Jordan Spieth was once the boy wonder of the golf world, winning The Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship almost as fast as anybody could say Old Tom Morris. He was even within just a few shots of winning the Grand Slam in a single season in 2015.
While his wins at Augusta and Chambers Bay in 2015 were undoubtedly special, his British Open victory at Royal Birkdale in 2017, which came in miraculous Spieth style, is certainly of note as well, particularly the incredible shot where he had to hit his ball from the practice area while his caddie, Michael Greller, stood on top of a tall mound just to show Jordan the line to the pin.
There was a lot of fescue and just as much guesswork involved, but Speith managed to pull it off en route to a three-shot victory.
In short, Spieth was a wonder.
Everybody was certain he would capture several more majors in short order, but that hasn't happened. Instead, he got married, had some children, and suffered a wrist injury that hindered him for quite some time. But he now seems to be on the comeback trail.
And it couldn't come at a better time, as Spieth will soon take his ninth attempt at completing the career Grand Slam at next week's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
As Curtis Strange said about Spieth in pre-tournament analysis for ESPN, “When he plays well like he did last week (he finished solo fourth at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson), consistently well, shoots a really good last round, that speaks volumes for not only us to talk about but for him, more importantly, he's gaining confidence.”
Confidence is part of the picture, but that is not the whole package, Strange said. He thinks Spieth’s ball-striking stats leave something to be desired. However, according to Strange, Jordan can do other things to make up for it.
“He has to chip and putt like we know Jordan can, and sometimes that doesn't happen every single day,” Strange said. “Jordan is going to be an explosive player but maybe not as consistent as Scottie (Scheffler).”
Strange recalled the group of players that came to the PGA Tour at about the same time as Spieth. He mentioned Justin Thomas and Smylie Kaufman, but there were others, including Daniel Berger and Emiliano Grillo.
“When they were all single, golf was number one on their mind,” Strange pointed out. “They lived it, they drank it, they slept it. They're all married now with children. Life doesn't get in the way, but it changes.”
Dottie Pepper of CBS saw things from a different angle.
“I think Jordan has been motivated by just how good Scottie is,” she said. “He came out (after the CJ Cup) with kind of a stone-cold truth that the guy is better than me. He didn’t used to be, but he is now. And I think that 62 on Sunday and the motivation he’s gotten from Scottie’s success over the last couple years makes this PGA Championship maybe more compelling than any we’ve had in a very long time.”
Spieth admitted Scheffler had passed him.
“It wasn't that long ago I was definitely better than him, and now I'm definitely not right now,” Spieth said after last week’s tournament in Dallas.
He said he hated to admit it, but he had watched Scheffler, particularly playing with him the first two rounds of the CJ Cup.
“I've got to get better,” Spieth concluded.
Strange said he doesn’t have to do his regular commentary when Spieth is playing because Jordan and Greller talk through shots so completely. There’s nothing viewers need to know after the pair has finished discussing the next shot.
“He's fun to watch,” Strange said. “I've got to tell you, when he misses a green, I'm on the edge of my seat because he is as good as there's ever been. He's in the class of Mickelson, Watson, Seve, that type of short game player.”
Spieth also caught the eye of Sellers Shy, Coordinating Producer for CBS Sports.
“It’s a great opportunity for Jordan to win the career Grand Slam,” Shy noted, adding how Jordan's final-round play at TPC Craig Ranch gives him some momentum heading into the season's second major.
“He came out last week and said how inspired he was by watching McIlroy complete that career Grand Slam,” Shy said. “And could you just imagine if we get to the weekend, and we have a possibility, if Spieth plays well, to have two players do this in the same year after waiting so long. My goodness.”
Naturally, CBS is hoping that they will get the completion of a second Grand Slam, but certainly nobody is hoping for that more than Spieth.