{"id":36474,"date":"2015-09-03T22:37:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T03:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=36474"},"modified":"2015-09-04T12:12:42","modified_gmt":"2015-09-04T17:12:42","slug":"pro-golf-the-pgas-big-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2015\/09\/03\/pro-golf-the-pgas-big-three\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro Golf: The PGA’s Big Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jordan Spieth<\/strong><\/p>\n

What an incredible year it has been for the young 22 year old who is the new face of American golf. One major is an incredible year, but two of them is unbelievable.\u00a0 That wire-to-wire victory at the Masters was the most impressive win of the season, and the most impressive at the Augusta National Golf Club since Tiger won by 12 strokes in 1997.<\/p>\n

\"Spieth<\/a>
Spieth in his new green jacket after winning his first major at the Augusta National Golf Club back in April. (Photo from New York Daily News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next, he goes to Chambers Bay, Washington and adds a U.S. Open trophy to that Green Jacket, and suddenly you have the golf world buzzing about a potential grand slam.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t to be, but he came about as close as you could as he finished just a shot out of the playoff at the Open Championship and was a whopping 17-under-par at the PGA Championship and still lost by three strokes to Jason Day, finishing in solo second.<\/p>\n

The kid is for real.\u00a0 When you add in two other PGA Tour wins at the Valspar Championship and at the John Deere Classic, while also leading the FedEx Cup by a whopping 1700 points when the regular season came to a close, you have yourself the frontrunner for Player of The Year.\u00a0 I see no reason to think he won\u2019t be contending for majors his entire career.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/a>
Jordan Spieth holds up the trophy after winning the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay back in June. (Photo from AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The strange thing about Spieth is that if you watch him play, there is nothing that will really impress you.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t hit it a mile like the Bubba Watson\u2019s and Dustin Johnson\u2019s of the world.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t drive it straight either as he is ranked outside the top 80 in driving accuracy.\u00a0 He is even outside the top 40 in greens in regulation.<\/p>\n

Yet it is his performance around the green is where Spieth makes his money.\u00a0 He is the best lag putter on tour since he averages less than two feet from the hole on all first putts.\u00a0 Many players and experts will also tell you he is the best mid-range putter in the game, and maybe the best ever.\u00a0 He makes an unreal 28 percent of putts from 20-25 feet.\u00a0The one area he does struggle with is putting from 4-8 feet, where he ranks only 120th on tour.<\/p>\n

What sets him apart on the short putts is that he has started a new trend on tour by looking at the hole and not at the ball.\u00a0 He says he does it by feel, which might explain why he can sometimes be inconsistent from that range.\u00a0 If you also throw in the fact that Spieth and Zach Johnson are widely considered to be the best wedge players in the game, you can see how he has been able to play so well in his early career without having that sheer power off the tee.<\/p>\n

He leads the tour, as you might expect, in scoring average.\u00a0 He is also second in birdie or better percentage and is first in par-4 scoring average.\u00a0 The only thing that really matters though is the score, and the bottom line is he knows how to put the ball in the hole.<\/p>\n

His best attribute, however, is his mental game.\u00a0 Some would say it is Tiger-like.\u00a0 When Tiger was at his peak, not only did he have the physical game to beat you, but his mental game made other players think they couldn\u2019t beat him.\u00a0 Spieth is approaching that same mental advantage. The leaders all know when he is lurking.<\/p>\n

Not many players you will watch will get more upset with themselves on a poorly executed shot than Spieth, but he plays better after that.\u00a0 He usually bounces back from a bogey with a birdie the very next hole.\u00a0 We have seen it time and time again this year. He plays his best when he gets fired up.\u00a0 That mental strength gives him an edge in the biggest events of the year when the pressure is the highest.<\/p>\n

Spieth also has a career in commentating.\u00a0 The commentators covering the event on TV don\u2019t need to say anything after he hits, because Spieth will tell you exactly how he feels about the shot.\u00a0 The microphones pick up everything he says.\u00a0 He is a pro at talking to his golf ball, and most of the time it will listen to him. \u00a0Check out this clip from Sunday at the Masters.<\/p>\n