U.S. Open 2019: Bold predictions for the week at Pebble Beach
Jordan Spieth is in line for a top-five finish
Earlier on, I said that I liked a player outside the top ten to win, and put Tommy Fleetwood in as one of my favorites in that group. Another guy I like to push toward the top probably never should have played his way out of the top ten, but hey, things happen. Golf is a tough sport.
Of course, I’m talking about Jordan Spieth. The 25-year-old held the top spot in the world rankings for 26 weeks, but ever since winning the 2017 Open Championship…well, to say that he’s come back to earth in many ways would be an understatement.
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If we look at things from a perspective that takes the name “Jordan Spieth” off of his resume for the last two years, we really don’t have anything that bad. In 2017-18, Spieth scored five top-tens and 13 total top-25 finishes in 23 starts. He finished solo third at the Masters (in a “slump” mind you) and still made over $2.7 million in prize money. I know a handful of players who would take that.
But come on, this was Jordan freakin’ Spieth we were talking about. He wasn’t supposed to be happy just being close, he was supposed to be winning everything in sight, like he basically did for the last three years. That kind of pressure, plus work on some swing changes (where have we heard that before?) led directly to months of Spieth needing to tell curious onlookers just how close he felt like he was getting.
Well, it looks like we’re finally on the other side now. The first four months of 2019 weren’t anything to write home about, with a pair of missed cuts and just one real top-25 finish in ten starts. His T-21 finish at Augusta was his worst showing in six career starts. Rough life.
Things have started to click for him in the last month or so, however. Spieth has run off three straight top-tens heading into this week’s U.S. Open, including a third-place tie at the PGA Championship. He’s also got the magic coming back to his putter, as he ranks third in strokes gained putting.
Next. Brooks Koepka chases immortality at the 2019 U.S. Open. dark
Spieth also won a U.S. Open on some of the most ragged poa annua greens of all time at Chambers Bay, and he has three career top-tens at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, including a title in 2017.
The cards seem to be lining up for a strong week from Jordan Spieth at this week’s U.S. Open. I don’t know if he’s quite ready to win again yet, but I won’t be surprised at all to see him in the top five at a minimum. If he’s in striking distance at any time on Sunday…well, he knows what it takes to close these things out.