Jordan Spieth – Page 47 – Syndication Server

Who wants to be mic’d up? Not Justin Thomas or Jon Rahm

PGA Tour players Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm aren’t thrilled with the idea of wearing a microphone during tournament play.

Jim Nantz loves the idea. His bosses at CBS do, too. The fans are also in overwhelming support.

But how do PGA Tour players feel about wearing a live microphone during tournament play?

That group isn’t as unanimously in favor of the concept.

A number of players spoke with media members in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, with golf’s big return looming at Colonial Country Club this week. And while all understood that the experiment was a hit when carried out at “The Match II” with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the idea didn’t exactly stir excitement.

For example, Justin Thomas was magnificent on “The Match II” as a sideline reporter, but he said Tuesday he has little interest in wearing a hot mic during a live round.

“I would not wear a mic, no. That’s not me,” Thomas said. “What I talk about with (caddie) Jimmy (Johnson) and what I talk about with the guys in my group is none of anybody else’s business, no offense. I mean, as close as those mics are on the tees and the greens and as close as I get to boom mics during competition anyway, I basically feel like I am mic’d up.”

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CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said on a conference call Monday that a few players have agreed to be mic’d up beginning Thursday as the PGA Tour holds its first event in nearly three months. The players who will be mic’d up are expected to be announced later in the week.

Thomas is scheduled to play the first two rounds of the event with Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. During Tuesday’s interviews, Spieth inadvertently let one of the cats out of the bag — Fowler must be one of the players who will wear a mic — when he discussed how he’s interested in the concept, but not ready to dive in.

“I am aware of players being mic’d up. I am aware that there is a player in my group that’s mic’d up this week. Am I open to it? Sure, I’m open to it, but I think I would kind of want to see how things are going first personally with it before. … and just kind of getting back into the routine before throwing that on there, because it is something that I don’t necessarily see as — I think if anything, could be a distraction personally to your play, ” Spieth said. “But I also see what an advantage it could have for the game if you’re able to mic some guys up, especially given there’s no crowd noise, so you get a little extra commentary from the players.”

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Having microphones on players for special events like “The Match II” isn’t logistically complicated — the setting was controlled and while the competition was fierce, it was all for charity. Adding a similar dynamic to a PGA Tour event, with a crowded field and golfers playing for their livelihood, could get more challenging.

“You’re asking me?” joked Jon Rahm, known for his sometimes spicy on-course behavior. “Honestly, I see the point, and I think people expect us to talk about much more interesting things than what we really do, so I don’t think it would be as entertaining as people think. Now, selfishly, because of who I am and I know how I am on the golf course, I wouldn’t support it just because they might need a 20-, 30-second difference from live, might be a little bit delayed. And I’m not the only one; a lot of people swear or something comes up where you can hear it. I don’t think it would be the best thing to do.”

Thomas agreed that there’s a time and a place for discussion, and while many have already insisted he’d make a great TV commentator when his career is over, he said he’d prefer to offer his thoughts in a more controlled setting.

“I can’t say some stuff that I usually say anyway, and it is not that it’s bad, but no, if I want somebody to know what I say, I’ll say it in a press conference, I’ll say it in an interview or put it out on social media, whatever it is,” Thomas said. “But I personally am not one that would care to get mic’d out there.”

“I don’t think there’s any reason why we should be mic’d up from shot to shot. really. But again, it all depends. If somebody decides to do it and it really works out and they think it’s really fun, cool, go ahead. I can tell you I’m not speaking about many interesting things on the golf course. There’s just a lot of golf, if I speak at all,” Rahm said.

“It would be something that needs to be tested, and if people like it, it might be something we could get used to. Right now, I don’t see it really happening or being as interesting as people think.”

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Jordan Spieth, ‘grateful for the time,’ recalibrates during golf’s layoff

Perhaps no one in professional golf needed a break to recalibrate after plummeting to No. 56 in the world.

Jordan Spieth is ready for a fresh start.

The three-time major champion and former World No. 1 was mired in the worst slump of his career before COVID-19 caused the PGA Tour to hit the pause button on the 2019-20 season.

Spieth hasn’t won since the 2017 British Open and dropped to No. 56 in the Official World Golf Ranking. With the PGA Tour set to resume its season Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge, a place where Spieth’s name is on the Wall of Champions (2016) and he’s recorded five other top-15 finishes at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Spieth is treating it like opening day.

“It would be nice if we could get like some fighter jets flying over the first tee shots, something like that, that you’d see at an opening day stadium, but yeah, it’s got a little bit of that kind of excitement to it,” he said.

MORE: Betting odds | Fantasy | By the rankings | Tee times

When he tees off in a group with Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, it will have been 91 days since the PGA Tour season was suspended on March 12. Spieth, 26, said he enjoyed his extended time at home in Dallas and having his brother and girlfriend live with them for much of the layoff. He also used the break in his career for some good old-fashioned soul-searching.

“I looked at it as a big-time opportunity for myself and didn’t take it lightly. I was certainly grateful for the time,” he said. “Certainly it’s not a positive situation in general, but for me personally, I tried to look at how can I make this an advantage to myself.”

Golf Channel analyst and former University of Texas golfer Brandel Chamblee argues that perhaps no one may have benefited more from the downtime than Spieth.

“Because he was clearly struggling,” Chamblee said of Spieth who ranks No. 227 in driving accuracy and No. 221 in greens in regulation this season.

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“I believe that there’s intellectual power in solitude. I believe that Jordan Spieth would have been closer to finding that. It’s his genius that I think made him the player he was, with a little help from a coach,” Chamblee said. “And when I see the interaction between Jordan Spieth and his coach (Cameron McCormick) on driving ranges, it looks frantic. So perhaps 13 weeks off would have given him some time to sort of clear up his mind.”

Spieth said he treated the first month as he would the off-season and assessed how he played in the first five tournaments of the year. Using that as a framework, he started making a series of adjustments and began playing more.

Jordan Spieth signals to the crowd after his tee shot on the fourth hole screams right during the second round of the 148th Open Championship. Spieth ranks 227th in driving accuracy in 2019-20. (Matthew Lewis/R&A)

“It was a strong focal point of the last few months, how can I get better physically, mentally and within the mechanics of my golf game, and then what’s the right process to start to put that in place, and it’s not something that clicks and all of a sudden and you’re just automatically the best player in the world,” he said. “It’s certainly a process. But creating the right little habits that get me back on track was a big emphasis during the last few months.”

When asked to elaborate on some of those adjustments he’s made, Spieth held his cards close to his vest.

“It’s about getting the feel back, kind of finding it in the ground, finding what shots are uncomfortable and know how to figure out my tendencies because a lot of times when you’re on a driving range you can kind of really stripe it, and it may not be a total tell on what’s being produced on the golf course.”

Chamblee has heard Spieth claim that he’s figured out his faults before during the slump and says, “I’m looking forward to seeing if Jordan Spieth has sort of solved the riddle.”

“When you watch Spieth, there’s a sense that you’re watching an extraordinarily rare athlete,” Chamblee added. “Just the grit and the guile and the ability to devastate opponents with unbelievable shots. I mean, his last victory was the Open Championship in 2017, but I mean, pick a shot. There’s a half dozen on that final day that were unforgettable. And he did that so many times in his career so far.”

Jordan Spieth is 161st this season on the @PGATour in strokes gained tee-to-green. He leads all players in that stat at Colonial the last decade. Can Spieth find his old self this week in Fort Worth?https://t.co/BeKhtdaPEH pic.twitter.com/GaCkFKbxbm

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 9, 2020

For Spieth, there’s no better place to resume the season than at Colonial, where he won in 2016 and ranks first in six different statistical categories at the tournament since 2013, including scoring (67.79). He said he’d like to regain his former form and make a run at earning a berth on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and excelling in the seven majors that are currently scheduled to be played in the next 12 months.

“Things are feeling better than they have in a while, but it’s not to say that everything is back to the best ball-striking I’ve ever had,” he said. “I know once things are feeling in control to me and the timing element kind of comes back into my game, the rest of it, the results will take care of itself.”

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Charles Schwab Challenge field loaded with star power, but no Tiger Woods

Even without Woods, the strongest field in tournament history will show up at Colonial.

The eyes of Texas – and the golf world – will be upon revered Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth next week when the PGA Tour resumes play after a three-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one, however, will see Tiger Woods.

The game’s biggest star and reigning Masters champion didn’t commit to the Charles Schwab Challenge by the Friday deadline of 5 p.m., ET. He didn’t publicly make a statement explaining his decision not to go to Hogan’s Alley.

Woods last played in The Match: Champions for Charity on May 24, where he and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady at The Medalist in Hobe Sound, Florida. Woods last played on the PGA Tour on Feb. 16, when he shot a final-round 77 to finish in last place at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club north of Los Angeles.

More: What our tour writers are most excited about when golf returns

Even without Woods, the strongest field in tournament history will show up at Colonial, led by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who has six top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a victory in the WGC-HSBC Champions last fall.

He’ll be joined by World No. 2 Jon Rahm, No. 3 and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, No. 4 Justin Thomas and No. 5 Dustin Johnson. It will be the first time the tournament will feature the top 5 players in the world since the Official World Ranking began in 1986.

Other top-10 players in the field include No. 7 Patrick Reed and No. 9 Webb Simpson, both major champions. In all, 16 of the top 20 will be at Colonial, and 70 of the top 100.

Further, 24 major champions are in the field of 148, including two-time Masters champion and PGA Tour Champions star Bernhard Langer. The past five players who have won the tournament are in: defending champion Kevin Na, major champion Justin Rose, Kevin Kisner, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and Chris Kirk.

Reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and reigning Open champion Shane Lowry are also playing. Further star power is bolstered by five-time major champion Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, major winners Jason Day and Sergio Garcia, Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and Xander Schauffele.

In all, 101 of the players have won on the PGA Tour, the most winners in field outside of the Players Championship during the FedEx Cup era.

The Charles Schwab Challenge is the first PGA Tour event since the Players Championship, which was canceled March 13 after the first round. Eleven tournaments with more that $90 million in purse money have been canceled.

Next week’s event – which will be the 75th PGA Tour event held at Colonial – features a $7.5 million purse. The event will be played without spectators. Strict safety and health protocols will be in place at Colonial.

The next tournament where Woods could make his first Tour start since February would be the RBC Heritage June 18-21 on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The 15-time major winner is seeking his record 83rd PGA Tour title. He has played just twice this year—a tie for ninth in the Farmers Insurance Open and a finish of 68^th in the Genesis Invitational.

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Four golfers landed on Forbes’ annual list of the 100 highest paid athletes.

Four golfers landed on Forbes’ annual list of the 100 highest paid athletes. Tiger Woods is No. 8 on the list. He made $62.3 million last year, with $60 million of that coming from endorsements. Rory McIlroy netted $52 million, putting him No. 14. He made $30 million in endorsements and pocketed $15 million for winning the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson’s on-course earnings were “just” $800,000, but hauled in a whopping $40 million in endorsements. He is No. 25. Jordan Spieth is No. 52. His deal with Under Armour is a big part of $26 million in endorsement money. Overall, he netted $27.6 million.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy among four golfers on Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list

Woods made a tidy $62.3 million last year, with $60 million of that coming from endorsements. He’s one of three golfers in the top 25.

Nobody will be surprised to hear that Tiger Woods is among the top 10 athletes when it comes to earnings, according to the annual listings that came out at Forbes.com on Friday.

And while only four golfers cracked the top 100, three of those were in the top 25, proving that golf’s elite are as well-compensated as those in any sport.

Woods made a tidy $62.3 million last year, with $60 million of that coming from endorsements.

Rory McIlroy (No, 14) and Phil Mickelson (No. 25) were also in the top 25 and Jordan Spieth, despite his lack of success on the PGA Tour in 2019, still came in at No. 52.

The site notes that since he turned pro in 1996, Woods has earned $1.5 billion from endorsements, appearances and course design fees. Not a bad number. Also, Woods continues to branch into new areas with his career firmly in its twilight. The Payne Valley project in Missouri will be Woods’ first public course design and will help push his talents — and earning power — in new directions.

Introducing: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2020 https://t.co/qXM8hjcpSS pic.twitter.com/ODEfIoleRK

— Forbes (@Forbes) May 29, 2020

McIlroy netted $52 million and came in at 14th on the list, but while he did well in endorsements ($30 million), he shot up the rankings due to his $15 million payday for winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.

Meanwhile, Mickelson’s on-course earnings were minimal — he pulled in “just” $800,000 on the season, but hauled in a whopping $40 million in endorsements, including new additions in Amstel Light and hat brand Melin. He placed 25th on the list and has made an incredible $750 million in endorsements through the years.

Spieth barely missed the top 50 on the Forbes list, even though he fell out of the Official World Golf Rankings top 50. His deal with Under Armour continues to help push him high on this list, and he netted a total of $27.6 million on the year, with $26 million coming from endorsements.

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Jordan Spieth has a hole-in-one rejected by a safety spacer in cup

“I’m going to count it. It was one of those where it most likely would have stayed in. Hopefully it’s a good omen.”

A safety spacer denied Jordan Spieth a hole-in-one this week, and the professional golfer will have to make do with his millions of dollars in career earnings and numerous major championships.

Spieth was playing at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, on Thursday in the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational, a mini-tournament with entry fees and prize funds being donated to a caddy fund.

The club had placed spacers in the holes as a safety precaution, which allows golfers to not have to reach as far in the hole to retrieve their ball. Similar measures are in place at most golf clubs nationally that have re-opened after coronavirus.

On the par-3 17th, Spieth nailed the 110-yard shot in the cup, but the ball bounced off the spacer, out of the hole, and then — to add insult to injury — the ball rolled off the green and into the water.

Jordan Spieth had a “hole-in-one” today on Maridoe’s 17th hole.

Why the quotations? His ball hit the spacer in the hole and richoceted into the water.

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) April 30, 2020

While the official rules might beg to differ, Spieth said he’s counting it as an ace.

Via ESPN:

“It never left the flag,” Spieth said. “I knew it was going to land somewhere around the hole. It’s my first one in probably three or four years. I kind of had a three- or four-year streak where I had a few and I’ve been shut out for a while. I’m going to count it. It was one of those where it most likely would have stayed in. Hopefully it’s a good omen.”

I’m going to agree with Spieth on this one. Why not? Take your ace, my man.

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Jordan Spieth on his bounce-out hole-in-one at Maridoe

Jordan Spieth had a ball land in the cup then clang out because of the plastic spacer in the hole, a common way golf courses are battling the spread of COVID-19. He’s counting the shot as an ace.

Jordan Spieth shot clangs ball off plastic spacer; is it an ace?

Jordan Spieth can’t be the only one this has happened to, and he likely won’t be the last, but he may be the most famous so far.

Playing as a marker in the for-charity Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitiational in his home course, the Maridoe Golf Club, Spieth launched his tee shot on the 110-yard par-3 17th and watched as it came right down on the hole.

The issue, in these social-distancing times we live in, is that the piece of plastic placed in the hole, like most golf courses around the U.S., didn’t let the ball in. Rather, the ball clanged off and then went into the water.

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine documented the action on the course.

Jordan Spieth putting spacer back in place after hitting it on the fly with his tee ball. “May as well count it, why not?” pic.twitter.com/blL1oeqIkv

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) April 30, 2020

Spieth was in a group with CBS analyst extraordinaire and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. According to Romine, Romo said for purposes of their match it would be scored a double, Spieth wanted his ace.

“I’m going to count it,” said Spieth. “It was one of those ones where it would most likely have stayed in. … I’ve been shut out for a while, so hopefully this is a good omen.”

Although a purse will be available for the winners, the event is being held as a fundraiser for the club’s full-time caddies, who have been out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re a caddie-only club, and our caddies have not been working because of COVID-19,” Alison Morrison of Maridoe Golf Club told ESPN. “We thought, why don’t we have a little bit of a match, so to speak, sharpen our blades, put on a 54-hole, social distancing event. Leave the pins. No rakes in bunkers. Let’s play for them, basically. And within a day, I had 24 members who said yes.”

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (2015): Tiger, field no match for Jordan Spieth

Back surgery for a pinched nerve knocked Tiger Woods out of the 2014 Masters. Chipping yips threatened his participation in 2015.

Back surgery for a pinched nerve knocked Tiger Woods out of the 2014 Masters.

Chipping yips threatened his participation in the 2015 Masters.

After Woods had a microdisectomy March 31, 2014, he missed the first two majors and played just five times the rest of the year, a dismal stretch that included two missed cuts, one WD and a finish of 69th in the British Open. He made his last start in his Hero World Challenge, where despite finishing in a tie for last, he looked healthy.

But his chipping in the Hero was an alarming collection of chunks and skulls.

The malady followed him into 2015 – in his first two starts, he missed the cut in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he posted an 82 in the second round, and withdrew with a stiff back after 11 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open.

2015 Masters: Final leaderboard

He took a nine-week hiatus from the game and announced himself fit to return at the Masters, where he would go to the first tee ranked 111th in the world.

On Monday of the Masters, Woods arrived at Augusta National at 3:25 p.m. and all looked good in his world. He was relaxed, strong, fit. He smiled often and with ease, bro-hugged a bunch of players. And his short game was in order. After popping in some headphones, he hit nearly six dozen chips shots at the short-game area of the practice ground and was clearly grooving to the music in his ears.

“I’m on the good side now,” Woods said after playing 11 holes with Mark O’Meara that day. “I felt like I had to get my game into a spot where I could compete to win a golf tournament and it’s finally there. I worked my ass off. That’s the easiest way to kind of describe (my break).”

And your chipping?

“It’s my strength again,” he said. “That’s why I’ve busted my butt. That’s why I took time off. That’s why I hit thousands and thousands of shots to make sure that it’s back to being my strength. I’m back to hitting shots, making it hop, check on the second bounce, third bounce, I can figure those things out again.”

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But Woods and the rest of the field had no answer for Jordan Spieth.

The Big Kid from Big D, who tied for second behind Bubba Watson in 2014, was a tour de force from the first hole. Spieth, who had won the Valspar Championship and twice finished second in his three prior starts to the Masters, opened with a 64 and led wire-to-wire.

He started to suck the air out of his foes with a 66 in the second round and followed with textbook 70s on the weekend to finish four ahead of Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. In his Masters masterpiece, Spieth, at 21, became the second youngest to win the Masters – only Woods was younger (by five months). He tied Woods’ scoring record for 72 holes at 18 under and set scoring records through 36 holes (-14) and 54 holes (-16). He is the only player to reach -19 in the Masters.

As for Woods, he opened with a 73 but followed with rounds of 69-68 to move into a tie for fifth through 54 holes. But he was still 10 shots in back of Spieth. Woods closed with a 73 to fall back into a tie for 17th.

“Well, considering where I was at Torrey and Phoenix, to make the complete swing change and rectify all the faults and come here to a major championship and contend, I’m proud of that part of it,” Woods said. “Just wish I could have made a few more timely putts and moved up that board.
“I going to have a little time off, go back to the drawing board, work on it again, and refine what I’m doing. I really like what I’m doing. I got my distance back, and everything is good.”

And then it wasn’t. Woods only played 10 more times in 2015, a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship being his best result. In September, he underwent a second back surgery to remove a disc fragment that was pinching his nerve. In October, he had another surgical procedure to his back to relieve discomfort.

He would play just four times over the next two years and missed the Masters each year.

This is the 20th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

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The 34 best 4-day totals in Masters history

The best from Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and more in this recap of lowest totals at the storied Augusta National.

While one impeccable round of golf at the Masters can catapult someone to the front of the pack, it takes four days of steady play to ultimately earn a place in PGA history.

The setting for the tradition unlike any other, Augusta National is one of the most challenging courses in golf … that, actually, has never been “officially rated.” (However, there are occasional whispers of 78-point-something.)

As the golfing world looks ahead at what will be a quiet second week in April this year—the 2020 Masters joining a long list of postponed events due to the coronavirus pandemic—let’s take a look back at the pros who overcame the nerves, “Amen Corner,” and the pressures of major championship golf to card the best four-day totals in Masters history.

And, as golf can oftentimes provide, pay attention to the touch of Lady Luck because not all of these scores ended with a green jacket.

Arnold Palmer, 1964: 276

Arnie came up two strokes short of tying the then-record total of 274 (held by Ben Hogan). But he did outlast his rival Jack Nicklaus while picking up his fourth Masters—which would be his last major win.

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