by Fatiha Betscher, Nassau, Bahamas.
World No. 1 Jordan Spieth has arrived here in the Bahamas confident of successfully defending his Hero World Challenge crown.
The American travelled from Sydney after finishing runner-up in the Australian Open.
And while the 22-year old Dallas-born golfer was disappointed not to join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the only non-Australians to win back-to-back Stonehaven Trophy’s he’s indicated to those who have gathered in the Bahamas he’s not about to let slip a second straight success.
“I can certainly improve in spots of my game,” said Spieth.
“I believe I can get better certainly in different specific parts of my game and I can grow mentally as a player as well. I don’t know if it will lead into the same kind of accolades that this year brought forth, but I can certainly finish next season feeling like I’m a better player than I was in 2015, and if that’s the case, wins will fall my way.”
Jordan Spieth insists he can only get batter as a golfer and mentally ahead of his Hero World Challenge. defence. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
Just over a year ago, Spieth didn’t feel even that confident in his game, particularly down the stretch.
He had eight top-10 finishes in the 2013-14 season. He had a chance to win in a handful of those, but didn’t. At Kapalua, he had a share of the lead after the opening round only to finish a stroke behind winner Zach Johnson.
A month later at Pebble Beach, Spieth opened with a pair of 67s to tie for the lead heading into the weekend only to be derailed by a 78 in the third round. He went on to finish fourth.
Playing in his first Masters, he shared the lead with Bubba Watson going into Sunday. Watson shot 69, while Spieth made three bogeys in a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round on the way to a 72 to tie for second.
Four weeks later, Spieth was tied with Martin Kaymer going into the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship but shot 74 on Sunday to tumble into a share of fourth.
That November, though, the smooth-swinging Texan dissected a windswept Australian Golf Club with an 8-under 63 in the final round to romp to a six-stroke victory at the Australian Open. He called it the best round he’d ever played. The following week, he made the trans-continental journey to Florida, where he won the Hero World Challenge by 10 strokes.
Those wins would lead to the best year of the 22-year-old’s young career.
Spieth tied the Masters’ four-day scoring record on his way to capturing the Green Jacket, birdied the final hole at Chambers Bay to win the U.S. Open by a shot, finished a stroke out of a play-off at The Open Championship and second to Jason Day at the PGA Championship.
“Each time you don’t come through, you wonder what’s wrong, is it me, is it my game?” Spieth said Wednesday, reflecting back on 2014 and what the victory Down Under meant. “And then you hear the noise of he’s a good player but he can’t close and this and that.
“Those Sunday evenings were tough for me when I didn’t close them out. Makes you really appreciate now that you can, you know. You wonder how in the world was I not able to back then, but it’s just the way the game is.”
