From Hesketh to Birkdale..but Spieth has come a long way in between
IT is a measure of how far Jordan Spieth has come in such a short space of time that, on the previous occasion The Open was staged at Royal Birkdale, he was contesting the junior version four miles away.
The 14-year-old arrived in England with a big reputation in golfing circles, having become only the second player after Tiger Woods to win the US Junior Amateur Championship more than once.
He had to settle for second place on that first trip to Southport, finishing runner-up at Hesketh to Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, who made history as the first female winner.
And, according to a report on the website of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs, Spieth “looked as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world but Southport; he seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the (windy) conditions and the overall test that Hesketh presented”.
Nine years on, Spieth coped with everything Birkdale could throw at him, including strong wind and torrential rain which forced play to be suspended during the second round, to emerge victorious in the 146th Open, his third major title at the age of 23.
Only Jack Nicklaus has achieved the same feat and Spieth can now break the record of Tiger Woods as the youngest player to complete a career grand slam with victory in next month’s US PGA Championship.
Not bad company for a “kid” – as six-time major winner Nick Faldo still refers to him – from a middle-class Dallas neighbourhood where the streets are named after Disney characters.
Aladdin Drive, Sleepy Lane and Snow White Drive can all be found in the Midway Hills suburb where Spieth was raised, the eldest child of childhood sweethearts Shawn and Christine. His brother Steven was recently selected to play for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
His sister Ellie, who is seven years younger than Spieth, was born with a neurological condition which places her on the autism spectrum.
“She’s what keeps our family grounded,” Spieth says. “She’s the funniest person in our family, by far.”
A talented sportsman, Spieth was a left-handed pitcher until he gave up baseball in his early teens to focus on golf, which he plays right-handed. Shortly before Spieth’s 13th birthday, his father Shawn decided it was time for some formal coaching and came across Cameron McCormick at Brook Hollow GC.
“I had a big loop in my swing, a very weak grip, misaligned, shoulders open and hit kind of push draws,” Spieth recalled. “I went to Cam, and he asked me what my goals were. I said I want to be the best player in the world someday.
“He said, ‘OK, then we’re going to have to make some changes and it’s going to be difficult. It’s probably going to take a little while and you may not play your best golf for a while’.”
That best golf would prove good enough to become the first player since Woods to win the US Junior Amateur title more than once, but Spieth dropped out of the University of Texas after his first year, turning professional in December 2012 without having playing rights on any major tour.
After failing to get through the second stage of the PGA Tour’s qualifying school, Spieth accepted an invite to the Puerto Rico Open and finished second, earning him a place in the following week’s Tampa Bay Championship, where he came seventh. Four months later, the 19-year-old holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole of the John Deere Classic to get into a play-off, which he won on the fifth extra hole to become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931.
His first appearance in The Masters in 2014 saw him threaten to become the youngest-ever champion when he led by two shots after seven holes of the final round before finishing second behind Bubba Watson. A year later, Spieth stormed to victory at Augusta National in record-breaking fashion and then won the US Open at Chambers Bay to remain on course for an unprecedented calendar grand slam, only to miss out on a play-off for the Open at St Andrews by a single shot.
Worse was to come in the 2016 Masters as he squandered a five-shot lead with nine holes to play, a meltdown which he admitted would take “a while” to get over.
It is safe to say he is over it now.