I think even Bill Parcells would be OK with breaking out the anointing oil for this one, as 21-year-old Jordan Spieth was coronated late yesterday afternoon at Augusta National Golf Club. But even before 2014 champion Bubba Watson helped him slip on his new green jacket, Spieth’s record tying performance over the past four days at the 2015 Masters Golf Tournament put the rest of the golf world on notice that another young gun had officially arrived.
Spieth became the second-youngest player to win at Augusta, behind only Tiger Woods’ 1997 effort, and just the fifth man to lead the prestigious tournament from start to finish. Unlike last year, where he squandered the lead just before the nine-hole turn on the last day, this time he was unstoppable. He tied Woods’ mark of 18 under for the tournament, and was the first ever to reach 19 under until he missed a par putt on 18 that gave that one stroke back. But by that time he had cemented his place in history with a 4-stroke win over both Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose.
“It’s the most incredible week of my life,” said Spieth. “This is as great as it gets in our sport. … This isn’t an honor that’s carried lightly. The members of Augusta National and everyone who partakes in the Masters and is a part of the Masters, demand the most, the highest quality on and off the course from their champions. I feel ready to carry that baton.”
The Dallas kid who used to haul the family lawn mower out to the front yard to create a makeshift putting green was shown in a video during the broadcast declaring that some day he’d be a winner at Augusta, but even young Jordan would probably admit to surprise that it come would come so early in his career.
“He has no weaknesses,” Mickelson said. “He doesn’t overpower the golf course, but he plays the course strategically well. And he has that ability to focus and see things clear when the pressure is on and perform at his best when the pressure is on. That’s something that you really can’t teach.”
Now that he has a major under his belt, and is without question the hottest player on the tour (2 wins, 2 second place finishes in his first 4 tournaments this year), one can only guess where he is headed or what heights he will reach. But with Spieth now ranked number 2 in the world behind 26-year-old Rory McIlroy (who finished fourth), the world of golf has potentially the next big rivalry its been searching for.
