No sooner had Jordan Spieth been fitted with the most sought after item of apparel in all of golf and the 21-year old Texan singled out last December’s Australian Open success pivotal to his Masters winning glory.
Spieth equaled Tiger Woods Augusta National 72-hole low in shooting a final round 70 to win by four shots with an 18-hole tally.
However it was not till just after the new champions formal press conference Spieth was made aware had he not bogeyed the last he would have been the first player ever in Masters history to post a 19-under par tally.
Despite his genuine surprise there was no such reaction when he was asked the significance in being handed the Stonehaven Trophy five months earlier in Sydney played in his maiden Major Championship triumph.
First American in over 20 years to win Australian Open.
Spieth became the first American-born golfer since 1993 when compatriot Brad Faxon was coaxed by good friend Greg Norman to travel to Sydney on what was virtually a holiday and won the Australian Open.
Jordan Spieth singles out Australian Open success as pivotal to winning the 2105 Masters. (Photo – Anthony Powter)
On a bright but extremely windy Sunday last December Spieth posted a blistering last round 63 and on a day when no other player broke 70 on the revamped Australian Club course.
“My Australian Open win could arguably be one of the best wins that I’ve ever had,” said Spieth.
“I would obviously call this one the greatest win I’ve ever had no offense (laughter).
“But what the Australian Open did is in a period where I had some struggles towards the top of the leader board on Sundays, it was a level of patience and a level of it was trial and error for a couple of times and I had not found the solution. We had not found the solution as a team and we found the solution in Australia against a world class field including the World No. 1 (Rory McIlroy) and the No. 2 (Adam Scott) at the time.
“Closing out that tournament and seeing what that meant in the history of that tournament and understanding who won there, it meant a lot.
“And to then go the next week to the Hero World Challenge and win again there; just to finish tournaments off under pressure as a professional.
“The Australian Open win was almost a fluke, right, I thinned a bunker shot and went in and just hung around in the playoff.
“But those, I was able to see putts go in. I knew that I could make them under pressure and I knew the strategy mentally, most importantly, to get the job done.
“I’ve just taken that since into this year, wrapping around the off season. And once we got into form after a couple weeks of getting the rust off, it’s been exactly where it was.”
Spieth wins Hero World Challenge
After winning in Sydney Spieth crossed the International Date Line and returned to the States to storm to success a week later in the Woods hosted Hero World Challenge in suburban Orlando.
Jordan Spieth insists his Australian Open success as pivotal in winning the 2014 Hero World Challenge. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
The young Texan then kick-started 2015 with three top-10s in his first four PGA Tour events before capturing a second PGA Tour title with a play-off victory in the Valspar Championship that now ensures his name is under that of Brisbane’s John Senden on the unique ‘paint brush’ trophy.
Spieth then teed-up in the Tour’s ‘Texas Two-Step’ finishing runner-up to fellow Texan Jimmy Walker in the Valero Texas Open before just missing out in a play off for the Masters curtain-raiser in the Shell Houston Open.
And despite his last hole bogey there was emotional scenes at the 18th green with Spieth greeted by his parents and brother while also devoting his victory to his beloved 13-year ‘special needs’ sister, Ellie back home in Dallas.
Now the 21-year old Spieth is exempt to compete at Augusta for as long as he desires.
Spieth confirms at Valero Texas Open he will defend Australian Open.
However Spieth, as he confirmed in San Antonio a fortnight ago, will return to Sydney to defend his Australian Open title later this year..
“I fully plan on making the trip back to Australia,” Spieth said of the Australian Open, to be played again at The Australian on November 26-29.
“It was a special week for me and obviously did a lot for my career. Without it, I may not be here right now.”
Spieth .. “I owe everything to Cameron McCormick
And sharing the journey with Spieth these past eight years has been Spieth’s Melbourne–born coach Cameron McCormick
McCormick was first introduced when Spieth was 12-years of age and since then the pair have worked together to hone Spieth’s skills at the Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas where McCormick is ‘Director of Instruction.
On July 14, 2013 and with Spieth just 19 years old he won the John Deere Classic in a five-hole playoff, thus becoming the first teenager since 1931 to win a PGA Tour event.
McCormick and Spieth met through Rob Addington, executive director of the Texas Golf Association, which oversaw the Legends Junior Tour events Spieth was playing in at the time.
Spieth’s father asked Addington, a member at Brook Hollow, who his son should be taking lessons from. Addington recommended McCormick to the Spieth family, and the rest is history.
“Cameron and I talked to Cameron last night for 15 minutes,” said Spieth
“We really don’t talk very much during tournaments. Sometimes text here and there but then especially ones he was at, because I know what I need to do.
“We worked hard earlier this week out here, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Often times he said, ‘you know, you tell me when you’re done’ because I was very worn out from the final group of the last two weeks and had not gotten much rest.
“We found a nice balance between keeping that momentum going, which we worked hard for, and wearing out.
Jordan Spieth wins 2015 Masters
“I’ve trusted Cameron since I was, what, 12, turning 13, so eight or nine years. I have complete trust in anything he says. He’s my swing coach, putting coach, short game coach, mental coach, everything.
“He’s the one that knows what I’m thinking out there more than anybody else and how to adapt to the situation.
“I owe everything on the course to him, and you know, he’s a very special teacher, somebody who I think is just going to get bigger and bigger, and you’re going to see him with a lot of tour players in the future.”
