It should have been no surprise that if someone could try to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in Masters history, it would be Jordan Spieth. No golfer has been as successful at Augusta in the last five years as Spieth. Heading into 2018, Spieth only had won once at Augusta, but he also only played in five Masters. Spieth has won 20 percent of the Masters tournaments he has played in, and been in contention for the majority of contests.
Spieth had his worst outing in 2017 with a T-11 finish at -1. He finished T-2 in 2016 at -2, and won the entire tournament in 2015 with a splendid -18. Spieth placed T-2 his Augusta debut at -5 in 2014. Spieth’s 2018 comeback came up just short as -13 placed him third, two strokes behind the winning golfer Patrick Reed.
Through two rounds of the 2018 Masters, Spieth still felt like he had a chance at another green jacket, and he was right.
“I’ve taken a lot of punches on this golf course,” Spieth told The Augusta Chronicle. “So to come back from 3-over through two holes and only shoot 2-over with a limited number of looks, it’s not so bad. I’m still in this golf tournament.”
Spieth shot nine holes under par for the final round to put him in contention despite entering the day nine strokes back. Spieth had the lead after Day 1 at -6 at 66, but fell back on Day 2 and Day 3. Spieth shot a 64 in Round 4 to shoot up the leaderboard.
Spieth has won a total of two majors counting his 2015 U.S. Open win in addition to his 2015 Masters victory. Spieth spoke with CBS Sports about why he plays so well at Augusta.
“I’ve played it in very firm conditions, I’ve played it in soft conditions (and) either way played well,” Spieth explained to CBS Sports. “The golf course, it fits my eye, the way you have to play off of different slopes … they require a lot more feel than just your in-a-dome, driving-range shots, and going back to when I started playing the game, I’ve been a ‘feel’ player.”
Spieth has shot in the 60’s seven times at Augusta, including Rounds 1 and 4 at the 2018 Masters. For all his greatness at Augusta, Spieth has also had some struggles at the Masters including his 2016 meltdown.
“Whether it’s [Friday] or it’s Saturday or Sunday, I’ll always have demons out here,” Spieth told CBS Sports. “But I’ll always have … a tremendous amount of confidence out here. Once you win here, you have an advantage over anybody who hasn’t won here. And, you know, there can be positives and negatives to both the demons and the confidence.”
Reed’s performances in the first three rounds of the 2018 Masters proved to be insurmountable, despite not being as polished on Masters Sunday. After having an up and down 2018, it appears Spieth has found his form again.
Here’s a look at the recently released highlights of Spieth’s 2015 Masters performance.
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Jordan Spieth Masters Wins: History & Green Jackets