Spieth’s collapse at Masters a huge disappointment
I come away from last week’s Masters with a few thoughts.
Like most golf fans, I was very disappointed with Jordan Spieth’s collapse on the back nine at Augusta National. The kid had history in his grasp when he took a five-shot lead to the 10th tee.
Nine more holes like the front nine he had just completed and he would be a back-to-back winner, one of the rarest of birds at Augusta National Golf Club. Bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes followed by an unbelievable quadruple bogey seven on the famous par 3 12th took him out of the day, out of the tournament and for a brief time, out of his mind.
That was too bad for the game, too bad for him.
There’s still no doubt in my mind Spieth is the best player in the game and will eventually prove to be better than Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. And with any luck, he’ll have processed most of the sting and will get back to playing like the best player in the world.
What he also needs to never forget is some of the greatest players in the game have had major meltdowns and blown big leads. Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson and even the legendary Sam Snead managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a major.
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The other thing I marveled at during the four days of the 80th Masters was this:
It is absolutely amazing to me how the young players, guys like Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Daniel Berger, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas are great examples of players coming right onto the PGA Tour and not only being ready to play, but being ready to contend and, in some cases, ready to win.
Of course, Spieth is the poster child for what youth can accomplish.
It appears the days of youngsters turning pro and taking a year or two or more to get their feet on the ground are gone. These guys show up ready to play, they have plenty of talent and are fearless.
DeChambeau, the NCAA champion and U.S. Amateur champion last year, played the Masters as an amateur and turned pro immediately afterward. In his first trip to Augusta National, the former SMU player posted even-par rounds of 72 in the first two and last round.
His surroundings and his place on the leaderboard got to him in the third round when he skied to a 77.
The kid has the look of a winner and certainly showed he can play like one. Don’t surprised at all when he gets a win very soon.
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Did you catch long-hitting Tony Finau on the ninth hole at Harbour Town on Thursday?
The hole is a classic short par four, playing just over 300 yards, but it’s very tight and the green is small and hard to hold. Most pros use long irons or hybrids off the tee, while we normal humans take something like a three-wood.
Finau boomed his driver into a greenside bunker, but instead of the ball staying in the sand and perhaps plugging, it hopped up and out and onto the green. Finau made the putt for a nice eagle 2.
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If you’re keeping track at home, and I’m sure many of you are, there are less than nine weeks until the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Suites, bleachers and other structures are going up at the historic course and the course is, well, it’s normal awesome.
The victory by England’s Danny Whillett’s in the Masters does nothing to dispel the thinking that was in vogue prior to that event.
The pundits declared the Masters to be wide open and they were right.
I don’t know how or why things would change before the Open. Even if somebody gets hot like Jason Day (who won his last two starts before the Masters), that’s no guarantee of success.
There will be a good-size group of players, mostly the younger guys, who have a chance to win. And because the Open hasn’t been to Oakmont since 2007, most of the players in the field have not seen this spectacular layout.
I still like Spieth, but Willett proved that somebody other than the big-name guys can win the big-time championships.
Who do you like to win at Oakmont? Email me at mike.dudurich@gmail or tweet me @MikeDudurich.
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Do you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know. Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.
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Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and also hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDudurich.