Pebble Beach:
Just 22, affable Texan has taken control of the sport — as expected
At 22, Jordan Spieth has assumed the role of the king of golf.
“You tweet, and there’s a good chance it can end up on ESPN. ... That wouldn’t have happened before.”
Jordan Spieth, on becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world
PEBBLE BEACH — Jordan Spieth eagerly visited the Champions Locker Room at Augusta National during a recent wintertime visit. Masters winners share a locker, and Spieth wondered about the identity of his partner.
The answer: Arnold Palmer.
“That was pretty awesome,” Spieth said.
This snapshot — symbolically hanging out with the King — illustrates how much Spieth’s place in the golf galaxy has changed in the past year. The last time he strolled the fairways of Pebble Beach, in February 2015, he was an intriguing, rising 21- year- old with designs on the throne.
Now, at 22, he’s the boy king and undisputed face of the game — which means golf is in an enviable spot.
Spieth returns for this week’s AT& T Pebble Beach Pro- Am in a far different position than when he showed up 12 months ago. Back then, he had won only one PGA Tour event. He was golf’s future, but the conversation centered more on what he could accomplish.
Fast- forward to February 2016, and Spieth is golf’s captivating present. He made a riveting run at the Grand Slam; he has won six times in the past year, including two majors ( Masters and U. S. Open), the Tour Championship and last month’s Tournament of Champions; and he shot 30- under- par in that last event, crushing the field by eight shots.
Spieth earned the No. 1 world ranking, muscling past
Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, and he wears the mantle well. The top spot brings wider responsibilities, even if Spieth suggested that all top- 10 players share a similar ambassador- type role.
“But actually having your name at the top of the ranking just adds more to it,” he said. “I’m starting to see that. … I think there’s more of an interest in just kind of smiling and being nice to people.
“I don’t think I have to go out of my way to change how I am or what I’m doing.”
Spieth’s good- natured charm was on display during Wednesday’s news conference with amateur partner/ country singer Jake Owen. They recounted a friendly Tuesday match at Cypress Point, where Spieth gave his pal nine strokes — and then lost when he uncharacteristically missed a 12- foot putt on No. 18.
Owen, in turn, detailed the karmic benefits of being the top golfer in the world. There was Owen’s charity event in Florida, for instance, where Spieth told Owen he was going to hole out from 98 yards and placed a quick wager. “Pay up,” Spieth half- jokingly chirped as the ball soared toward the green.
It landed 3 feet past the hole, according to Owen, and spun right in.
Then there was last month’s tournament in Singapore, where Spieth pleaded with his ball to take a “normal bounce” as it veered wide of its intended destination. Somehow, the ball hit the edge of a bunker and careened into the middle of the fairway.
“When he talks to the ball,” Owen said, incredulously, “it listens to him.”
Spieth is enjoying the perks of his No. 1 ranking without seeming the least bit entitled. Another example: He recently attended an NBA game in his hometown of Dallas, and afterward he met longtime Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.
Spieth grew up idolizing Nowitzki, so he told the story as if he were 12, not 22. It was cool to picture the world’s No. 1 golfer on the other end of the fan- meets- athlete dynamic.
At the same time, Spieth understands his obligations as the 21st century face of golf. We never really know what athletes are like behind closed doors ( see Woods, Tiger), but it’s difficult to imagine Spieth creating scandalous headlines — even in this treacherous, social- media era.
“You tweet, and there’s a good chance it can end up on ESPN,” he said of how reaching No. 1 changed the equation. “That kind of stuff that wouldn’t have happened before.”
Spieth accepts the risks, especially when the flip side includes sharing a locker with Palmer and meeting Nowitzki. It also includes his likeness on a bobblehead: The first 8,000 spectators Saturday will receive the Spieth souvenir.
He and Owen got a chuckle out of the mini-likeness, which sat on a table in front of them Wednesday.
“I don’t know how, but somehow I think it’s even better- looking than me,” Spieth joked. “It’s definitely better- looking than Jake.”