Leadbetter: There is no comparison with the real Big Three
THE build-up to this week’s US Open at Oakmont might well centre around the illustrious trio of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.
But David Leadbetter is not buying into the hype.
There are those who will have you believe we now have a Big Three to rival that of yesteryear containing Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.
But golf’s top guru, famed for rebuilding the swing that took Sir Nick Faldo to six Majors, is having none of it.
More than that, he has doubts about Spieth continuing the sort of form that had him on course for a Grand Slam after winning the US Open 12 months ago.
“You can’t compare today’s Big Three to the previous trio,” he states firmly.
“They won 37 Majors between them, and had an exemplary record over many years.
“Day, Spieth and McIlroy are the best three out there right now, no more than that.”
So Leadbetter has a more sober assessment of what lies ahead for the top three players in the world rankings than some, and doesn’t see it as a three-horse race.
“There is a huge difference between the Jordan Spieth that goes into Oakmont this week from the player who won last year,” Leadbetter (right) argues.
“He had a great year in 2015 and, yes, he won at Colonial a couple of weeks ago. But at this point in time, he is not playing to the same level as 12 months ago.
“OK, if he had won The Masters, some will argue we would all be saying something different. But his results say it all.
“Then there is Rory McIlroy, and the plain fact is he is a streaky player, simple as that.
“His putting is streaky, and when you have a streaky putter, it follows you have a streaky player.
“If you had Rory’s game with Spieth’s putting, then you would have another Titan of the game. But separately they both have issues.”
Leadbetter doesn’t buy into the theory that McIlroy’s self-inflicted time away from the game due to the injury sustained in a football kickabout with friends last year has in any way affected his golf swing. “Oh no,” he exclaims. “Rory still has that beautiful motion – what I would call a dead-slow momentum in his swing – and it is a thing of beauty.
“It is free-flowing, it is fluid. But he does at times have one or two issues to deal with, even the great Jack Nicklaus was not immune to swing flaws at times. “But Rory can drop the club – what we call the plane coming down, with the end result of a block or a hook – and that is something that could be very costly at Oakmont.
“But he does have the added bonus of having his coach with him, someone who’s been at his side since he was a kid, so in many ways he is old style.
“Jason Day, on the other hand, is very mechanical, with the modern, power golf swing.
“Of the three, I would say Rory has more shots in his armoury than Jason or Jordan.
“He also hits the ball so high, that it will stop no matter where it hits the green.”
While that will certainly be a bonus at Oakmont, Leadbetter points out that so often the winner is a dark horse, with the allround tools to get the job done.
“I look at Lee Janzen and Andy North as prime examples. Both won the US Open twice,” he points out.
“I think Phil Mickelson will be a factor as he chases that elusive title, and former winner Webb Simpson has found his game again, having been one of the players really affected by the change from the long putter.
“As William McGirt showed at The Memorial last Sunday, the depth in rich talent nowadays means a shock result is always just 72 holes away!”