Freshman Peter Nakos’ first column on how close golfer Jordan Spieth is to reaching history.
The “Grand Slam”, one of the most prestigious and rarest accomplishments in golf, may be reached by the end of the summer.
Jordan Spieth, a Dallas-native, has the opportunity to win this illustrious award after winning the Masters in Augusta and, most recently, the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington.
Not only is his win at Chambers Bay awing, but he’s joined an elite group of seven who have won the Masters and Open back-to-back in the same year: Craig Wood, Ben Hogan (who accomplished the feat twice), Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.
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What’s even more impressive? Spieth has accomplished this all at the age of 21 — he turns 22 later in July.
Over the course of the previous months, Spieth has been labelled as “the next big thing” in golf, but there’s one comparison that hasn't been made to him that should be: Francis Ouimet.
If the name doesn't ring a bell, then let me refresh you on the history of golf in America.
In 1913, 21-year-old Ouimet pulled off one of the greatest upsets considered in golf — as well as sports history — by defeating Englishmen Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts during an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.
What was considered an upset, Ouimet was carried off of the eighteenth tee by a crowd of about 10,000-plus fans, most not knowing the victor lived directly across the street at 246 Clyde St. and had previously worked at the country club as a caddie. That day will live forever in history, however, not because he shook the foundations of golf by beating the legend Vardon, but the effect the match had on golf in the United States was so vital.
You see, though Spieth didn't have a ten-year-old caddie at his side throughout the tournament, like Ouimet did, he shocked the golfing-world by pulling off his second major win this year. To an extent, he did also upset the English (again) by leaving Rory McIlory in the dust.
While Ouimet may have jump started golf in the United States, Spieth has also brought a new era to golf, one filled with new faces and energy.
What Spieth and McIlory both bring to the table is one word: refreshing.
The two have helped the sports world move on from the Tiger Wood’s era, where, now, Spieth is almost everything Woods isn’t: friendly, polite, caring.
Woods killed all relationships he had with sponsors, media, and the fans by always sheltering himself from the world.
So, in comparison, it’s hard to not like Spieth when he makes comments that are so positive and honest.
“You only get a few moments in your life like this,” he said after winning the US Open. “And I recognize that.”
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This is opposed to Woods, who to begin with would never even talk to the press and never made any comment like that to the public.
But now, Spieth has the daunting task Ouimet never really had the chance of completing — the unofficial “Grand Slam.”
The British Open starts July 16th, and not only will Spieth have a huge target on his back because of his two previous championships this year, he will also be forced to acclimate to the windy and hilly terrain at St. Andrews — where he has only played once.
The challenge will be waiting for him, but if he completes it, he will be one step away from winning the slam, which would come down to the final of the four majors, the PGA.
This year, it will be held Aug. 16, about a month after the British Open, at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin.
Nobody knows what the future holds for golf, but what is almost given is that the next two months will be interesting and that the sports world will turn its eyes toward the famed course at St. Andrews to see if Spieth can make a few more historical moments.
pn997515@ohio.edu
