Jordan Spieth: 2020 will be a defining year for the former World No. 1

Jordan Spieth is coming off his second straight winless season, and his world ranking continues to plummet. Will 2020 be a season of retribution for the former top gun on the PGA TOUR?

Jordan Spieth has been a standout talent on the PGA TOUR almost since his debut. He earned his first TOUR win in July of 2013, which seems like ages ago, and in the six-plus years since, he’s done just about everything there is to do in golf.

He nearly won the Masters in his first try in 2014, then he finished the job in 2015. He won the U.S. Open the same year, and nearly finished the Grand Slam. His heroic path to victory at the 2017 Open Championship is one of the game’s all-time great moments. Along the way, he held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for a combined 26 weeks, battling the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Dustin Johnson, all in peak form as well.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, especially in the ultimate meritocracy of golf. Even the greats can lose a step, and when that happens, it’s hard to tell how long it will last. Spieth’s last Tour win (not counting the Open Championship) came at the 2017 Travelers Championship, where Michael Greller’s rake toss and the ensuing leaping chest bump were one of the great moments of the year. How the mighty can fall.

Spieth’s own website only lists the WGC events and the majors for 2020 at the moment, but I expect we’ll see him tee it up in January, probably at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but certainly by the time the Farmers Insurance Open rolls into Torrey Pines. Those two tournaments will give us a clear look at his early form in the new year.

If the 26-year-old is going to recapture the magic that made him such a sensation over the last six years, those will be far more important than their early positioning would normally command. Spieth had a good run at the CJ CUP @ Nine Bridges to open the new year, finishing tied for eighth place, but he fell back into some wayward form almost immediately, finishing outside the top-40 at both the WGC-HSBC Champions and the ZOZO Championship.

It’s clear that Jordan Spieth believes he can get back to the top of the PGA TOUR, but the path to get there is as unclear as ever. He took his exclusion from the Presidents Cup roster as hard as you’d expect, considering he’s represented Team USA every year since 2013. So what will it take?

When it comes to Spieth, the first focus has always been his borderline magical putting. In 2017, when he won three times, he ranked 48th on TOUR in strokes gained putting, at +.278. Last year, he was actually miles better, ranking second on TOUR with an average of .862 strokes gained. So clearly that’s not what’s broken.

More from Pro Golf Now

Spieth’s driving stats are down from 2017, but it’s actually his short game that’s cost him the most. He was inside the top ten in strokes gained on approach and around the green in 2017, but he fell to 145th and 35th, respectively, in those categories in 2019. You can “putt for dough” all you want, but when you have to make hero shots just to save par, it’s nearly impossible to win against today’s upper echelon.

It’s always hard to predict when a golfer will come out of a slump, but the fact that’s important to remember is that they happen, and for those with the talent and drive, they do end. Rory McIlroy went through it a bit in 2013, just as Spieth was coming into his own. Former No. 1 Adam Scott has gone through several multi-year droughts, especially as he learned to deal with the anchored putter ban.

There are countless more stories, but very rarely do these things last forever with such outstanding talents. I have no doubt that Jordan Spieth will come out of his slump one of these days, and when he does, he could be better than ever before. But with each year that passes, it’ll be that much harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Next. Predictions for all four 2020 major championships. dark

Spieth is smart enough, and certainly has the self-awareness, to realize that. And for that reason, he’ll be laser focused on fixing what ails him in the new year. A return to the winner’s circle feels like a matter of time; don’t be surprised if he makes it happen in 2020.

Home/Jordan Spieth