Jordan Spieth

Once again, Jordan Spieth finds himself in the hunt at the Valero Texas Open. Despite struggling home in thirty eight, Jordan is in second place, four shots back of Jimmy Walker. What is it about this kid that makes him so good?

I reviewed his stats for a clue. Unfortunately, the answer doesn't seem to be there. He's forty fourth in driving distance. He's one hundred and thirty fifth in driving accuracy. He's one hundred and fifty first in greens in regulation. In sand saves, he ranks ninety third. In ball striking he doesn't rank in the top one hundred. Not very impressive by anyone's standards.

But a closer look reveals that in the stats that really count, Spieth is doing much better. In birdie average he's eighth and in scoring average, he's sixth. And this isn't because he's a top putter. In strokes gained putting, he ranks twenty third. So how on earth does he do it?

It appears that Spieth is one of those special players who somehow gets more out of his game than he really should. He has that innate ability to cobble a round together, despite very average ball striking and good, but not great, putting. The bottom line is he's a great player. He's not a great ball striker. He plays a great game of golf. It may not be pretty, but young Mr. Spieth manages his game as well as anyone out there, and he has that ability to somehow make a putt, or get it up and down, when he really needs to. 

He may not win tomorrow, but, once again, despite a rather untidy back nine, he's in with a chance. By the way, I picked him last week to win the Masters. I'm still feeling pretty good about his chances. This kid is the real deal. He's also a living example of the fact that golf is about getting the ball in the hole. Looking pretty while doing so is not a prerequisite.