out there. It’s part of what has brought him to the pinnacle of his profession at such an early age. But for all his talent, and all that understanding, Spieth’s 2019 PGA TOUR campaign is quickly headed into uncharted territory.

As much as it goes against most players’ natural instincts, the best thing for the former World No. 1 right now might be some time off. With several big events coming up quickly on the new TOUR schedule, Spieth needs to take advantage of a two-week gap that starts this week.

Let’s take a trip back ten months to the 2018 Masters. Spieth started the final round nine shots behind Patrick Reed, but he mounted an epic Sunday comeback that nearly saw him claim his second green jacket. Even with a bogey on the final hole, he still finished in third place, and that championship magic seemed alive and well.

Since then, he’s played 19 events worldwide, with just one top-ten finish to show for it. He’s dropped from third in the Official World Golf Ranking down to 25th, and he’s in real danger of dropping outside the top-25 for the first time since September of 2013.

2019 was supposed to be an opportunity for Spieth to turn things around. He said several times that he knew what was wrong, and right, about his game, and he’s always sounded confident that he would find that spark again and get back in the winning groove. However, not only haven’t things gotten better, they’ve gotten markedly worse.

I don’t want to make this sound like the sky is falling around him. After all, he’s a three-time major champion with 14 professional victories worldwide before he turned 25. But at a certain point, something needs to change. That’s where this break comes in.

Spieth has always come off as a gamer to me, as someone who is at his absolute best when the stakes are the highest. So from that perspective, it seems like playing more – not less – would be the answer. But as the disappointing finishes pile up (Spieth hasn’t cracked the top 30 since September’s Dell Technologies Championship), the need for a change has never been more obvious.

If it wasn’t for The PLAYERS Championship coming up so soon, I’d be suggesting that Spieth might take off until at least the WGC Match Play at the end of March, or possibly the Valero Texas Open immediately leading into the Masters. He’s played five events over the past seven weeks. A three or four week break to spend some time at home and truly get comfortable with his game might not be the worst thing that’s ever happened.

The TOUR’s new schedule makes that difficult, if not impossible. But golf isn’t like any other sport, and Jordan Spieth isn’t just any player. Most of the world will be watching for his return to action at TPC Sawgrass in two weeks, but it’ll be what we don’t see over the coming days and weeks that will give Spieth what he needs for the rest of the year.