The records Jordan Spieth broke the four days at Augusta National were historically good. He had the 36 hole record at -14. He set the 54 hole record at -16. He amassed the most birdies in Masters history with 28, breaking Phil's 2001 record of 25. He had the lowest opening round by a champion at 64. He tied the record for the lowest tournament score at Augusta National with a-18, 270 score, tying Tiger Woods' mark from 1997. And he was the first wire to wire winner since 1976, 39 years ago, when Raymond Floyd did it. He became one of five wire to wire winners at Augusta National. Arnie did it in 1960, Jack did it in 1972 (one of his six Green Jackets) and Craig Wood did it in 1941. It was magical really. There were so many key shots and key putts during Jordan's journey this past weekend. One of the most memorable was the incredible up and down on 18 on Saturday, where he was on the right side of the green with not much green to work with, and had to hit a lob wedge pretty much over the trap, land it softly, and hope it could get close to the hole and not run 15 feet by. He executed it masterfully, dropping in to eight feet, but he still had that nerve-wrecking par putt to maintain his four shot lead. He had just double bogeyed 17 and looked vulnerable. But he sank the putt center cut–his putting was and is remarkably good–which gave him a breather, the momentum to carry into a pressure-packed Sunday. There were so many outstanding shots on Sunday as well. His two second shots on the par 5's on the back side, 13 and 15 respectively, were also magical. The 21 year old golfing genius took the chance to go for the green both times over water, and when the balls were in the air, he was calling out "go hard!" or "get there!" Sure enough on 13, he placed it about 25 feet from the hole and two putted for birdie. Then on 15, he hit it 12 feet and two putted for another birdie to get to -19, which was at that time the course record, one shot clear of Woods' 1997 mark. He had a terrific up and down on 16, in which he hit a chip from the back left of the green, to 9 feet and sank a tough left to righter to remain at -19. Still, he had two holes to finish it off and set the record. He parred 17, but then hit a drive into the woods slightly on the difficult 18th. He hit his second shot to the front of the green, chipped it up to five feet above the hole, and looked to have a good shot at breaking Woods' record. But the nerves got ahold of him. He knew he had the chance to set the record and wanted the putt to go in badly. But he pushed it to the right and had to settle for tying the record. It didn't matter. It was a brilliant performance for this mature way beyond his years 21 year old. And it was incredible to watch, as the Masters always is. There's always something special that comes out of Augusta National, which I would say, is the greatest sporting event in the world ever. So much history, so much phenomenal drama, so much pristine beauty.
And there's so much depth to this native of Dallas, Texas. In an article in the New York Post, the writer, David K. Li, wrote about the amazing athletic ability of the Spieth family. Jordan's dad, Shawn, played baseball at Lehigh University. His mom, Christine, was a basketball player at Moravian College. Both universities are in Pennsylvania. Jordan is the oldest of the three Spieth children. His younger brother, Steven, the middle child in the family, is a 6-foot-6 guard on the Brown University basketball team.
But the most powerful influence in Jordan's and his family's lives is the youngest of the three Spieth children, Jordan's sister, Ellie. Ellie, 14 years old, was born with a neurological disorder. She has special needs. Jordan plays with a passion for his sister. Christine, his mom, told, ESPN, "Jordan wouldn't be where he's today if he didn't grow up with Ellie." She's almost like the superstar of the family in a family of stars.
"Growing up with Ellie has helped Jordan and Steven to have that quality of not being self-centered," dad Shawn told the Times of London. "If Jordan doesn't become No.1, he'll know that's only a piece of life, not all of life."
Shawn and Christine have done a phenomenal job raising their children. It was moving seeing Jordan's embraces with his mother and father. Jim Nantz of CBS asked Jordan about winning the Green Jacket for Ellie, and Jordan didn't really talk about Ellie directly. He would have become emotional and didn't want to cry on national TV. That part meant a lot to him.
Jordan Spieth is a young man who possesses the unique and sometimes rare qualities of integrity, humility and goodness. Golf is a gentleman's sport and is all about sportsmanship and character. Jordan Spieth embodies those spiritual qualities of the game. With his focus and determination, and his sister Ellie driving him to always stay humble and hungry, I see Jordan being a factor for the next two decades. And with Rory in his prime, this could be a Nicklaus-Arnie type of rivalry that will transcend the game, once again. It's incredible exciting. There are manyother great players who will be in the hunt in the forthcoming majors, the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington state, the Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland, and the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Phil is showing he's still a factor. I'm not counting out Tiger, either. He played pretty well overall at Augusta National and played through a separated bone in his wrist. Wow, that's some toughness. Guys like Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott and Patrick Reed, are all potential 2015 major winners. The list goes on. The competition is the best it's ever been.
How many majors can Jordan win? I don't want to put a limit on him, but I see double digits if he can stay healthy, humble and hungry. He's a potential Nicklaus record breaker, though that's a tall order as Tiger can attest to. Rory is not out that discussion either for breaking Jack's record, and I'm not totally counting out Tiger either.
Jordan Spieth is champion in the truest sense. He's a champion golfer and person, and has elevated the game again to a spectacular level. The U. S. Open is only two months and change away and the tournaments before it, including this weekend at Hilton Head at the RBC Heritage, in which Spieth is playing, the Players Championship in May (May 7-10th), Jack's tournament, the Memorial, June 4th-7th, and many others before the U.S., should be pretty awesome as well. The U.S. Open takes place June 18-21st.
As a friend of mine said to me on the phone this morning, "The Masters was awesome, golf season is here, I love it."
