Jordan Spieth shares Masters thoughts, from firm Augusta to Rory’s fix

Jordan Spieth does not have a good relationship with TPC Sawgrass, and he’s the first to tell you about it. 

“Visually, it messes with me,” Spieth said Saturday. Pete Dye would say Yeah, that’s the point. 

Spieth had just shot 73 in the third round and pulled away from screaming children hunting autographs for a  brief but candid conversation with a few reporters on the front lawn of the Sawgrass clubhouse. This wasn’t the typical media scrum Spieth sees after a round. There was no camera in his face, and no one really cared what he shot. We were all there to gauge Jordan at this moment in time. As he continues his path back from offseason wrist surgery.

Spieth is one of the best talkers in the sport, especially when you get him like this. Casual and considerate — more contemplative than anything. Which is why that strained relationship with Sawgrass is such a blessing. He’ll compete at the Players Championship another dozen times or more and probably be vexed by it every single time. And every time he talks about that challenge, we’ll understand it, and him, a little better. 

“I come in here, I’ve got to be striping it to make the cut,” Spieth said. “I’ll go play [the Valspar Championship] and I’ll be like, Okay, I shot three under. I’ve got a good gauge on where I’m at. I’ll go [to Sawgrass] and I shot a couple under in the first round, Oh, I’m in 28th!? Like what just happened? I don’t know what the deal is here.”

He stumbled into this line of thinking courtesy of a question about Augusta National — a very different course but the next one we really care about. That’s a window into how conversations with Jordan can go. Left, then right, then around a tree and over some water and back to the point. A bit like his golf. 

The fascinating point he was making was that he doesn’t need to be striping it, he feels, to still make magic at the Masters. Even though he has only won a single green jacket — thought it may feel like he’s won four — Spieth has shown up to Augusta without an ounce of form and still contended. 

“I think the fact that I’ve been there when I’ve been playing poorly and played well and had a chance to win, now I’m like, Well, I don’t really care how I’m playing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. That’s a nice place to be.”

This is the time of year when people really care about how they’re playing, though. Look at Scottie Scheffler’s visible frustrations. Xander Schauffele’s “blowing through” a ball count on the range, post-injury. Rory McIlroy loves how he’s playing right now. But he doesn’t have the good vibes at Augusta that Spieth feels. 

“Augusta’s just blown up more than it probably should be,” Spieth said. “In that sense, it gets blown up towards Rory. Majors are majors. Augusta’s — you know, if you look at the field, it’s technically the easiest major to win, so the more I think someone focuses on that, the better.” 

Spieth suggested that McIlroy could have won three or four additional majors at this point, considering he’s played better at the majors that are harder to win. Something has kept him from breaking through in those events for the last decade. That’s the thing about analyzing the majors: you can focus on them as the big ones, on their tradition, weather, course setup, etc., or you can treat them like any other tournament, and at winning one like a simple game of numbers. At Portrush later this summer, McIlroy will have to beat 155 other golfers on one of the toughest courses on the planet. At Augusta, he will have to beat about 95 on what can be a friendlier playing ground. If you look at it that way. 

Spieth cited 2018 — when Patrick Reed won — as evidence, when he carved a first-round 66 and a final-round 64 out of Augusta National. All he needed was one more solid round and he pips Reed. 

“I’ve contended there when I’ve had next to nothing, and there’s no real reason for that,” Spieth said. “It’s not like I love that place or not. I truly think it’s just, 1. If I didn’t have anything, your driving accuracy is less of a problem there than it is at other majors, except maybe the Open. But other than that, I think it was just because the field wasn’t the same as some of the other harder events. But that’s a hot take. 

“You know, it’s the biggest tournament in the world, it has the most eyeballs for golf, so I think everything — no matter what the story is — gets a little blown out of proportion.”

He’s not wrong. If it’s a hot take, it shouldn’t be. It’s common sense. And yet, Spieth had no problem fanning the flames a bit as we wrapped up the conversation, weighing in on the Augusta National he’d like to see.

“It’s too early to tell,” he said, “but I think it’s looking — based on how this place looks and where the weather’s been — likely to be a firmer [Masters] this year. It seems like the over-seed [grass] has come in better everywhere than normally, which means it could be just firmer based [turf], which is great. I think the firmer ones are better Masters. Hopefully we see one this year.”