PGA Championship starts today
24-year-old can be youngest to win all 4 majors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The rough at Quail Hollow has Jordan Spieth’s attention at the 99th PGA Championship. The need to hit fairways is a concern. Doing battle with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson and others is definitely on his mind.
But the weight of expectation? The pressure inherent in trying to become at 24 the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam?
Not even on his radar.
Instead of fretting about joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win all four majors, the world No. 2 is the picture of relaxation amidst all the noise around him. Since he delivered back-nine heroics to win the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale last month, the three-time major winner has been regularly questioned about being on history’s doorstep. And the answer has always been the same.
“I just don’t feel any (pressure),” Spieth said Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s start of the last major of the season. “I believe I’m going to have plenty of chances, and I’m young enough to believe in my abilities that it will happen at some point. Do I have to be the youngest? No, I don’t feel that kind of pressure. Would it be really cool? Absolutely. …
“There will be pressure. This is a major championship. This is one of the four pivotal weeks of the year that we focus on. I’m simply stating, there won’t be added expectations or pressure.”
It’s much the same feeling he had at St. Andrews heading into the 2015 British Open. Having won the first two majors of the season, the Masters and U.S.