WHERE HE BELONGS BACK

It’s been a tough few years for Jordan Spieth , but he’s back to winning ways and has his sights set on more Majors

- BRIAN WACKER

When Jordan Spieth tapped in a one-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the Valero Texas Open earlier this year, he coolly plucked his ball from the cup, gripped it tightly with a muted fist pump then sheepishly smiled as he exchanged handshakes and hugs with his playing partners and caddies in the group. There was no primal scream, a river of tears or jump for joy, not then or afterwards. It was all very, well, normal.

Never mind that 1,351 days and 83 tournaments had passed between victories for the three-time Major Champion, former World No.1, and one-time ruler of the game. Just a handful of years ago, he’d found himself on the precipice of completing the calendar Grand Slam, but in the time since he’d nearly plummeted out of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking and seen a meteoric career suddenly teetering on the edge of the abyss.

“I thought I would have the memories of the downs and the struggles and the climb back and really the progress and the momentum over the last few months, all that kind of hit me, and it just was like a one-footer to win,” Spieth said of the drought-ending victory in April, his first since a triumph at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. “I saw [my wife] Annie when that happened, and she was pretty emotional. I was happy that it didn’t hit me that hard, that it felt more normal, that it felt like me and that’s where I’m supposed to be and this is who I am.”