2021 PGA Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Kiawah Island
The resurgence of Jordan Spieth has been one of, if not the, biggest stories in golf in 2021.
The former world No. 1 and three-time major champion by age 23 was on the verge of falling outside the top 100 in the rankings for the first time since 2013. His swing was failing him. An extraordinary putter through those lean years allowed him to keep making cuts and patch it together.
Now, the Texan is swinging freely and brimming with confidence. Spieth has seven top-10s and a T-15th in his last nine starts. The highlight was a win at the Texas Open for his first since the 2017 Open Championship.
It looked like that win would propel him to his second green jacket a week later. Close, but no cigar, with a T-3rd finish. Spieth contracted COVID-19 shortly after the Masters, canceling a tune-up start at the Valspar Championship. He did say he felt asymptomatic.
It forced last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson to be his only PGA Championship prep. Spieth didn’t look rusty teeing it up for the first time in a month, at least in the early rounds. A 55-foot eagle putt on 18 gave him the co-lead at 9-under after Thursday.
Spieth cooled down but hung on to post three more under-par rounds en route to T-9th. It was his best finish at his home tournament.
He’s ready to take on Kiawah Island for the first time.
“I hear it’s a second-shot golf course with a lot of blind shots off the tee,” Spieth was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “Just going to need to get to where — you know, we get a lot of information in our practice rounds about what line to take off the tee, and from there I feel like iron shots in the wind and controlling distances is a strength of mine, and hopefully that’s what it comes down to.”
Spieth will be going for the career Grand Slam.
He won the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015 to go with his 2017 Open Championship. His career at the majors shows 27 made cuts in 32 starts with 11 top-10s. The former Texas Longhorn is 6-for-8 at the PGA Championship and has made his last six. Spieth took solo second at the 2015 PGA at Whistling Straits.
Whistling Straits is another waterside course that’s a long, somewhat links like style course.
He ranks 16th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach (.621). Spieth’s creativity and shotmaking will be a huge asset at Kiawah Island. He’s also 14th in SG around the green (.39) and is having a down year by his standards with the putter but still 38th in SG (.417).
If the driver is cooperating this week, look out.