The Jordan Spieth Experience Was On Full Display at the Valspar, But Not Enough to Win
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The look on Michael Greller’s face typically defies emotion. We’ve all seen this but he lives it. Shot by shot, hole by hole, round by round.
Jordan Spieth, his boss, is both captivating and exasperating, a mixture of greatness and awkwardness that can present itself at times, often within moments.
Sunday was one of those days for Spieth, who seemingly had the Valspar Championship, gave it away, got it back and ultimately saw it elude his grasp again as Taylor Moore snagged the victory, stealing the tournament from both Adam Schenk and Spieth.
Greller, Spieth’s longtime caddie, could only do what he always does, which is to play the straight man, take it all in, let the words wash over him and simply appear as if he’s hearing everything but nothing at all.
The examples were again numerous at the Innisbrook Resort during the final round, but there was Spieth muttering and mumbling and questioning and wondering and firing off all manner of word blasts when he missed the green in a bunker short of the 15th hole on the Copperhead course.
He had just made a birdie putt at the previous hole to tie Schenk for the lead, and would make that bunker shot look easy, getting it up and down for a par. But Spieth was in high-motor mode, and the wind and the shot and all the things that went wrong were front of mind.
Just another day for Jordan Spieth.
He didn’t get it done Sunday, just as he didn’t two weeks ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he missed four putts inside of 8 feet over the closing holes and ended up tied for fourth. Here, he finished tied for third, missing a short birdie putt to tie on the 17th and then making a bogey at the 18th when he needed a birdie.
His ultimate undoing came at the par-4 16th, where his tee shot was in the water the moment he hit it. That he somehow made a bogey to keep himself in contention is simply another reminder of the maddening nature of his game.
One thing is certain, it’s never boring with Spieth.
“It doesn’t come down to the last," said Spieth, whose final-round 70 included three birdies and two bogeys and a missed 6-footer for birdie at the 17th. “The two shots that I really struggled with were (at No.) 6 and 16. They were low-fade intense. On Friday, I really lost a lot of the structure of my swing that’s been really good. That’s the shot that I’m going to come in late on, and I just said, 'screw it, I’m trusting it' and I didn’t try and play away from it.
“I said 'lean into it' and didn’t pull it off. I’m better mis-executing than playing scared."
Spieth tried to hit a cut 3-wood into the fairway on the 475-yard 16th that was the second-toughest hole of the day. The ball never had a chance, and Spieth was then faced with a long layup that he hit into the fairway. From 165 yards, he knocked it to 14 feet and made the putt for bogey.
He wasn’t supposed to make a bogey after all that, just as he wasn’t supposed to stuff his approach shot on the hardest hole of the day, the 219-yard 17th, which yielded just two birdies all day.
Spieth hit his shot to 6 feet—and missed.
“I tried to die that putt in on 17 and just misread how much it was going to dive at the end," said Spieth, who is ranked 14th in the world. “All in all, I felt like I played better than 1 under, to be honest."
He probably did. Spieth missed only five greens, but three of them came in the final four holes. He needed just 29 putts but couldn’t get the big one to drop at the 17th. Although his strokes-gained tee to green for the week was quite good (seventh), his missed fairway at the 18th was costly, making for a nearly impossible birdie.
“It was the boring round I was looking for," said Spieth, apparently not realizing that is not exactly the description of his golf.
“He played great today," said Schenk, who played with Spieth for the first time. “His short game ... I knew it was good. It was unbelievable. When he was in a bunker, it seemed like he was trying to make it. I guess that’s the point, that he was thinking he was going to make everything. He hit it close.
“He played nice today and didn’t have a whole lot go his way, I thought. He putted great and could have made more. But I can see how he’s won majors and is going to win more in the future and win more tournaments. He’s a really genuine guy to play with and it was a comfortable pairing. He’s a superstar, but couldn’t have been nicer and kinder."
Schenk undoubtedly caught a few instances of Spieth’s verbal barrage, which is simply the way he goes about playing the game, one that has seen him achieve great success although it’s been much more difficult to achieve in recent times.
Spieth had 11 PGA Tour victories through the 2017 British Open and has added just two since, one each in the last two years. He’ll head to this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play as a last opportunity to get things in order prior to the Masters.
This is one he will undoubtedly rue letting get away. But he didn’t appear to be down on himself. It was simply another step in the process, one that is always entertaining.