As Jordan Spieth revives his career, the 2023 PGA Tour season could set a new benchmark for success
Love and War, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a locked Jordan Spieth plays Houdini, and his version of blocking hits with one foot; When discussing the duality of people in the world of golf, one cannot make sense of the conversation without at least mentioning the Texas roller coaster.
Since crisscrossing a career valley from 2018-20, when he experienced the lowest of lows for a three-time major champion in his mid-20s, Spieth’s steady rise back to the limelight has been fully demonstrated. In 2022, Spieth reached the 13th round of his career when he defeated Patrick Cantlay in the playoffs at RBC Heritage. Both players’ approach shots found the green bunker on the first extra hole, and when it was confirmed that Cantlay’s ball was buried and Spieth’s lay clean, all helped him win. only title of the year.
That week at Hilton Head, South Carolina, was just a fraction of Spieth’s year — and, from a broader perspective, his career. It showcases everything that makes Jordan Spieth, well, Jordan Spieth: Sandhole hits from impossible angles, chipping to the side as Michael Greller persistently urges, misses 1-foot hits ( lousy ) , may I add) and made everyone, including himself, believe that the tournament was out of his hands until it was somehow in the palm of his hand.
“You have a lot of events where you feel like you should have won and somebody’s playing better than you or hitting the ball or something like that, and sometimes you have an event where you feel like you’ve won. played well but wasn’t good enough to win, and honestly, I feel like this is that week,” Spieth said after his win at Harbor Town. “I need a lot of things to get on the right track. I need to score the birdie on the 18th hole, then need some help, some help, dodge a volley of bullets and finish the one-on-one knockout. once I lay in the bunker, although not great, but certainly better than Patrick’s. Yeah, that’s a bit of a surprise.”
The rest of Spieth’s regular season is relatively less of a surprise. He followed up his win with a runner-up finish against KH Lee at Byron Nelson in his next start before securing a top 10 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Scotland Open and The Open to close out his year. that.
A strong final round at the Tour Championship catapulted Spieth to the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow as Team USA’s most experienced member in a flash, and a prime example of what he could be. golden baby. Taking a 5-0-0 record in North Carolina, Spieth played flawlessly alongside Justin Thomas before claiming his first career singles win between the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
“I think I just took my example here of the 2014 Ryder Cup and the 2015 season,” said Spieth of capitalizing on his Presidents Cup performance for the 2023 season. “I thought Scottie [Scheffler’s] Last year to this year, I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I think he can learn from last year’s Ryder Cup this season…
“For me, yes, I’m really excited for the week going on this week,” Spieth continued. “I think I played some of my best golf games of the year this week, it’s been really cool to play with and for — you know, as a team with these guys.. I can draw a lot of things for next year.”
Despite climbing the rankings this time, there are still many ways for him to return to the top of 2015 when he won masters, US Open and Tour Championship. That begs the question: What should we expect Spieth’s 2023 to be? Is a win, a strong team performance and a major championship spot the new basis for us to define his success? It’s worth thinking about how resilient this new baseline might actually be.
Romance — and possibly even chaos — I believe there’s more to it. The talent pool on the PGA Tour has never been deeper. The awards mentioned above do make for a great season in this era. However, for a magician like Spieth, who can wave his wand clumsily during rehearsal and easily a moment later, you can’t help but let your mind drift toward the unknown. can imagine.
This season, the PGA Tour will reveal a new schedule that Spieth will be very involved with after finishing third in the 2022 Player Impact Program, just behind Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Play in 13 advanced events that will feature the best talent on the circuit, four major championships and several other tournaments, victories suddenly becoming even than difficult.
It’s never a late thought at Augusta, and proved to be one of the great associate golfers of his time, Spieth’s name on the first page of the major championship standings is expected. wait at least once a year regardless of form. When the PGA Tour travels to the state of Texas, the same presence will be assumed from the former Longhorn.
Maybe this leads to his first multi-win season since 2017. Maybe he doesn’t have the new hardware like three years later. Perhaps his name will dance right next to four-time major champions like McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Ernie Els and Raymond Floyd. Maybe he does better and joins the ranks of Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson.
On paper, completing in 2023 what he did in 2022 deserves to be considered a successful season. However, golf is not played on paper, and Spieth’s prediction of the next 365 days doesn’t belong to it either.
