We’re just days away from the start of the 97th PGA Championship and excitement is definitely building for the year’s final major golf tournament. All eyes will definitely be on defending Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth as he attempts to win his third major title of the year at Whistling Straits.
Read on below as we breakdown Spieth’s chances of lifting the coveted Wanamaker Trophy. While you’re at it, you can check out our complete PGA Championship preview.
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Three Reasons Why Jordan Spieth Will Win the 2015 PGA Championship
Spieth is Playing Some Incredible Golf
Can anyone stop Jordan Spieth? That’s the question on everyone’s lips heading into the PGA Championship this week. The 22-year-old has been playing some fantastic golf since the start of the year, recording 13 top-10 finishes in 21 starts this season. He has already won four tournaments this year, including those memorable major triumphs at Augusta and Chambers Bay. Spieth shot a record 18-under-par total of 270 at the 79th Masters, winning the event by four shots. He then grabbed his second major title at the U.S. Open, edging past Dustin Johnson in a thrilling final-hole shootout.
[sc:Golf240banner ]To illustrate Spieth’s hot form, he has finished in the top-10 in all of his last five starts. Spieth kept his top-10 streak going at the recently concluded WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, finishing in a tie for 10th. He closed with a four-under 66 on Sunday, his last round before heading to Whistling Straits for the PGA Championship. Spieth is once again rounding into peak form heading into a major championship and that is terrible news for the rest of the PGA field.
Clutch Putting
The PGA Championship prides itself in being one of the hardest tests in golf, and the one thing that stands out with this particular major tournament throughout the years is the difficulty of its greens. Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson has said in a recent interview that Whistling Straits’ greens are some of the toughest he has faced in his career.
If there’s one player on the planet, though, who can conquer that specific challenge, it’s got to be Jordan Spieth. He’s the best golfer in the PGA Tour right now in terms of putting average with a solid 1.693 clip. He’s also ranked first in one-putt percentage with an incredible 44.29% rate. His excellent putting has been the main reason behind his phenomenal success this year and that will play a crucial part as well in his quest to win the PGA Championship this week.
Spieth is a Major Machine
Jordan Spieth may just be 22 years old, but he has already proven to the world that he is second to none when it comes to dealing with major championship pressure. He has already played 11 major tournaments in his young and illustrious career, finishing first or second in three of those events. He finished second at the Masters last year before finally grabbing the coveted green jacket at Augusta this past April. Spieth then added to his legend with an epic victory in the U.S. Open last June.
He almost grabbed his third consecutive major title at the Open Championship last month, finishing one stroke shy of eventual champion Zach Johnson. Spieth now has four top-five finishes in his last seven major starts. His Grand Slam bid may have vanished with that gut-wrenching loss at St. Andrews, but he can still create more history with a victory here at Whistling Straits. If he wins the PGA Championship this week, he’ll be the first golfer to win all three U.S. majors in the same year.
With the form he is in right now, it isn’t far-fetched to see Spieth pulling off that incredible feat. He is pegged at +500 to do just that.
