There are moments when those closest to Spieth’s college career say they saw glimpses of his promise.
After finishing sixth at the Pate – Spieth entered the final round with the lead but shot 76 – he got off to a poor start at his next event, the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at Muirfield Village Golf Club, site of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. He was 4 over after eight holes but played the day’s next 25 holes in 11 under par before making two bogeys. It was the first time they saw of Spieth get on a roll; Fields saw something similar while watching last year’s Masters.
Spieth continued his good play for most of the Nicklaus’ final day. He was 4 under for 15 holes but finished bogey-bogey-double to lose by two to Illinois’ Thomas Pieters. The Longhorns dominated the team competition, but Spieth’s tough finish mellowed the post-round meal as his teammates didn’t know how he’d respond to another title that slipped away. He quickly put the disappointment behind him, allowing the team to enjoy its victory.
“Jordan was angry. He was venting, saying, ‘I can’t believe I finished that way,’” Fields recalls. “He vented for about a minute and then looked at everyone and said, ‘OK, I’m done venting. Congratulations everybody.’
“He loves to win, but he also loves for the team to win. He loves team competition. He’s a back-slapper. The enthusiasm and energy and desire that he has really flows into a team environment.”
Spieth’s lost opportunities at his first two events set the stage for the finest performance of his college career. It was a foreshadowing of Spieth’s pro career, in which his historic 2015 season was preceded by a frustrating year defined by missed opportunities, including at the Masters and THE PLAYERS.
A frustrated Spieth displayed his full talent at the season’s third event, the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, one of the most prestigious events in college golf. In the process, he answered the challenge from Chuck Cook, who’s instructed several PGA TOUR players over the year and teaches at the University of Texas Golf Club.
“Chuck doesn’t teach Jordan, but he was giving him the needle and saying, ‘That’s two times you’ve had the lead. Can’t you close?’ Fields recalls. “Then we played at Isleworth and Jordan won by eight shots, and he couldn’t wait to get back and tell him, ‘How about that, Chuck?’ Jordan doesn’t like being challenged, I can tell you that.”
Spieth shot 65-73-67 to beat Frittelli by eight shots. Future PGA TOUR players Justin Thomas of Alabama and Patrick Rodgers of Stanford were the next two names on the leaderboard, at 2 under and even par, respectively.
Murphy called Spieth’s first-round 65 the best round of college golf he’d witnessed. “It was just flawless,” Murphy remembers. “It was a professional round of golf. … That golf course, for most people, is very challenging.
“He made it look really easy.”
Isleworth was the final event of Texas’ fall season. Spieth tied for first in the team’s first tournament of the spring season, the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, but lost a playoff to USC’s Jeffrey Kang. The Amer Ari also was Texas’ fourth consecutive team title; the Longhorns were undefeated with Spieth in the lineup.
Spieth missed the team’s next tournament, in Puerto Rico, to play the PGA TOUR’s Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, which would host the NCAA Championship in a few months.
Murphy caddied for Spieth, and used the opportunity to learn the classic course as well as possible. When not looping for Spieth, he’d walk the grounds and watch other players play the course. He learned that everything breaks toward the green of the par-3 sixth, which features a bunker in the middle of the putting surface.
“I really felt like (Riviera) was going to be a great match for us,” Murphy said. “That, in my mind, is a left-to-right golf course. Jordan hits it pretty straight, but the other four guys hit it left-to-right off the tee. I thought, ‘This is going to fit us like a glove.’”
Spieth missed two tournaments in the spring to play TOUR events. The coaches encouraged Spieth to go, knowing that the experience was valuable to his development. Spieth missed the cut at Riviera by two shots, then finished T41 at the Valero Texas Open. He got on the leaderboard with a hot start to his third round, but struggled down the stretch. Still, making the cut without his best stuff proved to him that he could compete on TOUR.
“He said, ‘Murph, I just finished (41st) and I don’t feel like I played very good. I can compete out here. I can play with these guys, there’s just no doubt in my mind,’” Murphy said. “I share that story because that’s obviously where you want to get. He had supreme confidence in his abilities. You have to believe in yourself.”
In between those two TOUR starts, Spieth picked up another win at the Texas’ home event, the Morris Williams Intercollegiate. He needed birdie at the last hole to tie two of his teammates, who’d already completed their rounds. His approach shot on the long par-4 18th ended up on an upslope behind the green. He chipped to share the title.
“That reminded me of a lot of great players who have won majors because he sized that (shot) up, he had to make it, and he did,” Fields said.
Three Texas players – Spieth, Frittelli and Julio Vegas, the younger brother of PGA TOUR winner Jhonattan – tied for first. Fields elected not to have a sudden-death playoff for the same reason former Texas coach George Hannon elected for Crenshaw and Kite to share the 1972 NCAA individual title. Two, or three, champions are better than one.
That would end up being Spieth’s final title of the season. He finished fifth in three consecutive events, including the Big 12 Championship, where Texas suffered a tough loss. Frittelli made a double-bogey on 16 and a triple-bogey on the final hole to lose the team and individual titles. It may have helped the reach their ultimate goal, though.
“There’s a chance if we win that conference championship that maybe we don’t win nationals,” Murphy said. “That got their attention. In my opinion, it made them a little bit more focused.”
Texas won seven tournaments before the NCAA Championship, but was runner-up in its three starts entering the most important event of the year.
No problem. Who better to deliver a motivational speech than Crenshaw?