“natural- born finisher”

ability to close is clearly crucial to Spieth’s self-image as a player and probably keeps him from appreciating what is apparent to others. “Spieth is a natural-born finisher,” says Johnny Miller. “They come along very rarely. So many guys today seem to win by accident, but Spieth doesn’t. His game is ruled by that most important word: intent. Like Tiger, I believe he truly plays every tournament intending to win.”

But the part of Spieth’s arsenal he talks about the most is maximising his play when he doesn’t have what he calls his “best stuff.” His riff before last year’s Tour Championship, which he went on to win by four, is particularly instructive.

“So, maybe it’s golf IQ or it’s whatever, there’s a lot of guys that have it,” he said. “I believe it’s one of my strengths. You’re going to make putts, you’re going to miss putts, you’re going to have off days, on days. I believe it comes down to when the lights are on, and you don’t have your best stuff, can you create your on days?”

To McCormick, “creating on days” is built on accepting limitations in physical play, which are variable, and maximising mental skills, which can be more constant.

Of course, there’s no question about Spieth’s putting prowess. “He’s a master on the green,” says Ian BakerFinch, who was described similarly in his prime. “He’s the exact opposite of mechanical. On each putt, he allows his mind and body to react to what he sees, and then he trusts what feels right. It gives him this quiet flow that all the great putters have.”

“Each time he trains and practices, he’s uncompromisingly looking for something he can improve on,” McCormick says, “but when he plays a competitive round of golf, he accepts the skills he’s got to go after it. He’s not going to try to sort of engineer something in the course of play that he might not necessarily have. He’s aware of what he has. He can say, ‘I know I can get it around with whatever “X” I have for that day.’ And that confidence and ability becomes something that is such a strength and a huge competitive advantage.”

But Spieth’s differentiation from his peers—perhaps more than any previous No. 1—has been achieved through intangibles. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods were acknowledged to have superior mental makeups, but much of the emphasis was on their overwhelming physical prowess. Because Spieth’s abilities in terms of clubhead speed and distance are relatively modest— though his ball-striking stats are deceptively good—he has raised awareness of the importance of the head over the hands. “Traditionally, golf observers overvalue the body of the car and undervalue what’s under the hood,” McCormick says. “Jordan’s engine—the way his mind governs his play—is superb. He’s also got a lot of grit and fight in him. It’s a skill set that is so well-rounded that he’s never left without the necessary tools to make up for a physical deficiency.”

Says Nicklaus: “When he might be struggling, he does it like that’s what he’s prepared to do, like it’s a natural part of what he does. He thinks his way around the golf course so well, he makes struggling look easy. He does that most important thing: taking the game you’ve got with you that day, and doing the very best you can with it.”

The package was on full display at the beginning of 2015. “We were floating on a strong downstream current in the calm part of the river, avoiding the rocks,