Yash Padhye is a freshman journalism major and writes "Yash.0" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Yash at ykpadhye@bsu.edu.
Last Sunday, 22-year PGA Tour sensation Jordan Spieth had a seven-stroke lead heading into the back nine of the final round at Augusta National. The young golfer had slept on the lead the previous three rounds. I was glued to my computer screen watching him intently, confident that he would win back-to-back green jackets. After all, the man had done the same thing last year: He jumped out a big lead and stayed consistent enough to win the tournament by four strokes.
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As I watched him card a 32 on the front nine, I thought he had the tournament in the bag. But that was before he played the back nine of Augusta National. I don’t think anyone in the golfing world, including myself, predicted what would take place over that last two and a half hours.
Two bogeys on 10 and 11 cut his lead down to three. Then, the par-3 12th hole happened. Two shots in the water and just like that, he was hitting his fifth stroke. One in the bunker and the other in the hole, and Spieth was down by 3 strokes. Golf can be cruel at times — I’ve experienced it as a competitive golfer myself. Some days you get lucky breaks, and others you just can’t wait for the round to be over. Looking at Spieth’s face after that disastrous 12th hole, it seemed like the latter.
I sat there in shock, just as the NBC cameras were showing the reactions of other spectators with their jaws dropped, in awe of what had just transpire. Although, to his credit, Spieth did rebound pretty nicely, but I could tell from his behavior and expressions that he was never as comfortable as he seemed the three rounds previous. In the end, instead of watching Jordan Spieth put on another green jacket, I and golf fans alike watched Spieth as he helped Englishman Danny Willett into one.
What caused Spieth’s meltdown on the back nine? Well, if you ask me, there are two possible reasons:
1. Fatigue
2. Bad luck
I say fatigue because playing a major championship takes a lot of strength, and the course takes a lot out of players. I think sleeping on the lead for three nights and the fact that he was so focused really hurt him in the end. You could tell after the front nine he seemed shaky and tired.
Golf is a game of uncertainty, and I think Spieth faced bad luck in the final round. If you looked at his shot pattern, he didn’t hit bad shots, the ball just didn’t go where he wanted it to go. Like I said before, golf can be harsh to players at times, and that’s just the way it is. It seemed like no matter how hard Jordan tried on that back nine, things just didn’t go his way. But that’s golf for you.
Jordan is only 22 years old, so he has his whole career ahead of him. And in my eyes, he is the future of golf.
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