Jordan Spieth has some disappointing news who for those longing for someone like him, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy or even the fast rising Jon Rahm to become golf’s new big, bad cat.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” said the man currently edging his way to be favourite when the talking stops of balls are struck in anger on the first tee at Royal Birkdale ion the 146th Open Championship.
Spieth believes that seven first-time major winners in a row – dating from Jason Day’s 2015 PGA Championship win – is testament to the scope of talent that is in the game now.
“I think it’s a really impressive stat and it speaks to the state of the game,” said the still-just-23-year-old. “There’s a lot of tremendous young players right now, and then you’ve got guys like Henrik (Stenson) and Dustin (Johnson) who have been in contention many, many times, and it was sooner or later going to happen for them, and it did.
“What Tiger (Woods) did? Having experienced just one year like he did for years, I know it just takes a lot out of you, it’s very tough to do.
“You have to have a lot of things go right at the right times. Pretty much his entire career was lucky…
“Seriously, I doubt you’ll see a dominance like that maybe ever again in the game. Guys are learning quicker, getting stronger, winning younger, playing more fearlessly, even in major championships.”
This parity grates with some who would rather have a dominant force we could all fear, hate or love, or in some cases all three. But Spieth likes it better this way.
“I think it’s going to be a very exciting time going forward of guys that are going to be playing and battling against each other. You’ll see a group of ten to 12 guys over the next 15-20 years come down the stretch with each other.
“It’s different than one person being the guy to beat. But I think it’s exciting for us as players. You just never know. And if you play well, you’re going to have a chance with these other guys who are equally as capable.”
That 2015 season, when he won the Masters and US Open and was within one chunked pitching wedge of a play-off at St Andrews, is the considerable yardstick Spieth set for himself. Asked if he was playing as well as he did then, he was as usual disarmingly honest.
“I’ve struck the ball better than I did in ’15,” he said. “If you took hole by hole, I’ve been in a better position tee to green than I was that year. If I putted the same as ‘15 I’d be having a better year right now.
“But that’s hard to do. This year we’re just a little down (on putting), but we’re close. It’s just been set-up stuff that’s been messing with me.
“Certain parts of my game I’ve improved on, and others it’s just fluctuated, and that’s how it will go. Last year I was pretty caught up with 2015, and this year I’m not.
“This year I recognise that hopefully I can have another one or two season like that. If I keep trying to improve and stick to the process, we should get the results we want.”
Spieth thinks the Open may be the easiest major to win, but the toughest to learn in others. He’s only five years in to the process of learning, but many feel his different game to the rest of the top 10 – less of a bomber, more of a long iron, short game player – fits the profile for a Birkdale champion.
“The draw can take out half a field because of weather conditions,” he continued. “But the type of golf you have to play is totally different than what we see in the other three majors. You have to have a lot of imagination and a lot of ball-flight control.
“I’m not saying it’s easy based on competition, I’m saying that because a lot of the time some of the field is thrown out and you’re actually playing against a smaller field, and your percentage chances go up.
“It’s the nature of it, and I plan on playing 30 of these, and I guarantee you it will end up being 15 and 15 (good draw and bad draw) at the end of the day.”
After 2015, it’s natural for Spieth to gauge success and failure on the majors, no matter how satisfied he is with the rest of his season.
“It’s already been a really good year, a couple of wins and second, a couple of thirds, we’ve been up there,” he said.
“So no matter what happens in these last seven events that I’m playing this season this was a good one, and I can say that with what I consider to still be half the year left.
“But I think (the majors) we say at the beginning of the year that’s where we’re trying to peak, that’s our focus. That’s where you’re really trying to go down in history.”