OPINION: Take Spieth’s Phoenix Open Finish With A Grain of Reality Salt

The 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open concluded with a big come from behind win for Brooks Koepka. It also showed the performance of Jordan Spieth was both great to see but also needs to be taken with a grain of reality salt.

I know. There’s a bunch of readers here saying. “Oh, it’s that Philly guy who’s like all the other Philly guys, hating on all other athletes because of popularity or peak performance.”

No, I’m a realist. I am a Philly sports fan so I’m used to harsh reality and constant disappointment. I also don’t care if your name is (insert name of a mega star here), if I find something that’s concerning or over glorified you sure as hell better know I’ll call it out.

Also, I really hope the Eagles don’t end up with Nick Foles again because this town needs to get over his 15-minutes of fame. I mean, seriously, thanks for the Super Bowl but the reality is he was a pretty good QB for how many games in his career? But, anyway.

Shooting a 10-under par score on any golf course is beyond impressive, and Jordan Spieth carded his best ever round on Saturday. Somehow he did this with his continued flaws still showing up but following the bad miss with a great approach, or sinking back-to-back 30+ foot putts on the 16th and 17th at TPC Scottsdale.

Jordan Spieth shoots 10-under 61 | Round 3 | Waste Management | 2021

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But the course itself is the reason why Spieth stayed in the game as well. You have a lot of room to miss in Scottsdale, and I mean a lot of room. Like, Scottsdale to Flagstaff type room. The track doesn’t possess the punishment the more narrow, tighter offerings on the PGA Tour deliver. If Jordan had that driver game at Torrey Pines or Innisbrook, those courses would have eaten him for lunch and still had room for a sensible dinner.

It didn’t matter if it was his driver or hybrid at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, for the most part it was a mystery to know where Jordan Spieth would go with each tee shot.

What saved Spieth’s bacon in the desert was his iron play, which has always been stronger than his woods game. Jordan owned the weekend in his approach play. He now has six straight rounds of strokes gained because of his irons. This is something to really build on as he moves forward. 

In business management and sports, I always believe in the LEGO approach taught to me by a former broadcast talent consultant I worked with. Take your best quality or talent and use that as your base LEGO. Then work hard on the next thing you need to improve because it only makes your base better, while still nurturing and sustaining your best quality, and then stack that on top. You get better and better as you grow and continue to keep your other pieces solid. And sometimes you need to take a couple of bricks off to fix a problem, but you can restack them again in short order.

Jordan Spieth’s irons were always his base LEGO. His greenside game and at times his putting have also held pretty good standing on top of his base. But Jordan just needs to improve to be a more consistent driver and woods player while making sure he doesn’t sacrifice his other game LEGOS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jordan Spieth (@jordanspieth)

Out of everything positive and negative about his four days in Phoenix, there was something we often haven’t seen from Jordan in the past couple of years: acceptance and smiling when he missed. If you “look at the tape,” you’ll often see Spieth smiling or not getting super down over a missed shot. We’ve seen his outbursts at times before and they showed his need for growing up a bit. (I ought to know because I had to as well).

If Jordan Spieth is coming into a personal realization of exactly where he is, how he can improve, and that he is in fact a human who can better himself by balancing his emotions when the engine is leaking oil, I actually think he has the real potential to bring his game more in line with what we say just a few seasons ago. 

I’m not crapping all over his weekend, not in the least. But Jordan Spieth and his fans need to be realists: he’s not back yet, not even close, but there are reasons and examples to say maybe this kid is coming out of it little by little. 

And I really hope this is the case.

Cover Image via Instagram