SPIETH REFUSES TO DWELL ON ’ 16 MASTERS COLLAPSE
Jordan Spieth stepped to the tee of the 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday, took back his 8- iron and sent his golf ball toward the distant flag.
The shot looked brilliant from the getgo, the result equally satisfying as the ball came to rest 1 foot from the hole.
“I really could have used that one about 12 months ago,” Spieth said with a smile to the massive gallery behind him.
Significant laughter broke out and whistled through the Georgia pines around the heart of Amen Corner. Spieth bounded off the tee toward the flagstick 155 yards away, crouched down into the familiar putting stance of Arnold Palmer and tapped in for birdie.
It was the latest illustration of Spieth distancing himself from the final round of the 2016 Masters, when the hole they call Golden Bell rung his bell.
Spieth was defending his 2015 title and took a five- shot lead to the back nine on Sunday. After bogeys on the 10th and 11th, he dumped two balls into Rae’s Creek, made quadruple- bogey 7 and lost his lead. He made birdies on two of his next three holes and had a putt on the 16th to get within one shot, but he couldn’t fully undo the damage.
Instead of joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to win back- to- back Masters, Spieth slipped the green jacket onto Danny Willett’s back, as is the custom for the defending champion.
Spieth admirably stood tall and spoke to media members about the 20 minutes on the 12th hole that altered the narrative of the tournament and changed the next 12 months of his life. While he didn’t field questions about his collapse every day, it seemed like it, as the 2016 Masters became known more for Spieth losing than for Willett winning.
The inquiries into the state of his mind, at times, became irritating, certainly mundane. But true to his nature, the young Texan and two- time major champion never shied from them.
“I’ve been pretty honest, and I’ve answered every question. I feel like I’ve been right to y’all in that sense, and no one’s told me otherwise,” said Spieth, who has won three times worldwide since leaving Magnolia Lane last year and is ranked No. 6 in the world. “Like anything, you go through ups and downs in life and in golf. ... I believe that certainly you don’t want to hold stuff in. I would be crazy. But I also have to hold back a lot here, because of how things can be, and that’s no offense to you ( the media) whatsoever. It’s just strictly the nature of what I think is appropriate in moving on and lifting up when you’re on a low, staying up when you’re high, and that’s what you’re looking for in those therapeutic experiences.”
Two questions later in his pre- tournament meeting with media members Tuesday, the 12th hole came up again. “It is one of many tournaments I’ve lost, given a certain performance on a hole or a stretch of holes. It happens in this game,” he said.
Spieth tees off Thursday in the first round at 9: 34 a. m. CT, meaning that about 12: 30 p. m., one of the most anticipated first- round shots in a long time will be hit.
“I’ve got many opportunities to go back and really create more great memories on the back nine of Augusta, which we’ve had in the past on Sunday,” Spieth said. “And if it happens this year, fantastic. I will do all I can to see all the positives and to grind it out like we did in 2015. And if it doesn’t happen this year, then I’ll be ready the next year to do it.”