TULSA, Okla. – Jordan Spieth isn’t afraid to address the elephant in the room.
The three-time major winner is one Wanamaker Trophy away from completing the career Grand Slam – an exclusive fraternity consisting of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – and he’s never been in better form ahead of what will be sixth attempt at the PGA Championship since winning the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
“It’s an elephant in the room for me. It’s a goal of mine,” Spieth said during his press conference ahead of the 104th PGA at Southern Hills. “If you just told me I was going to win one tournament the rest of my life, I’d say I want to win this one, given where things are at. … long term it would be really cool to say that you captured the four biggest golf tournaments in the world that are played in different parts of the world and different styles, too. So you feel like you kind of accomplished golf when you win a career Grand Slam, I guess.”
The career Grand Slam has been a recurring storyline for Rory McIlroy at the Masters, Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open and Spieth at the PGA, and there may never be a better opportunity for Spieth to seal the deal. Having claimed his third major four days ahead of his 24th birthday, Spieth is on the other side of a slump that saw him drop to No. 92 in the world and rebound into the top 10 (he’s currently No. 8).
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He’ll enter the week riding the momentum of his 13th Tour title in a playoff at the RBC Heritage in April and shooting 64-67 on the weekend to finish second a shot back of winner K.H. Lee at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week.
Ahead of this recent run, Spieth left the season’s first major “annoyed” after missing the cut at the Masters for the first time and getting beaten by Tiger Woods.
“I didn’t feel very good about myself knowing he was on one leg and he made the cut and I didn’t,” Spieth said.
But in a sign of his maturity, he didn’t let the setback derail him.
“The old me a few years ago may have tried to go back to the drawing board and said, ‘How do I fix this? What do I need to change’ ” he explained. “Instead I went out on Sunday, decided I didn’t want to watch the final round, and went and played golf with (agent) Jay (Danzi) and (caddie) Michael (Greller) over in Hilton Head. And I just wanted to keep pushing what I was pushing because I just think my level of patience with my game is far superior than it was a few years ago.”
Spieth won at Harbour Town despite a dreadful putting week, which included a missed 18-inch par putt on the final hole of the third round.
“It shows you how talented he is and how much his ball-striking has improved,” said CBS Sports analyst Dottie Pepper. “He’s another guy that you just you never say he has no chance because we saw it. I mean, it could take him three to get to the green and still hold out for par. It doesn’t seem to matter with that guy.”
Southern Hills is a course that Spieth played previously at the 2009 U.S. Amateur, where he was the last player to be eliminated in a playoff to qualify for match play. He joined Justin Thomas for a scouting trip last week and concluded, “Reminds me a lot of Colonial, just a little bit on steroids,” referring to another course that features architect Perry Maxwell’s fingerprints and where Spieth has a great track record, including a win at the 2016 Charles Schwab Challenge.
For Spieth, the biggest question is will his putter be friend or foe? He ranks No. 175 in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, but he did gain shots to the field on the greens last week for the first time since the Genesis Invitational in February.
“He has not putted the way he did back in 2015 when he was winning majors at a crazy, crazy clip,” CBS’s Colt Knost said. “He’s hitting it honestly better than he probably ever has. If he gets the putter going, I expect him to be a factor come Sunday afternoon. But there is still that pressure of playing, trying to complete that career Grand Slam. I know that’s on his mind.”
How could it not?
“Looking at it long-term thinking, man, if I’m healthy, I’d look to have 20 chances at it,” said the 28-year-old Texan, “and maybe 1 out of 20. I normally get better odds than that.
“I’m not trying to force it this week I guess is the best way to say it.”
Asked what it would mean to him to achieve the career Grand Slam, Spieth didn’t hesitate. “What do you think it would mean? It would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it. I think it would be pretty cool.”
