Spieth sees room for improvement in 2016
Jordan Spieth got back to work Thursday in the winners-only Hyundai Tournament of Champions on the Plantation Course in Kapulua, Hawaii.
Just don’t ask him what he’s going to do for an encore.
The world’s No. 1 player and reigning PGA Tour player of the year has his own expectations for 2016. But he expected queries on how he was going to follow his historic 2015, when he won five times, captured the year’s first two majors en route to a run at the Grand Slam, won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average and took home more than $12 million plus the $10 million bonus for the Fed Ex Cup. So he had the perfect answer. “Doesn’t an encore mean that the show is then over?” Spieth said this week as the PGA Tour resumed its 2015-16 wraparound season. “I hope I’ve got like 40 years out here. ... When you write the date, that’s about it in my mind. We’ve just had a little bit of a break, and I’ve had plenty of playing and practice to be plenty ready to try and win this week.”
Spieth went out and shot a 7under 66 in the first round, trailing Patrick Reed by one stroke.
Spieth last played in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in the first week of December. Since then, he enjoyed his downtime — taking a trip with his dad to Augusta National for a few rounds, dropping the puck at a Dallas Stars hockey game in his hometown and putting together the ping-pong table he got from his parents for Christmas.
Since arriving in Maui he’s jumped off the rocks at the Cliff House, went spearfishing with family and friends and did a lot of snorkeling with his sister, Ellie.
During the short break, he also reflected on 2015 and sat down with his coach, Cameron McCormick, to map out a strategy for improving this year. In the Bahamas, Spieth said he could always improve in all aspects of the game, both physical and mental. He will continue to try and gain more distance with his driver but won’t chase distance at the expense of his strengths.
“Cameron and I went to how can we improve, and we did that strictly by going over statistics. We went over and figured out for me that specifically my wedge play needs to get better, proximi- ty to the hole and up-and-down percentage, from really 60 to 140 yards or so,” Spieth said. “We got reports on all the strokes gained from every category, and he narrows it down and he asks ques- tions before I even look at them, like what do you think about your play, your midiron play, what do you think about how you were off the tee and then wedge play? And I told him I felt like my wedge play was average last season.”
Average? His peers would love to be as average as Spieth is with a wedge in their hands. But that may be Spieth’s greatest strength — his mentality will not allow him to stop trying to improve.
One thing that won’t change is his world travel. After winning The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola in September, Spieth played the Presidents Cup in South Korea, the HSBC Champions in China, the Australian Open and the Hero in the Bahamas.
After the Hyundai Tournament, he’ll head to the Middle East for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in two weeks and then play in the SMBC Singapore Open. After a week off, he’ll be in California for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Northern Trust Open near Los Angeles.
For now, he’s in the Aloha State.
“I do love this golf course. I love the grainy Bermuda,” Spieth said. “The elevation changes, having to judge the elevation change with the wind, the ball just kind of does some crazy stuff. This is one that we strive to make each year, and if I am eligible to play in this tournament and I’m not, I hope every single one of you calls me and bashes me for it.”