BEVERLY HILLS, April 05, (THEWILL) – Former world number one golfer Jordan Spieth celebrated on Sunday when he shot four straight rounds under par to pick up a two-stroke victory in the 2021 Texas Open and end a four-year title drought. His incredible start to life as a professional golfer witnessed a decline that saw him struggle to reach similar levels since his 2017 victory on the PGA Tour.
But, on Sunday, Spieth shot 67 or better in three of the four rounds at the Texas Open. It was a display that helped him close with a 66 to clear second-place finisher Charley Hoffman by two strokes and give him victory. Such was the level of his game that Spieth birdied three of his final six holes and shot par or better over his final 14 holes to end the tournament on a high.
It was a landmark achievement for the American for a couple of reasons. For one, he was able to celebrate close to home as the tournament was taking place in his home state. Secondly, because, so close to the 2021 Masters at Augusta National, Spieth can return to the site of his greatest victory in 2015 and most crushing defeat in 2016 with the confidence and boost of winning again.
After taking the final round, the 27-year-old said: “There were a lot of times I wasn’t sure if I’d be here [in the winner’s circle]. I never doubted myself to get back to where I wanted to go. When you lose confidence, a lot of times it’s hard to see the positive going forward.
“… It’s a team effort, and I’ve been blessed to work with the best in the world at everything they do. This is a monumental win for me. It’s one I’ve certainly thought about for a long time.”
This is Spieth’s 12th victory on the PGA Tour but, as noted, his first since the 2017 Open Championship but it entered him into an exclusive class as the fifth player in the last 40 years to win 12 or more events before age 28. The exceptional short list of that class includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.
At the start of his professional career, the name of Spieth was on everything golf as the golfer embarked on an absolute tear between 2015 and 2017. In that timeframe, he took home three majors (2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, 2017 Open) and the 2015 Tour Championship added to six other events.
The title-drought befell him after 2017. He struggled massively in 2019 and 2020 with career-worst showings at the Masters (T46, 2020), PGA Championship (T71, 2020) and U.S. Open (T65, 2019), then opened the 2020-21 season by missing the cut in four of his first seven events and finishing no better than T38 in the other three at the lowest ebb of his career.
Coming into the Phoenix Open in February at the back of that log of struggles was tough but that was where Spieth’s improvement ticked up with four top-five finishes along with two top 15s out of seven events before his Sunday victory. Speaking of what it was like to finally win again, Spieth said:
“I actually felt really light. I felt like I just wanted to come out and smile, try to have some fun. That’s kind of been a challenge for me on these Sundays when I’ve been in contention. Really, going into the round, I’ve not come out with a real lightness to me. I just felt like today, I did. … Man, it’s been a long road.”
The 2021 Masters tees off on Thursday just as Spieth is back to playing his best golf in three years and this makes him one of the top favorites in the event. The American goes into Augusta with 11-1 odds coming out of his victory in Texas. These odds will see him tied for third-best on the board with Bryson DeChambeau, according to the William Hill Sportsbook.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
