Jordan Spieth's US Open Outlook After Historic 2015 Masters Showing
Only one thing trumps Jordan Spieth's historic showing at the 2015 Masters—what comes next.
In particular, the next major championship on the calendar, the U.S. Open.
Of course, to look forward one must look back and understand the whole picture. At Augusta, he shot 18-under par to tie Tiger Woods' 72-hole Masters record and became the first wire-to-wire victory since 1976.
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No pretty descriptors or hyperbole necessary there, folks.
The future is even more exciting.
In a way, at least a little, Spieth's journey to tying for second at Augusta last year before making history this past weekend all started back at the 2012 U.S. Open as an alternate, where he was the low amateur (tied for 21st) before turning pro the ensuing December.
Much of the decision came down to the fact that he shot a 69 and 70 over the weekend, a score beat by one person—eventual winner Webb Simpson.
"So being able to play the weekend of a major championship under par—at a U.S. Open under par—I think is when I sat back said, `You know, maybe I'm ready to go,'" he said, per Doug Ferguson of The Associated Press (via PGA.com).
Now Spieth eyes the same tournament again better than ever before.
A look at last year's event speaks volumes to Spieth's growth. He shot a 69 and 70 over the first two days to stick around, and then imploded with a 72 and 73 over the weekend to finish tied for 17th.
Suffice it to say, it's a far cry from his wire-to-wire triumph.
In fact, even if Spieth hadn't just put on a show for the ages, the odds already seem heavily in his favor for the tournament at Chambers Bay beginning June 18. Broadcaster Stephanie Wei shares a bit of favorable news for the 21-year-old star:
Todd Milles of The News Tribune captures the thoughts of Spieth's caddy, Michael Greller, on the matter:
As for the real odds, it's early, but Spieth is second only to Rory McIlroy at 7-1 in the minds of Las Vegas right now, per Odds Shark.
Granted, a lot can change on the ride to the next major championship, but McIlroy's an interesting choice above Spieth at the U.S. Open.
Not only did Spieth finish ahead of McIlroy last year (who tied for 23rd), McIlroy's fourth-place finish six shots off the lead this past weekend is deceptive. He started with 71s before the weekend, needed a fierce rally to avoid the cut and then finished strong with a 68 and 66.
Then again, perhaps Spieth is fortunate to even land second in the early odds given the shocking parity of the sport right now. Justin Rose and Charley Hoffman are on fire as of late, and youngster Hideki Matsuyama is flying under the radar.
Heck, Tiger Woods just managed to take the Masters course on a Sunday, Phil Mickelson put together one of his best performances in recent years and was right in the thick of things. None of this mentions others such as Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Bubba Watson, among others.
| strokes gained tee-to-green | 1.548 | 5th |
| strokes gained putting | .801 | 4th |
| total strokes gained | 2.349 | 2nd |
| birdie average | 4.61 | 2nd |
| scoring average | 69.264 | 1st |
Perhaps contention for Spieth at the U.S. Open isn't so cut and dry thanks to the field. But he's free of the collapse label, he has eight top-10 finishes dating back to November and his statistics in comparison with the rest of the tour, per PGATour.com, are off the charts.
It seems only right Spieth turns a stunning Masters performance into a strong showing at the U.S. Open.
Especially considering the particular tournament seemed to start it all.
Stats and info courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise specified.
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