Golf people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area knew.
People at the Univeristy of Texas knew.
Now, the whole world knows: Jordan Spieth is the real deal.
And after his incredible run at Augusta the past four days, Spieth definitely what golf needs going forward to remain viable in the main stream sports world.
Ever since Tiger Woods started to struggle seven years ago or so, there have been a lot of questions about whether golf keep up the popularity that it gained during Tiger’s run of dominance throughout the last decade. Many people have said they don’t watch and will not watch if Tiger’s not playing or not in contention.
But with the way Spieth has played — not just this past weekend in the Masters — might just change that.
At the age of 21 and just over two years after he made the decision to leave the University of Texas and go pro, Spieth is already drawing comparisons to a young Tiger Woods. And with good reason too. He was an integral part of the Texas Longhorns team that won the 2012 national championship. Within in half-a-year he was a winner on the PGA Tour, taking the 2013 John Deere Classic.
Now, he’s Masters Champion and the No. 2 player in the world.
At this point, it doesn’t feel like hype. Hype is for potential that he might do something. Spieth has now done something — he’s a Grand Slam winner. And everyone can clearly see that now.
And it’s something golf can take hold of and ride like they did with Tiger Woods all those years ago. Spieth captivated more than just the golf world with his wire-to-wire win Sunday. There were a lot more people watching to see if he could finish it off and if he could make history.
He did that. And I’m sure he’s converted a number of fans, even if it’s just people that will just watch him. That’s okay. That’s what happened with Tiger and look where that golf. If Spieth does even just half of what Tiger did on that front, it would be a job well done.
Congrats to Jordan on the win. And Hook ‘Em.