Jordan Spieth approaches the final fairway at Augusta National Golf Club with a comfortable lead. The crowd roars, chanting his name. Spieth pauses to tie his shoe as the sun sets behind the Georgia pines.
He had envisioned this moment, dreamt of it endlessly. But experiencing it at the 2015 Masters, his primary feeling was wanting it to be over.
`I was almost hurrying to finish instead of savoring the moment and enjoying victory laps,` he reflects now. `You`d think you`d want to prolong it, but at that point, carrying the pressure of the lead throughout the tournament, I was just ready for it to be completely done.`
It certainly appeared that way. Revisit the final hole: Spieth seems restless, playing with his hair. He makes what commentator Nick Faldo described as his `worst putt of the week` on the penultimate stroke, pushing it wide from five feet. He taps in and embraces his caddie, Michael Greller. He`s then enveloped in hugs from his parents, girlfriend, and grandfather (who whispers, `I wanted to be here for this` in Spieth`s ear), before embracing Greller once more. His parents suggest a lap around the green to celebrate with the fans, so he turns, applauds briefly, takes a few steps, barely completes a quarter of the circle, and then quickly departs.
In an instant, it`s over. Spieth shakes hands with a few caddies lingering near the clubhouse, proceeds to scoring, and within minutes, finds himself in Butler Cabin, seated across from chairman Billy Payne, announcing to the world his new ambition to become a two-time champion like Bubba Watson, the 2014 victor poised to drape the green jacket over Spieth`s shoulders.
A two-time champion. He was 21, and had been a one-time champion for barely half an hour.
A decade later, Spieth remains a one-time Masters champion, bearing the marks of a career that hasn`t quite unfolded as anticipated. Looking back at that final hole, Spieth chuckles softly at the haste of it all.
`I hope to have another chance at that,` Spieth says. `And perhaps I`d approach it differently.`
It`s hard to exaggerate Spieth`s brilliance in 2015 and how captivating he was to watch. Tiger Woods` dominance was waning, and Spieth, alongside Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, were stepping into the spotlight. Spieth stood out, being four years younger than McIlroy and six years younger than Day. He was a prodigy, likened to Woods as a once-in-a-generation talent.
It wasn`t just about results. Vijay Singh`s nine wins in 2004 didn`t generate the same excitement as Spieth. Spieth`s appeal lay in his course management, his ability to shape shots, and his exceptional short game, particularly around the greens and with his putter. He wasn`t the longest driver, but his creativity and skill around the green were mesmerizing.
He`d curve approach shots around obstacles, hole out from bunkers in crucial moments, and follow erratic drives with miraculous recoveries and clutch par putts.
`Jordan Spieth chips in more than anyone I`ve ever seen,` remarked two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange. `People used to call Tom Watson lucky, but when it happens consistently, it`s not luck. It`s skill.`
Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters winner and Spieth`s mentor, likened Spieth`s daring approach to the game to Wyatt Earp.
`He`s got a gunslinger mentality,` Crenshaw explained. `He`s bold and takes chances.`
Spieth possessed magnetism and charm. He was gracious in defeat, like when he narrowly missed a playoff at the 2015 British Open and stayed to congratulate Zach Johnson. Yet, he was also playful, like the prank he played on Justin Thomas, moving Thomas` car and causing him to panic.
In 2015, Spieth topped the money list, scoring average, and top-10 finishes. Analytics website Data Golf ranked his season as the ninth-best on the PGA Tour since 1983, with only Woods and Singh ahead of him.
`Spieth started out as the next Tiger,` Matt Courchene of Data Golf noted. `In fact, by the end of 2015, at 22, he was ahead of Tiger`s pace.`
The Masters was his crown jewel. A runner-up finish in his debut year preceded his second visit, where he arrived on a streak of top finishes. He opened with a 64-66, setting a Masters 36-hole scoring record. Spieth recalls two key moments from that start.
First, a misjudged hybrid on the 15th on Thursday, leading to a bogey and costing him a potential 61 or 62.
Second, the clarity and sense of inevitability he felt Friday evening as he saw his weekend position.
`OK, this is mine now,` he recalled thinking. `It`s mine to win or lose.`
And it was. He led by three after Round 1, five after Round 2. A 70 on Saturday extended his lead to four. That night, he watched `Forgetting Sarah Marshall` and prepared to make history.
On Sunday, Justin Rose challenged but couldn`t close the gap. `It felt like he`s been leading for a month,` Rose said. Spieth, after his hurried green-side celebrations, lingered in the post-round press conference.
After numerous questions, Spieth meticulously detailed his final round, hole by hole, explaining how he `conquered my favorite tournament in the world.`
It was a coronation that seemed to herald lasting dominance. His U.S. Open win that June fueled Grand Slam talk. Though he didn`t win the Open or PGA, he finished near the top. He ended 2015 with five wins, the FedEx Cup, and the future of golf seemingly in his grasp. Augusta National, considered ideal for his game, made another Masters victory seem inevitable, perhaps multiple.
But it didn`t happen. Instead of ascending, Spieth`s career became a series of peaks and valleys, showing flashes of brilliance interspersed with inconsistency.
At the 2017 British Open, Spieth`s errant tee shot on the 13th in the final round seemed disastrous. It landed in the dunes at Royal Birkdale.
But Spieth took a penalty drop, recovered onto the green, saved bogey, and then went on a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie run to win by three.
It was his third major, capping a season nearly as strong as 2015.
It also marked his last win for almost four years.
The reasons for Spieth`s slump are complex. Golf is unpredictable, and history is full of players with periods of brilliance followed by decline.
Unlike some struggling players, Spieth retained his caddie and coach, Cameron McCormick. However, swing adjustments, according to McCormick, went against his teachings.
`I became a more secondary coach,` McCormick said. `He became less focused on ball control, which was his strength.`
Ball-striking inconsistency affected other areas. His usually reliable putting faltered, adding mental pressure.
Once a top putter, Spieth`s putting stats declined significantly from 2017-18 onward.
`Spieth is a bad short putter now,` Courchene stated. `It`s impacting his game.`
Was the 81 at Riviera in 2019 the low point? Or the year-long top-10 drought? Or the Ryder Cup game collapse? Regardless, Spieth`s wins dropped from 10 between 2015-17 to just two since 2018. His world ranking fell from No. 1 to as low as 92nd, currently at 65th.
`When you`re in a rut, it`s hard to fake it in golf,` Spieth admitted.
Data Golf indicates Spieth`s performance pre-2017 was comparable to legends like Woods and McIlroy. Since then, it`s been more in line with solid pros, not superstars.
Whatever the cause, the results are clear: Spieth has become average. For someone who achieved so much early on, average feels like underachievement.
`His strokes gained total is half of what it used to be,` analyst Brandel Chamblee noted.
Spieth acknowledges this, knowing that occasional wins don`t match the promise of 2015. He hasn`t won a PGA Tour event in three years.
`If you told me then where I`d be now,` Spieth says, `… it`s not quite what I expected.`
Yet, despite struggles, Masters faith in Spieth persists. Each April, the narrative of Spieth rediscovering himself at Augusta resurfaces. The Masters is a reset for Spieth believers, an annual hope unmatched for players of his level.
So, as Spieth returns to Augusta, the question remains:
Why might this year be different?
Spieth`s voice brightens when discussing Augusta National, filled with familiarity and warmth. It`s like reminiscing about college days, but his `campus` is a world-famous golf course. He was 20 when he first contended there.
`I have a good feeling about the place because I don`t need my best game to play well,` he says. `I`ve birdied every hole out there.`
While not literally true in tournaments (he hasn`t birdied the 11th), the sentiment holds. He has history at Augusta, both good and bad.
There are low points, like the 2017 final round 75, the opening 79 last year, and the 2016 meltdown on 12. Yet, statistically, he overperforms at Augusta. His iron play and short game suit the course.
The question is whether he can still perform to that level.
Doubts arise from missed cuts in 2022 and 2023. Yet, he sandwiched those with high finishes in 2021 and 2023. Spieth believes a turning point was addressing a wrist injury that required surgery last August.
He rested, then refocused on swing elements from his earlier success. `Not swing changes, but a reset to my DNA,` he explained.
Now, Spieth feels healthy and confident. At 31, he knows Augusta well.
Analyst Justin Ray notes the Masters favors `longtime tenants` due to its consistent venue and smaller field. Spieth`s Masters history ensures he`ll be a topic every April.
Why not believe? Fred Couples contended in his 50s and made the cut at 63. Jack Nicklaus finished high at 58. Crenshaw, Spieth`s mentor, won Masters titles 11 years apart. Spieth is aware of Crenshaw`s gap, seeing it as a reminder that his story isn`t over.
Smylie Kaufman, a former pro, encourages Spieth`s `second act.`
`I told him, your second act isn`t over. The world is waiting to see what you`ll do,` Kaufman said.
Spieth plans to tell his children about his `first act,` about 2015 and that Sunday. But at Augusta, he hopes for something even more special, moments to savor.
`I remember the good and bad clearly,` Spieth says. `And I think, how can I make more memories here?`