Nobody Saw Jordan Spieth's Major Drought Coming - Can A Return To Scene Of His Greatest Triumph Provide The Missing Spark?
Jordan Spieth hopes a return to the scene of his greatest triumph at Royal Birkdale can spark a return to the form that won him three Majors, as he looks to finally end a title drought that nobody saw coming
If ever a Major win summed up a player it was Jordan Spieth's epic, swashbuckling Open Championship victory in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
The fact he's not won a Major since is one of golf's biggest surprises, the fact he's won just two tournaments in the resulting nine years is a staggering mystery. It's something he addressed at his pre-Open press conference on Monday.
Some injury problems haven't helped, but overall he's just not managed to find that spark of genius enough to maintain what looked like being a career that would be laden with Major wins.
As the Open returns to Birkdale, Spieth is hoping to roll back the years and rediscover some of that form that saw him collect three of the four Majors aged just 23 - the second youngest to achieve that behind only Jack Nicklaus.
But it's not just happy memories firing the now 32-year-old, as he feels that in some aspects he's a better player now than in 2017, and believes that "I have a lot of great golf in front of me".
And Spieth also insists that "there are things I can do now that I can do significantly better than I could when I was No. 1 in the world" as he returns to the scene of his greatest triumph.
Just thinking back to how he won the Claret Jug in 2017, saying he can be even better than that is some statement.
Spieth's breathtaking Birkdale victory
Spieth's early Major form was simply stunning, and he's only a few shots away from being a Grand Slam winner and having around six Major titles under his belt.
He could, and perhaps should, have won The Masters on his first three visits - with his 2016 meltdown in particular costing him - while in 2015 he won two Majors but also finished just outside an Open playoff at St Andrews and was second at the PGA Championship.
A couple of years later came his finest hour, when after flittering away a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar he then bombed an errant drive miles right of the 13th fairway at Birkdale, resulting in a drop back on the practice ground.
Spieth has made his name out of miraculous escapes though and another Houdini act via a brilliant shot over the dunes resulted in just a bogey - and sparked one of the great Open finishes.
From the ridiculous to the sublime, Spieth almost made a hole-in-one on the next, then made an eagle thanks to a 48-foot bomb of a putt, and followed up with his now infamous "go get that" to caddie Michael Greller.
Two more birdies and the job was done, five under through four holes and the Claret Jug was his - a third different Major aged just 23 and the Grand Slam seemed a distinct possibility, further Majors a certainty.
That's why a barren nine years since has been such a huge surprise.
Spieth confident drought can end
Spieth has added just the 2021 Valero Texas Open and 2022 RBC Heritage to his title tally since The Open. If you'd said in 2017 Spieth would go over four years without a victory at any tournament you'd be laughed out of town.
Injuries have hampered his progress, and while there's still some wonderful shotmaking ability and immense powers of recovery he's just not been able to hit it straight enough often enough to challenge for trophies.
Spieth returns to Birkdale though still feeling "optimistic" and insisting that he can not only hit the level of his glory years, but surpass it.
"If you give up on reaching your ceiling, then I don't see a point in playing anymore," said Spieth at the 154th Open Championship, drawing on his experience of being World No.1.
"So for me it's always about I'll do everything I can to be trying to be at the very best in the world because I know that I can be. I have been. It's nice to have the blueprint."
And thanks to his Birkdale memories, in particular that stunning Sunday finish, Spieth knows that he can catch fire and go on runs only a handful of other golfers are capable of.
"Knowing me, when the lid pops off the hole, I feel like I can go on a run about as hot as anybody can run," he insisted. "So I'm just waiting for that opportunity.
"Knowing that my ability to be as good - I mean, there are things I can do now that I can do significantly better than I could when I was No. 1 in the world. Therefore, there should be nothing to stop me in my own head to be able to search and believe that I can reach that again.
"I'm 32; I'm not 42. At 42 you'd really have to sacrifice a lot of things to try and do that. I don't feel like I have to."
Happy memories alone are not enough to win an Open, but at Birkdale in 2017 Spieth showed just what he is capable of, the dazzling skill but also the character to bounce back from adversity - ending a nine-year drought by lifting the Claret Jug again would be the comeback to end all comebacks.
