Spieth Arrives To Defend Down Under, Takes In Sandbelt's Finest

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Just when you think the year is slowing down, there's Jordan Spieth arriving in Australia early to hang out at the Sandbelt courses, work with his instructor and caddie and in general, prepare for 2016. As we discussed on Golf Central, the sense of urgency is impressive.

Mark Hayes with the details of Spieth's early Australian Open prep, and Martin Blake with the best from Spieth's press conference including where he's displayed the Stonehaven Cup.

The relaxed tone of his press conference suggests the 22-year-old is refreshed and rejuvenated from the mini-combine of the last week where he played "bucket list" courses Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne. Also noteworthy is a new look from Under Armour. Multiple colors! Woohoo!

The full press conference (he talks Sandbelt golf at the 7:30 mark, the importance of the Olympics at 17:30):

Poll: Why Does Spieth's 2015 Get No Respect?

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Posted on what could be the poster-child webpage for pop-up blockers, SI’s Sportsman of the Year voting page shows the Kansas City Royals (34%) still leading American Pharaoh (28%) and Lionel Messi (14%) in third.

Down in the category that would have them relegated to the pre-Republican presidential debates, Steph Curry (3%), Jordan Spieth (3%) and Serena Williams (1%) aren’t getting much love from voters.

The SI Editors ultimately will decide the annual award, and while this is hardly a scientific poll, I find it fascinating that the readers are recognizing the magnitude of American Pharoah’s year despite the decline of horse racing as a popular American sport.  Meanwhile, the Royals just won in impressive fashion and clearly have a strong social media following. But I sense Spieth's place in the polling is the best confirmation yet that the sports viewing public has very little grasp of Spieth’s Masters-U.S. Open win accomplishment, which was made only more remarkable by his near-wins in The Open and the PGA.

My sense is that this could be attributed to a few possible issues.

—Jordan Spieth is not seen as a transformative figure and to casual fans, his chatty on course style is either not appealing or still coming off as whiny to those who don’t watch him a lot.

—Tiger spoiled us. He was a frontrunner most of the time and dominated in his best years in majors, plus he had two seasons and a Tiger slam that all but set the history-grabbing bar too high

—Noise. There are a lot of golf tournaments on a sports calendar that is relentless in scheduling and compelling almost all year. Even though Spieth dominated in the majors, in the ADD world the majors seem like ages ago and only golf fans know that he ended the year with a Tour Championship/FedExCup win. Lost in the noise of oversaturation?

—Golf history is not valued. In an era of parity, a player going 1-1-4-2 in the majors should be seen as an incredible accomplishment but isn’t perhaps because people just don’t respect the sport? Even SI's Spieth-write-up mentioned his regaining of the world No. 1 ranking over his year in the majors, speaking to a level of remarkable ignorance.

—It was great year for Spieth, but it’s just hard to top the first Triple Crown in 37 years + a Breeders Cup Classic, the first horse to accomplish the fete and his name will now be mentioned alongside Secretariat when people talk about the greats.

—Golf fans wanted to vote, but SI’s pop-up ads and confusing page prevented them from voting.

Please vote and share your views based on feedback from talking to sports fans. We will discuss Monday on Morning Drive.

Why does Spieth's epic 2015 get so little respect?
 
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Spieth, Pharaoh Part Of SI's Sportsman Of The Year Final 12

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Richard Deitsch lists the 12 finalists for SI's annual Sportsman of the Year. Unlike some recent years when there was a by-default sensibility, this year has some incredible candidates.

Serena Williams might have gotten my vote if she wins the Grand Slam. But she just missed out so this looks like a two-horse race between American Pharoah and Jordan Spieth. Working against Spieth is that in the eyes of the casual sports fan, he's the early speed in this race. Having dominated golf through July (and then again at East Lake in October), Pharoah wins the Triple Crown in June, wins the Travers, made the trek to Saratoga where he lost (but had nearly 20,000 show up for a training session), then broke a track record by five seconds in a stunning Breeders Cup Classic win his first time against older horses.

Spieth recorded one of the greatest years in the history of golf's modern Grand Slam and the PGA Tour. Had Tiger gone 1-1-4-2 while winning a big pot of cash, he holds on to cross the wire before Pharoah. But given that I've sensed even golf people do not understand the significance of 1-1-4-2, the sports world probably doesn't fully grasp how difficult that feat was to accomplish. Just look at Deitsch's description of Spieth's year:

The 22-year-old Spieth had his coming-out party in 2015, becoming the second youngest golfer to win the Masters and youngest to win the U.S. Open. He recently regained the World No. 1 ranking after a top ten finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China.

Coming out party (2014). World No. 1 ranking regained (everyone on three, oy vey!).

In early voting at SI.com (warning, annoying autoplay video), the Kansas City Royals have a big lead over Pharoah, no doubt fueled by some clever vote campaigning by the Royals marketing department. Meanwhile 59% of the country not in Kansas, Missouri and two other midwest states, are voting for Pharoah:

"Spieth’s talents are those that tend to have a shorter shelf life."

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As the PGA Tour prepares to (inevitably) hand Jordan Spieth the 2015 PGA Tour Player Of The Year Award Friday at 11 am ET, Jaime Diaz reflects on all that Spieth does well.

The conclusion that Spieth's greatest strengths tend to have shorter lifespans is bound to upset his fans, but its hard to disagree.

Diaz writes:

Golf is better for Spieth’s special qualities, but he’s got to be of careful of where they can take him. Unlike power, a strength that makes for tour longevity, Spieth’s talents are those that tend to have a shorter shelf life.

Magical periods of putting among the game’s very best tend not to last beyond a few seasons, as Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson can attest. Even Woods, who made more bombs over a longer stretch than anyone, has seen his putting decline.

Intensity is tricky. Those who burn the hottest tend to burn out the soonest. Curtis Strange won with ferocity, but it aged him prematurely as a player. Johnny Miller, always a close student of the strengths and weaknesses of extraordinary players, noted at the Tour Championship that Speith “is kind of twitchy for a 22 year old.”

"Why Haven't We Gotten Behind Lydia Ko?"

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That's a question posed by Shane Bacon and it's a legit one as the golf community fawns over Jordan Spieth while the outside sports world yawns at both of these talents.

There are legitimate reasons to see why Ko-mania hasn't overtaken the game: she just won the fifth major that wasn't a major until recently and she's really a quality person whose only discernable neuroses was in caddie hiring, hardly making her unusual. But as we know, the world struggles with people who are pretty much all-around likeable.

That said, Bacon makes a statement that hits home, even for this Young Tom Morris fanboy.

She's already the greatest teenage golfer, male or female, in the history of golf, and now she's winning the biggest of the big with final rounds that match what Johnny Miller did at Oakmont back in 1973.

We as golf fans, and sports fans, need to do better on this front. Ko is making history. It's our responsibility to start paying attention.

He's right. She is the greatest teenager the game has ever seen.

Spieth is a nice guy too for an old man in his early 20s. He's super accessible and yet network cameras zoom right by him because Tiger Woods is in the same corporate box.

Is it that we want our superstars to be a little weird, a little mysterious and a little dark?

Are Spieth and Ko just too nice for the rest of the sports world to take notice?

How's that for a rhetorical question?

Poll: Spieth Wins PGA, Greatest Year In Modern Majors?

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As noted in Golf World and debated on Morning Drive, Jordan Spieth has a chance to join Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods as three-out-of-four major winners in one year. A win also gives Woods a strong run for the best single year in major play.

My question: would Spieth’s Win-Win-T4-Win match Tiger’s 2000 5th-Win-Win-Win? (This assumes no runaway win by Spieth, which seems unlikely given the form of so many players with good vibes at Whistling Straits.)

Damon Hack noted in our Morning Drive debate the size of Tiger’s winning scores as evidence of Woods-2000 remaining the greatest single season performance in majors. Call it the Secretariat factor.

Ben Hogan won the '53 Triple Crown, choosing to play The Open over the PGA. Got him a ticker-tape parade, so I'm including it too as an option for the non-millennials.

Even if Spieth just finishes in the top five, he becomes just the fourth player in history to finish fifth or better in the season's majors (Rickie in '14, Woods twice, Nicklaus twice). Pretty incredible.

What say you?

If Jordan Spieth wins the PGA, greatest year in the modern majors?
 
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