Jordan Spieth has enjoyed sustained success in the professional game, up until the last four years.
When Spieth burst onto the scene way back in 2013, it immediately seemed like he was destined for greatness.
Advertisement
The 32-year-old from Dallas won two major championships in 2015 after incredible performances at The Masters and The U.S. Open.
Jordan Spieth then won The Open Championship two years later at Royal Birkdale and, at the time, it seemed inevitable that he would go on and complete the career Grand Slam imminently.
As we all know, though, the three-time major winner is still waiting for that elusive PGA Championship victory.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
He is without a PGA Tour win since April 2022, but it’s fair to say that he is working harder than ever on his game right now.
Spieth continues to insist he is so close to rediscovering his best form. However, he will be fully aware that it will only become harder for him to win golf tournaments as the years go by.
Advertisement
Jordan Spieth says big change is coming to professional golf
Some have suggested that Spieth should change coaches, while others have urged him to try a mallet putter instead of the blade model.
Whatever happens, the 32-year-old will need to get better, quickly.
A new wave of talented young golfers is about to hit the PGA Tour, including the likes of Jackson Koivun and Miles Russell.
Spieth will have his work cut out if he is to continue to compete at the very highest level over the course of the next decade or so.
He spoke to Golf on CBS about the current state of the professional game, and made a big prediction for the future.
Advertisement
Spieth responded when asked about the recent trend of more experienced players winning regularly, rather than guys in their early-20s.
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
“I think it’s coincidental,“ the American said.
“The game goes in runs. It seems like every four years you get a high school class that gets through, whether it’s a year of college or four years of college, there’s a certain age group. Like you had the Hovland, Matt Wolff and Morikawa and you mix in some studs in the meantime.
“But it feels like you get a group every four or five years that comes through and it seems there is a group now of 17, 18 and 19 year olds who are going to step up and win pretty quickly by the look of it.
Advertisement
“It seems like we have been in a lull for a couple of years right now but I think the game of golf is going to continue to show depth within three decades.“
‘Only the best will survive’, Spieth says
“Because of recovery methods you are going to see guys who really still want it and want to work hard for it, like Adam Scott and Justin Rose, where you can be a top 10 player in the world in your mid-40’s and you are going to see guys in their early 20’s who are able to win golf tournaments,“ Spieth explained.
“That hasn’t been the case. It’s been rarer to see early to mid-20’s win majors, but I think you will see more of that and you will see more of the longevity. Only the best will survive all the way in between.
Advertisement
“So there is some experience to it but the same guys that you are talking about who are 30, are kind of the same guys who were there at 25. I think there is going to be another wave.“
A new wave of talented young studs is definitely coming.
As mentioned earlier, Koivun and Russell will almost certainly become big stars in the game.
Preston Stout, Ethan Fang and South African starlet Christiaan Maas all have seriously exciting futures ahead of them.
The question for Jordan Spieth is: does he have the hunger to work even harder on his game in order to not only tread water, but to thrive on the PGA Tour with the added competition that is coming?
We will only know the answer to that question in a few years’ time.
Read the full article here