Jordan Spieth will be attempting to join a very elite club at The Australian Golf Club this week as he tees it up in the Australian Open for a third time.
If the American is to emerge victorious once again in our national open he would join luminaries of the sport Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Peter Thomson, among others, as a winner of the Australian Open on three or more occasions.
A group the World No.2 ranked player would not look out of place among, albeit achieving the feat at an extremely young age, and with a noticeable difference this time around compared to his previous wins.
Spieth’s regular caddie Michael Greller has stayed home for the trip this time after the recent birth of his first child. Giving Spieth’s Australian mentor Cameron McCormick the chance to witness his game up close for the first time as his looper since the US Amateur at Chambers Bay in 2010.
“It will be a good experience for myself and Cameron to finally get some on course reps and how I’m talking, how the swing holds up,” Spieth said of the change. “It’ll be, I think it will be really good for us going forward. Michael’s really upset not to be here. He’s been texting me daily, asking for pictures…”
Greller and Spieth are one of the most recognisable teams in professional golf and their back and forth discussions around club selection and strategy are some of the most engaging held on a golf course. A characteristic unlikely to appear in the new Spieth/McCormick combination.
“Cam’s more of just shut up and hit it, quit taking so long,” Spieth said. “He’s more reaction, take the club.
“It will be fun talking through clubs with him. Cam has the highest golf IQ of anybody I’ve ever talked to. I’ve learned so much from him over the last 10 years, 11 years and so to be able to kind of have him helping make those decisions is going to be really cool too.”
Outside of his caddie switch that will continue next week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Spieth has also arrived in Australia later than in previous years. Affecting the holiday aspect of his trip more than the golf side.
“This week’s a little shorter week than in the past couple of years,” he said. “With the tournament next week and also the wedding last weekend, it kind of shortened this week for me, so I’m spending just as much time at the golf course and maybe a little bit less outside, but I love coming to Sydney.”
While Spieth’s preparation has been different, the American is here looking for the same result he has returned twice in the past three years. A victory, the Stonehaven Cup and a kick start for next season. Something his previous wins did in spades. With major victories following his 2014 and 2016 titles.
“It’s a great time of the year for me to gear things back up and a fantastic event, that I’ve had success at and I’ve seen it propel into the next season,” he said.
The 24-year-old will tee it up alongside Cameron Smith and the only man to beat him in Australia, Matt Jones in Thursday’s opening round. And he delivered Smith, Jones and the rest of the field an ominous warning to expect more of the same high level of play he exhibited throughout 2017.
“Not much was changed over the off season, my ball striking was phenomenal last year, it was the best that I’ve ever struck the ball for an entire season; trying to improve just a little bit on my driving accuracy and a little bit on the green,” Spieth said. “But I took a lot of time off, I rested a lot and started to gear it up as we get into this week.”
It is expected the Texan’s main challenge this week will come from fellow major champion and main drawcard Jason Day, who himself identified Spieth as his desired opponent in a Sunday showdown for the title. For his part the American acknowledged Day’s recent caddie change of his own and late season form as a sign he is here to play.
“Jason’s in form, he made some changes, he took Col off the bag and kept him as an instructor, that’s a major shift and something that takes significant adjustment to have trust coming down the stretch,” Spieth said.
If the Day/Spieth head-to-head battle is to eventuate the American will perhaps have a slight edge thanks to his affinity for the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout. But persistent rain for the majority of Wednesday’s morning Pro-am round might have negated that advantage. Playing into the hands of the high ball flight hitting Day.
“Yeah, quite a bit different,” Spieth said of the appearance of The Australian. “I would look for lower scores for the first couple of days and unless and until the wind comes out and the sun comes out to dry it out, but I’d imagine that scores are going to be pretty low to start this Tournament and then it’ll back up just a little bit on the weekend.”
The 24-year-old knows a little something about low scores at The Australian. Firing a final round 63 in difficult conditions in 2014 to claim the first of his Australian Open titles. A round even Spieth admits was something special.
“… my last round in 2014 was a bit of a fluke to that, to what I’m saying, but for the most part on this golf course it yields lower scores early, 9 10-under early and then 12-under ends up being the winning score. Stay patient with this golf course, even if you don’t get off to a good start, you can make up ground,” he said.
Spieth looks focused and ready this week as he attempts to elevate his name into the upper echelon of Australian golf history. If he is to replicate his 2014 and 2016 heroics this week, however, one more aspect is likely to be a little different. With his sometimes emotional celebrations needing to be tempered a little with his new caddie possessing a far slighter build than his usual man.
“I think if I did the chest pump to Cam he’d go flying,” Spieth said of replicating his winning celebration from Hartford this week. “Michael’s got a little more stable base than Cam does.”
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