One interesting thing about young Mr Spieth, who is still my pick as the guy who will make the biggest mark in the game when his career is finished, is how often he's in the hunt. They were comparing top five finishes by Spieth against those of Jason Day and Rory, and found that Spieth already has 26 of them and leads both of them despite the fact that he's really only getting started. In fairness to Rory, who splits his time between the European and PGA tour, these stats are only dealing with PGA tour events. Nevertheless, Spieth has proven to be in the top five more often than his rivals.
Day and McIlroy have more firepower. They are capable of hitting shots Jordan simply can't. Rory, when he's in the mood and has his putter working, is capable of absolute brilliance. He might be the most naturally talented of the three. However, he also makes silly mistakes, often failing to give every shot his full attention. Day has become a golfing machine, with seemingly no weaknesses in his game. When he's on song, he's clearly the best of the bunch. He's the complete package of power, finesse, and mental strength.
But Jordan Spieth is the ultimate competitor. He just seems to find a way to get the ball in the hole. He also finds a way to get it done without great power, or consummate ball striking. He just possesses that rare ability to know where to miss it and to make more than his fair share of putts when he needs them. His swing, though perhaps not as technically perfect as his two main rivals, will stand the test of time. My bet is that Day and Rory, like Tiger before them, will eventually wear themselves out and succumb to injury.
Barring some unforeseen occurrence, I am betting that one day Jordan Spieth will be mentioned in the same breath as Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. He seems destined to become one of the best Texans to ever play the game--and goodness knows there were a lot of them. I think there must be something in the water in Texas.
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