Spieth’s Deere win proves he’s ready for British Open pressure
Jordan Spieth likes to prepare for majors by trying to simulate their over-the-top pressure with a chance to win your more run-of-the-mill PGA Tour stop.
Before the Masters, he lost in a playoff at the Shell Houston Open. He blew the field away at Augusta National for his first green jacket.
Ahead of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, a solid Sunday gave Spieth a sweat down the stretch at the Memorial. Two for two.
Spieth got himself in the cauldron again on a Sunday in his final start before a major, turning a sluggish first two-thirds of his final round at TPC Deere Run into a second John Deere Classic playoff victory.
The 21-year-old earned his first PGA Tour win in this event in 2013 in a five-hole playoff against Zach Johnson and David Hearn. On this Sunday, the victim was 46-soon-to-be 47-year-old Tom Gillis, a journeyman seeking his first PGA Tour win. After a pair of somewhat benign pars on the first playoff hole, Gillis practically topped his approach to the same hole on the second playoff hole into the water. An efficient approach and a two-putt later and Spieth had his win.
Spieth now has four wins this season and, despite what the Official World Golf Ranking currently indicates, is the best player on the planet.
Now, the American has a chance to pick up the third leg of the single-season Grand Slam. He would be the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to do it, though Hogan was unable to play in the overlapping PGA Championship to have a true chance at the Grand Slam. With a win — or even a top-six finish — Spieth can overtake the sidelined Rory McIlroy for the top spot in the world.
However, Spieth is behind the proverbial 8-ball. Most of the world’s best either chose to play at Gullane in the Scottish Open as a tune-up or went straight to the Old Course and St. Andrews to get ready for the third major of the year. The Old Course can’t be learned overnight, but Spieth believes a cram session after hitting the ground running on Monday should be enough to have him comfortable on the first tee on Thursday.
“I came here for a reason, and we accomplished that reason,” Spieth said after his win, “and certainly have some momentum going into next week.”
Hopefully that momentum is the secret to getting over jet lag.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
