Spieth slams the door shut on Tiger’s time
WaS this the moment when american golf finally accepted the passing of the torch from Tiger Woods to Jordan Spieth? on a memorable Sunday to close out an epochal PGa Tour season it sure felt like it, as the 22-year-old won the way Tiger sometimes did on his off-days, by getting down in the dirt and grinding it out.
This victory in the Tour Championship would rank in the middle in terms of prestige when it comes to his five wins this season, and some way behind the Masters and US open. But in many regards it was more impressive than either major success.
When they are playing well, there are six or seven players at the top of the game who feel they’re unbeatable. But this, plainly, was not one of those days. ‘I didn’t feel like I had a go-to shot at times,’ said Spieth, and it showed, as it always does with the demonstrative Texan.
If he wasn’t stretching his arm out to the right to indicate yet another drive wildly off-line, he was shouting ‘Holy left!’ as one disappeared in the opposite direction.
and yet he won by four shots, in the best smoke-and-mirrors display the game has seen since the man in red won some tournaments armed only with his ‘C’ game, his aura and unquenchable desire.
Spieth has won twice as much (£7.5million) in one afternoon as Jack nicklaus won in his career (£3.4m) for a £14.5m season. For the vast majority of players you’d worry about what comes next. Feted as the youngest in the modern era to win five times in the same season, with the spotlight firmly on him as world no 1, how do you keep your eye on the ball?
Spieth, who yesterday was named winner of the PGa of america Player of the Year award and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average, will manage it. Here’s another american superstar with the drive and focus to match the old one.
Spieth pitched up last Monday and treated the event like it was a major. He practised hard from the rough around the greens. Every round he was at the course three hours before his tee time to work on his putting. There’s nothing fortunate about winning when you’re not playing well. as Gary Player wryly remarked all those years ago: ‘The harder I practise, the luckier I get.’
and so for the sixth Monday in a row there was a change at the top of the world rankings, the first time that has ever happened.
The man with the most natural talent and wow factor (Rory McIlroy) now lies third, the man with the best all-round game (Jason day) lies second while the man on top slays them on the greens and in the mind.
a transformative PGa Tour season, undoubtedly, but one where Spieth reinforced two of the game’s oldest beliefs. You still drive for show and putt for dough; and 90 per cent of the game of golf is still played between the ears.