ORLANDO, Fla. — Jordan Spieth was a tongue-tied 20-year-old unable to summon the right words during a chance meeting with Arnold Palmer at the 2014 Masters.
This week at the iconic golfer’s longstanding tournament, Spieth will make his debut and in a sense deliver a long overdue, yet simple message for one of the game’s most impactful players.
“You just want to say thank you for continuing to boost this sport and at a professional level further and further, and allowing us the opportunities that we have,” Spieth said Wednesday on the eve of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Spieth burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old at the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship and has played Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament and Tiger Woods’ event at historic Riviera Golf Club.
Teeing it up in tournaments associated with legends past and present has special meaning to Spieth.
“It goes without explaining how important Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, now Tiger Woods hosting an event, are to where the game is now,” Spieth said. “Where it’s come from, and where it’s going forward.”
The presence of the ever-popular Spieth, a three-time major champion, supercharges an event, too. The emotive, entertaining 27-year-old has a Palmer-like connection with fans, announcers and media members.
Spieth had a chance to experience Palmer’s aura the night before Spieth’s first Masters in 2014.
“I went to a Wednesday little cocktail reception on the back of the clubhouse,“ Spieth recalled. “And I remember in a conversation with Jack and Arnie — I was 20 years old at the time — and I just remember sitting there, like, trying to listen in, but also just being so taken back at the, at where I was and what was happening. Not only location-wise where I was, but also who was there and what they were saying.”
Spieth was just a fly on the wall then, but soon would become one of golf’s most recognizable stars.
These days, Spieth is at a crossroads with his golf game and his path forward remains murky, with every step weighed and measured by a curious public.
Spieth was the world’s top-ranked player in March of 2016 and won the 2017 Open Championship four days before he turned 24 on July 27. He will tee off at 8:17 a.m. Thursday seeking his first win since then, but also showing some positive signs after a long stretch off erratic play, missed cuts and endless questions about the state of his game.
Amid his slump, Spieth set out to address his struggles off the tee and inconsistency of a once-formidable iron play. He reiterated Wednesday the arduous process can be tedious and frustrating, especially when performed in the spotlight.
“The most difficult thing about struggling is when you’ve had a lot of success and therefore it’s almost impossible to struggle in silence, in darkness, and get your work done in the dark,” Spieth said. “There’s just going to be so much noise around and so much emphasis on results versus the true understanding of what your end goal is and how much time that can take in golf.”
Spieth may never turn back the clock to his days of dominance, but has shown signs he could be close to contending again for wins.
In February, Spieth posted a pair of top-five finishes — his first since the 2019 PGA Championship — and has not finished outside the top 15 during his past three tournaments. During his previous seven starts, Spieth failed to land inside the top 35 and missed four cuts.
“I feel excited to go work on what I’m working on and continue to try and fine tune it, and just get shots here that try and have kind of every tool in the tool box,” Spieth said. “I had kind of been working with less than full and starting to open up and really get a lot of shots back that I can trust in tournament play and just feel a lot more comfortable on the golf course, settling into rounds, and getting more comfortable in contention, and ideally putting myself in position on Saturdays and Sundays.”
Spieth’s lack of familiarity with Bay Hill’s demanding layout will intensify his challenge this week.
Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton posted a winning score of 4-under par in 2020 despite shooting 3-over par during the weekend.
“Last year here, it was absolutely brutal over the weekend,” Hatton said Wednesday.
Rain early Wednesday and perhaps again Saturday will soften the fast, firm fairways and greens, but thicken the ankle-deep rough.
Spieth is eager to take on one of the Tour’s toughest tests outside of major championship venues.
“I love Bermuda (grass). I love windy conditions, difficult golf courses,” he said.
Before teeing it up Thursday, Spieth first plans to tour Palmer’s office and get a better feel for the corner of the golf world he created at Bay Hill.
Spieth’s quick rise in the game allowed him to cross paths with Palmer prior to his Sept. 25, 2016 death. Having won the 2015 Masters, Spieth hosted the final Champions Dinner at Augusta National for Palmer, a four-time winner of the tournament’s green jacket.
The memory of that night is something Spieth will cherish, perhaps a bit more this week as he prepares to play in Palmer’s tournament on the golf course he designed.
“He wasn’t doing great and everybody going around telling Arnold Palmer stories was, it was an incredible room to be in,” Spieth said. “Obviously we would have loved another 100 years with him. But I thought that that was a really special moment for him at a place that he loved. I was just glad to be there.”
