Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

A decade after earning his card, Spieth returns to Valspar with resurgence in mind

Written by 
Published in Golf
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 10:34

Jordan Spieth has a special relationship with the Valspar Championship, so what better place to mount a resurgence than at Innisbrook's Copperhead Course?

Spieth loves the course, has finished T-20 or better in all but one of his five previous starts (he MC in 2018), and it's the place where he earned his PGA Tour card via special temporary membership in 2013 – a decade ago this week.

A lot has changed in the past 10 years, since that all-important T-7 finish. Spieth is now a three-time major winner, 13-time winner on the PGA Tour (including the 2015 Valspar) and married to his high school sweetheart with a toddler in tow.

"It was everything at the time," Spieth said of earning his card during his first start at Innisbrook. "I didn't have any status anywhere, and I had made a decision not to go secure Korn Ferry Tour status the week prior, and go to Puerto Rico instead and played well, and then got into here. I wasn't expecting to play this tournament at all, and I got up-and-down out of the front bunker on 18, made probably like a 6- or 7-footer that I didn't know if it was going to get me to the dollar amount or not, but I knew it was important."

Just two years later, Spieth would earn his first and only win at Innisbrook to date, when he bested Patrick Reed and Sean O'Hair in a playoff. The 30-foot walk-off birdie putt came on the third playoff hole, at the par-3 17th.

It was Spieth's second win on Tour and first of the 2014-15 season. He would go on to win the Masters less than a month later and follow with the U.S. Open, John Deere Classic and Tour Championship to finish with five wins that season – still his best to date on Tour.

This trip to Innisbrook might feel similar to that 2015 win. He's coming off a top-20 finish from the week prior – T-19 at The Players last week and T-17 at the WGC Cadillac Championship in 2015 – and is once again looking for a jumpstart.

"You got a couple guys that have all traded off that No. 1 position, and there's a little bit of a gap below that, and that's where I'm trying to work hard to get into, where I feel like, week-in and week-out, I can be in the same position those guys are in," Spieth said of his goals. "Scottie [Scheffler's] got a chance to win most every week, and you get more and more comfortable the more often you're there. That level of comfort is something that's intangible, and it's what propels you to continue to win multiple events a year, and he's at that right now."

The last time Spieth won multiple titles on Tour was the 2016-17 season. Since then, he has two wins: the Valero Texas Open (2021) and the RBC Heritage (2022) 11 months ago.

One could argue Spieth has been focused on more important things, like becoming a dad to his son, Sammy, who was born on November 11, 2021. But the 29-year-old seems keen to find a balance between his personal and professional lives, reviving the Spieth of 2015, or a version of him, and challenging the likes of Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy – the top 3 players in the world – every time he tees it up.

"You kind of almost [have] to build it back up to remember how to kind of close it out again sometimes," Spieth said.

If he can start building it back at the Valspar, maybe we could see the Spieth streak re-emerge in 2023.

Read 226 times

Soccer

Guardiola talks up Man City-Villa as a 'final'

Guardiola talks up Man City-Villa as a 'final'

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPep Guardiola has branded Manchester City's clash with Aston Villa...

A win away from the title, Liverpool coronation begins at Leicester

A win away from the title, Liverpool coronation begins at Leicester

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLEICESTER, England -- The Liverpool fans did not want to go home. L...

Amorim defends Højlund despite scoring woes

Amorim defends Højlund despite scoring woes

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsRuben Amorim has insisted that Rasmus Højlund is not solely to blam...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Behind-the-scenes firings, lost trust and chaos: Inside Dallas' lost season and the end of the Luka Doncic era

Behind-the-scenes firings, lost trust and chaos: Inside Dallas' lost season and the end of the Luka Doncic era

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDALLAS MAVERICKS' OFFICIALS and select staffers, past and present,...

Rockets' defense 'good enough,' but offense lags

Rockets' defense 'good enough,' but offense lags

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHOUSTON -- Silence enveloped the Houston locker room shortly after...

Baseball

O's give up 24 runs in 'embarrassing' loss to Reds

O's give up 24 runs in 'embarrassing' loss to Reds

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles began Sunday with right-hander C...

Padres' Arraez exits on stretcher after collision

Padres' Arraez exits on stretcher after collision

EmailPrintHOUSTON -- San Diego Padres designated hitter Luis Arraez was carted off after colliding w...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated