Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AUGUSTA NATIONAL JOR DROPPING
Descent from greatness has been tragic but Augusta can see a Spieth revival
JORDAN SPIETH was once on top of the world but the evidence last week from Houston is that he still has a problem.
The 2015 Masters champion three-putted his final green at the Houston Open, the last warm-up event before
Augusta, to miss the cut by a single stroke. It was the latest episode in his sorry descent from world No.1 to
80 over the last three years.
Now the mis-firing Texan will tee up in Georgia today looking for his stalled career to get another lift-off.
Spieth seemed destined to become the greatest player of his generation when he joined Jack Nicklaus in winning three different Majors before the age of 24. But somehow his game has deserted him.
Yet despite his slump, his record at Augusta is still extraordinary. He played alongside Bubba Watson (left) in the final group on his 2014 debut. And he led at the end of seven consecutive rounds from the opening day of 2015 while equalling Tiger Woods’ record winning score of 18 under par.
Even after his 12thhole nightmare on the final day in 2016, which allowed Danny Willett to claim the Green Jacket, Spieth completed the third leg of his career Grand Slam a year later at the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.
There has been a lot he would like to forget since then, however. He has not won another tournament and his magic touch has vanished.
“At this point, I’m trying not to look back to bad or good,” Spieth said. “I’m just trying to look at it as a clean slate.
“It’s a patience game and that is hard for me to deal with because I’m not a patient person. But I’m getting better.”
In his prime in 2015, when he arrived at St Andrews seeking a hattrick of Majors, he could not miss a putt. But his laser accuracy on the
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greens has fizzled out and, at the age of 27, his old-fashioned game already looks outdated in the new age of power-hitting. Despite constant tinkering with his swing, his driving distance this season is 296.8 yards – only 152nd in the PGA stats and nearly 50 yards behind Bryson Dechambeau, the favourite at Augusta this week.
Houston, where he shared the lead after 10 holes before missing from four feet on the 36th, was his sixth missed cut in 19 events this year. In that spell he has registered only two top-10 finishes. Maybe Augusta, where he finished third in 2018, will finally bring him back to his best. “At Augusta, it’s less mechanical, more feel,” he said. “I feel more comfortable. Even when I’m feeling uncomfortable over the ball.”