Jordan Spieth trying to recapture magic where it all began 11 years ago
Jordan Spieth’s 2024 season has been a challenging one. This week, he returns to the John Deere Classic, a tournament that has historically been a source of success and “Spieth Magic” for him. The hope is that TPC Deere Run can help rekindle the spark in his game and get his season back on track….
Jordan Spieth’s 2024 season has been a challenging one. This week, he returns to the John Deere Classic, a tournament that has historically been a source of success and “Spieth Magic” for him. The hope is that TPC Deere Run can help rekindle the spark in his game and get his season back on track.
It feels like a distant memory now, but in 2013, a 19-year-old Spieth shocked the golf world by holing an improbable bunker shot, propelling himself into a playoff against a former Masters champion, which he went on to win. That victory made him one of only five men to win a PGA Tour event as a teenager.
If someone had predicted in 2013 that Spieth would go on to win three major championships and accumulate 13 PGA Tour victories by 2024, they would consider it an outstanding career. Indeed, Spieth’s achievements are remarkable, yet there’s a persistent feeling that his career has fallen short of its initial promise. This sentiment, while not entirely fair, stems from the immense expectations placed on him after his early success. Like Rory McIlroy, Spieth has faced the burden of meeting the lofty standards set by the exceptional career of Tiger Woods. Many golf fans assumed a linear trajectory: win a few majors before 25 and keep winning more consistently as you age. But golf is rarely so straightforward.
Spieth’s career reflects the non-linear nature of golf. Players often experience peaks and valleys in their performance. The truly great ones minimize their downturns, while others may struggle to regain their form. Spieth experienced a notable slump after his victory at the John Deere in 2013, which lasted until his Open Championship win in 2017. During that period, he was one of the most dominant players in golf. However, his game seemed to disappear afterward, which was particularly surprising given his previous consistency.
Despite this downturn, Spieth had close calls: he nearly won the 2018 Masters, led after 54 holes at the 2018 Open, and finished in the top five at the 2019 PGA Championship. However, these near-misses were overshadowed by the expectation of winning. He eventually rebounded, securing victories in 2021 and 2022, and had a respectable 2023 season, where he arguably should have won at least two tournaments.
In 2024, Spieth finds himself struggling once again. His swing appears out of sync, and he hasn’t been in contention since the beginning of the year. He is also dealing with a wrist injury. Yet, despite these challenges, he remains the biggest draw at this week’s John Deere Classic due to the “magic” moments he has provided in the past.
Spieth is no longer the boy-faced wunderkind. He is now a seasoned player and a father. The miraculous shots and improbable victories have become less frequent, and he has come back down to Earth. But there’s no better place for him to reconnect with his past brilliance than TPC Deere Run. This is where he won his first PGA Tour event in 2013, and where he won again in 2015 during one of the most remarkable seasons of his career. During that season, he was making incredible shots, sinking long putts, and nearly achieving a grand slam.
While Spieth may never again reach those dizzying heights, it’s clear that he can still capture some of that magic, even if just for a week. And where better to do it than the site of his first PGA Tour victory, where his professional journey began in earnest back in 2013?