A lot, if not all of the recent hype in the golfing world is revolving around the odds of 21-year old Jordan Spieth winning the ever elusive PGA Grand Slam. Being halfway through that accomplishment and with just a few days away from the start of the British Open, Spieth has got to be pumped to bag Grand Slam title number three for the season.
However, winning the Grand Slam in one calendar year is a very tall order even for a golfer of Spieth’s caliber. Read on as we tackle several factors that work against Spieth’s bid at the historic feat. Afterwards, head on over to our preview of the 2015 British Open to scope out the rest of the field that’s looking to end Spieth’s historic run.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]
Why Jordan Spieth Will Not Win the PGA Grand Slam
The Chambers Bay of Secrets (and a ‘Major’ Gaffe)
Heading into the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, Jordan Spieth had an ace up his sleeve by way of his caddie, Michael Greller.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Spieth advised Greller to scout the course at the shore of Puget Sound, and it was a sound decision indeed. Not only did Spieth’s caddie scout the place ahead of the tournament, but he already had extensive prior knowledge of the course. So much so, that Greller himself was wed on the grounds of Chambers Bay himself.
Armed with some second-hand knowledge on how it would be best to tackle the U.S. Open’s links with the help of his caddie, Spieth would ultimately win the tournament, but not without some late dramatics from one of his competitors.
Dustin Johnson failed to seal his U.S. Open victory in the final hole by three-putting a 12-footer to finish one over Spieth. Johnson was expected to nail the seemingly doable putt from that distance, but instead had a total meltdown in the clutch.
Not to discount Spieth’s ability and effort at winning this year’s U.S. Open, but it’s somehow acceptable to say that he didn’t win that tournament single-handedly. The Dallas native certainly got some help from his friends, even if one of those friends happens to be one of his opponents.
He won’t have such an advantage coming from his Greller heading into St. Andrews in Scotland as he did at Chambers Bay. And barring any bad luck, Johnson – currently a +900 favorite to win at the British Open, will do whatever it takes to prevent his U.S. Open fiasco from happening once more.
SI: The Superstition Issue
If you’re a fan of Spieth, and you already know about the Madden Curse, then you must be shaking in fear or denial by now.
Spieth recently grazed the cover of Sports Illustrated’s June 29th issue, as the famed weekly publication highlighted the 21-year-old’s recent feat of back-to-back majors victories and his prospects of going for PGA’s Grand Slam. It’s definitely an incredible honor to be the main feature of the magazine, but if you’re the superstitious type, this honor suddenly just became a hex.
Back in 1969, golf legend Lee Trevino was featured in SI’s U.S. Open preview as the defending champion. It turned out that Trevino would not make the cut for the event. In April of 2013, Tiger Woods was on the cover signaling his return to the sport in (supposedly) top form, but we all know how Tiger’s faring on the courses these days.
Those are just a couple of examples of what people deem as the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, and Spieth is under its crosshairs right now. Take this superstition with a grain of salt, though, as SI releases material on a weekly basis, leaving much room for error and sheer coincidences given how many releases Spors Illustrated puts out in a year.
And of course, this is just a superstition. If you’re not a firm believer in fate and predestined outcomes that are being foretold by seemingly supernatural happenstances, then this shouldn’t bother you at all. But what if there are solid facts and statistics behind Spieth’s chances of winning the next major, let alone the next two? Well…
Mission: Impossible… Number Six?
History has not been kind to golfers looking to complete the PGA Grand Slam in the same year. In fact, nobody has ever done it before. Even Woods’ own “Tiger Slam” has an asterisk on it, as his four consecutive Grand Slam victories began with the 2000 U.S. Open – the second major in the calendar year – and ended with the Masters in 2011.
In fact, only six golfers in PGA history (including Spieth) have won the Masters and the U.S. Open the same year. Who were the other golfers on the list other than Spieth? Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Craig Wood. Spieth surely is in some elite company as one of only a handful of golf’s best to accomplish the Masters-U.S. Open streak.
But things get iffier for Spieth’s odds as we go ever further towards his ultimate goal. Only one man, Hall-of-Famer Ben Hogan, has gone as far as winning the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open in succession. Furthermore, only five players (Hogan, Woods, Nicklaus, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen) have won all four of the PGA’s major tournaments at different points in time during their respective careers.
Spieth is still very young of age, and his game could just as well get even better with more experience under his belt. And yes, winning the last two majors just proves how dominant he can be. But pulling off the calendar Grand Slam is a feat that no man before him has succeeded in doing.
Spieth’s raw talent could very well have his named etched on the record books as the first to hit the Grand Slam of golf, but maybe not this early into his career just yet. Then again, we’ll have a better gauge and a different outlook of his shot at the feat once he wins the British Open this month, where he is priced as the +350 favorite to win at the links of St. Andrews.
But for now, we’ll stick with our reservations and say that the overwhelming pressure (and perhaps a little bit of that SI ‘black magic’) will get the better of Spieth. He won’t be hoisting the Claret Jug in Scotland this month, and ultimately fail at his bid for the four PGA majors victories in one year. Spieth currently has +1,200 odds of winning the Grand Slam.
