Can Jordan Spieth Win the Masters?
By Bradley Turner Keiser University College of Golf Director of Online Instruction – MBA, PGA
Jordan Spieth has been on a good run lately with three top-five finishes in 2021. A question in the golf media has been whether Jordan Spieth is on a path back to the top of the golf world? And if so, can he win the Masters tournament for the second time? The quick answer is yes and yes. His golf stats tell us a solid story of improvement this year, and with a highly decorated history of performing under pressure, Jordan is a good pick at Augusta this year. Jordan’s confidence in controlling his golf ball is growing, and with that confidence comes the ability to hit golf shots he was unable to hit the past few years. Confidence, where can you find this elusive thing that great athletes have?
Real Confidence
Confidence is a common topic of conversation in the world of sports. Without question, the best players are oozing with it, and even the casual fan can see that level of confidence on display. Football, baseball, basketball, all athletes must have confidence if they want to bring home the hardware from their respective sporting events.
Real confidence comes from hard work and a healthy self-belief in the ability to perform. For confidence to become a powerful ally in performance, athletes must have proven success in the appropriate level competitions. Even a 20-handicap golfer can display real confidence in the ability to shoot a score in the 80’s or make a 5-foot putt. Confidence is not reserved for the best in the world. All golfers can develop some lasting confidence by putting in practice time with a quality golf coach. With that effort, competence in a specific skill will improve, and with improvement comes the seedlings of confidence. With proven results over an extended period, the seedlings of confidence grow into an impenetrable armor of belief in your ability to perform when it counts.
Fake Confidence
With over 50 years of competitive golf experience, I have had my fair share of successes in golf tournaments. As with most golfers, my tournament failures outweigh the successes. One of the events I participated in over 30 years ago illustrates the difference between fake confidence versus real confidence.
The Indiana Southern Open was the first PGA section tournament of the year. This one-day event fielded over 150 golfers, both professional and amateur, with a $2,000 check to the winner. For one day of golf, that was certainly worth the effort to get ready for the event. I had never played the course before, so I prepared properly and played a practice round the day before the competition. I found the course to my liking, with plenty of space off the tee for my then errant drives. For some reason, the ball had a mind of its own with my new Wilson Firestick Driver. I could miss the fairway to the right or the left; I never knew for sure when a bad tee shot would appear. I felt comfortable on the course until I played the 18th hole. The last hole was a reachable par-5 and the only scary drive of the day without bounds on both sides of the fairway.
In the practice round, I hit driver and 4 iron on the green and made the putt for eagle. When walking off the green, I decided to just hit an iron off the tee during the tournament; it was just too dangerous for me to hit my erratic driver.
I happened to draw the last tee time of the tournament, which is not always good given there would be 147 players playing before my group. I played the front nine one-under-par and decided to peak at the scoreboard before heading to the 10th tee. The low score at the time was 69 (-3), so I was in good shape at the turn. I piped my drive on 10 and thought to myself, “I am really hitting the driver straight today.” I continued to hit the driver in the fairway throughout the back nine and made two more birdies as I completed the 16th hole. On the 17th tee, an Indiana PGA tournament official asked me where I stood, and I told him three-under for the day. He promptly got on his radio to communicate this information. I must have had a chance to win this thing! On the 17th tee, I hit another really good drive in the fairway and made an easy par.
As we approached the 18th tee, there was a two-group wait because the players were going for the green in two. A couple more officials and some fellow competitors came out to see how I would fare on the last hole. I planned to hit an iron off the tee and play it as a three-shot hole. At the start of the day, my confidence with the driver was very low, but I hit the driver great on that day. Maybe I should hit the driver on 18? As I waited for my time to play, I convinced myself that I should hit the driver, as I had not hit one errant drive all day!
You can imagine where this story goes, dead right on the first tee shot. It was so far to the right I didn’t even try to talk to the ball. The second drive was not much better. The third drive was inside the out-of-bounds stakes by about three feet. I subsequently made a 9 on the last hole. As I approached the scoring table, my golf buddies asked me what I had made on 18. And with my response of “9,” I could begin to hear, “Turner made 9.” It was a long drive home that day. My fake confidence had failed me when I needed it most. Fake confidence is fleeting, short-term, and it will not stand the test of tournament pressure.
Jordan’s Performance Data
Is Jordan’s confidence real or fake? Recent comments from Jordan indicate that his confidence is growing. He noted that on the 14th tee at the Players a few weeks ago, he set up to hit a small fade with water down the left side of the fairway. He hit a perfect drive – he said, “last year, I was not able to hit that shot with confidence.” Jordan’s seedlings of confidence are growing, but what do the numbers tell us?
The PGA Tour stats category of shots gained from tee to green continue to improve for Jordan. He ranks 44th in this category – a significant improvement from a lowly 145th in 2019. His putting continues to improve as well, up to 64th from last year’s ranking of 105th. If these two statistical categories continue to move in the right direction, rest assured that Jordan’s confidence and ability to perform will only get better.
As for the Master’s tournament, Jordan has an incredible record with one victory, two runner-up finishes, and a third in 2018. Jordan is a horse for this course, and with his pedigree, real confidence can come back quickly. It will be no surprise to me if Jordan Spieth is on the leaderboard on Sunday at the Masters.
If you’d like to study with Bradley Turner and other PGA Master Professionals, contact the College of Golf today.
