While the noise around Rory McIlroy’s attempts to complete a career grand slam at Augusta National builds to an annual crescendo the fact Jordan Spieth is one win from the same feat has long been more of an afterthought. No one exemplifies the fickle nature of golf more than the Texan.
Victory at the 2017 Open – delivered in the enthralling style that had become a Spieth staple – edged him further towards greatness. The US PGA Championship which took place at Quail Hollow within a month of him winning the Claret Jug provided an opportunity to become only the sixth player to win a complete haul of majors.
Spieth arrives at Bethpage Black for the recast US PGA having not tasted victory since his Open win. He has not had a top-10 finish at a major since Carnoustie last July. Just as striking as the fact the public have not generally recognised his grand slam opportunity is that no one seems to regard it as a legitimate outcome in New York state anyway. Whereas not so long ago Spieth was an integral part of every major discussion, he is priced around 50-1 to lift the Wanamaker Trophy.
“I didn’t go away from the game for five years,” Spieth said on Wednesday. “I just happened to not win in the last year and a half or so. I don’t want to use the word ‘negativity’ but the questioning and the wording that’s used to describe me by media or whatever over the past year has only come up because of the amount of success I’ve had.
“So it actually could be looked at positively, because if I didn’t have the success then, first of all, I wouldn’t be in here right now. Second of all, it would be: ‘Oh, his game is progressing nicely.’ You’d be actually looking at the progression of the game instead of the comparisons constantly to when someone is at their best, which I think is unfair to anybody in any field.”
It may also be harsh to portray Spieth as obsessive but technical matters always seem uppermost in his mind. It is easy to envisage the 25-year-old waking in the middle of the night to perform swing drills in front of a mirror.
His team reacted with fury to a report earlier this year suggesting the three-times major winner had the yips. If that scenario illustrated edginess, it also ignored the basic point that those in golf typically want Spieth to succeed. His character, history and appeal is such people wish him no ill.
“It’s been an adjustment being in a bit of a slump,” Spieth said. “I think it actually may have even been harder on [Spieth’s coach] Cameron [McCormick] than it has been on me just because of the physical side being often me trying to tell him: ‘That doesn’t feel right, even though that looks right to you, it doesn’t feel right.’ That’s frustrating for him.
“I think we’ve both had to block out a little bit of outside noise from experts who may not actually know what’s going on. For him, for someone to be critiquing what he’s doing, he’s got to be frustrated if it’s not correct.”
Delving into Spieth statistics reveals one particularly telling problem. In this PGA Tour season his scoring average on Thursday and Friday is 35th and third respectively. By Saturday and Sunday, the figure has dropped to a ruinous 193rd and 208th. Such numbers do not point towards technical shortcomings at all, unless we are to infer they come to the fore under increased pressure. In his youthful pomp, Spieth’s mindset was a case study in perfection.
Spieth, the world No 39, is understandably keen to douse expectancy regarding this US PGA Championship. The make-up of Bethpage, not least after the amount of rain recently, is not particularly in his favour.
“That would be a dream come true for me,” said Spieth of the career grand slam, “but I also recognise that if I continue to stay healthy and play well, I’ll have, I don’t know, 30 chances at it. One of them is bound to go my way, right?”
Well, we used to assume as much. The recent heroics of Tiger Woods boosted this tournament – switched from August to May from this year as the sport’s key partners adjusted scheduling – even before a ball is struck. It no longer feels like the poor relation of the major season.
As Woods, McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson jostle for favouritism – Spieth has his own narrative to alter.