Cinderella Spieth: Is Jordan a Darkhorse for the Masters?

Okay, disregard his errant shot on the 13th during Wednesday’s round, and Jordan Spieth has looked pretty good this week.

And yet Spieth hit this shot — somehow — to 11 feet. This is already fun. pic.twitter.com/aghhAmMWiR

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) March 25, 2021

Spieth is now positive strokes gained on approach shots in 20 of his last 22 rounds. Gonna be a problem at Augusta.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) March 24, 2021

And after his round two tie with Matthew Wolff, featuring a late round meltdown of sorts by giving up the last two holes to Wolff, Spieth’s performance raises a few questions.

Could Spieth be on the come up? Has his downwards slide finally come to an end, or is he still trying to get back over the hump?

Four years since his last victory, Spieth is now coming clean with the golf world about a secret injury he’s been dealing with. According to Spieth, he suffered a bone chip in his hand sometime in 2018, probably from lifting weights. Instead of opting for surgery, Spieth did what he could to work through it and adjust to the pain, to his detriment, however, as it started to impact his swing and his grip.

“As the year went on my grip got weaker, the club face got more open, and then I needed to flip at impact and so it just required more timing. From somebody who already has kind of a weaker grip to start with, you don’t really have much wiggle room on that side of things,” Spieth said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jordan Spieth (@jordanspieth)

Not adjustments you want to be making when you’ve been so successful doing things the same way for so long.

How much did this secret injury contribute to his descent from World No. 1? It’s hard to say. One thing that everyone can agree on though, is that it’s great to see Spieth playing competitively and staying in contention, once again. With 3 top 10 finishes since February, the confidence and short-term memory that made him such a dominant force in 2017 are seemingly making a comeback.

In 2015 Spieth was referred to as a ‘Texas gunslinger of old’ who “carries himself quietly and wields his pistol, or in his case his putter, to deadly effect.” It was also said that his poised demeanor and his self-confidence set him apart from his peers. If Spieth can pick up any of these qualities this weekend and carry them into Augusta, he’s definitely got a shot.

For now though, the focus is on the task at hand. Jordan looks to make it out of his group and advance to the Sweet 16, though he’s facing some stiff competition from Wolff.

Cover Image via Instagram