Deere Jordan: Spieth goes back to his roots
Look back at teenager's maiden win as Spieth returns to Deere Run for first time in 9 years
Jordan Spieth is returning this week to Silvis, Illinois, and the site of his first career victory at the John Deere Classic for the first time since 2015, when he chartered from the heartland to the Home of Golf and very nearly kept his Grand Slam dreams alive with a near-miss at the 2015 Open at St. Andrews.
Spieth was only 19 when he won the 2013 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, holing out from a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole to get in a playoff he’d eventually win on the fifth extra hole against defending champion Zach Johnson and David Hearn. He was the first teenager to win a PGA Tour event since Ralph Guldahl won the 1931 Santa Monica Open.
Spieth won the ’15 John Deere as well — in a playoff over Tom Gillis — before heading to Scotland, where he narrowly missed a playoff and chance to add the third leg of the Grand Slam to his wins that year at the Masters and U.S. Open.
A year later, Spieth elected not to return, as the tournament was played the same week as the 2016 Olympics golf tournament in Brazil, which he also skipped. This is his first trip back and perhaps it will instill some great memories as he prepares for another shot at the Claret Jug in a two weeks.
While The Daily Drive takes a brief respite for the Fourth of July holiday week, here’s a look back at a story Bob Harig wrote for ESPN.com when the not-yet-20-year-old Spieth arrived jet-lagged onto the big stage at the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, where he would play a practice with Rory McIlroy and the first two rounds with an even younger amateur named Matthew Fitzpatrick before eventually tying for 44th in his first major cut as a professional. The rest is history.
Jordan Spieth wins place at the Open
GULLANE, Scotland — Wearing the same pair of pants he wore Sunday in winning the John Deere Classic, Jordan Spieth set out for his first round at Muirfield on Tuesday morning, trading the cornfields of Illinois for the links of Scotland.
It has been a wild ride for Spieth, 19, who became the youngest player to win on the PGA Tour since 1931 with his playoff victory at the John Deere. That win, among many other things, meant a spot in the Open Championship field this week.
Spieth's agent, Jay Danzi, had the presence of mind to get the golfer's passport to Moline, Ill., last week, thinking there was a possibility his player might win. He did the same for Spieth's caddie, meaning they could both board the charter flight arranged by the John Deere tournament on Sunday night.
“It’s been pretty crazy; honestly, it’s been really cool,” Spieth said after playing nine holes Tuesday and getting his first look at the course. “I’m just trying to deal with the jet lag. This is normally the week here I’d like to watch the [Deere] replay and soak it all in. But my phone is not really working over here yet and I have no Internet yet, so I haven’t seen anything on it, just a couple of pictures.
“It was a good feeling waking up [this morning]. I woke up and it wasn’t before the final round; it was after the final round. I thought I’d wake up and it would have been a dream. It feels great. This is an unexpected week. Now I’ve got to kind of regroup. It’s a major championship.”
Spieth and the other players competing this week who were part of the John Deere charter took off from Illinois at approximately 9 p.m. Central time Sunday and landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, at 10:30 a.m. British time.
Instead of coming to Muirfield, about 40 minutes away, Spieth stayed in an Edinburgh hotel and rested before venturing to the golf course Tuesday morning. Later, he was to get situated in a house and, among other things, get some laundry done.
Jordan Spieth played a practice round with Rory McIlroy in 2013 at Muirfield (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
He was scheduled to play a practice round with five-time Open champion Tom Watson, but there was a mix-up concerning the number of players in the foursome and Watson actually held a mini lottery to determine who would be in the group.
Alas, Spieth lost out, a small consolation after his big payday Sunday that included invitations to the Open Championship and Masters, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and status as a full tour member, meaning he can participate in the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs.
Not bad for a guy who turned pro after his freshman year at the University of Texas and had no status on any tour.
“My mind today is just shifting to the tournament, which you’d like it to shift a couple weeks in advance for a major championship,” Spieth said. “On the plane ride over, I tried to reflect and think about last week. Your first win, that’s something I’ll never forget. I’m not like some of these guys with their 11th, 12th, 13th win, and it’s easy to regroup.
“For me, it’s been a ton of emotions — scheduling changing, playing in [FedEx Cup] playoffs, being in the Masters, being able to pick a schedule, my world ranking now up [No. 59] there where I can be in a lot of top events. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it all. I’m now trying to put this off until next week.”
Spieth said it's not hard to determine the best perk.
“Augusta [The Masters]. I’ve been out there one time for a Monday in a practice round, and it was like walking on a video game. It’ll certainly be nice to be inside the ropes playing.”
Spieth played just nine holes Tuesday, trying more to get some rest and get over all the emotions of winning. He said he had congratulatory texts and tweets from various players and got personal recognition Tuesday morning from Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, as well as Ian Poulter, who warmed up on the range next to him.
Not bad for a guy who turned pro in December and had no status on any tour in the world.
“This is the tournament I watch every year,” he said. “It’s really cool to watch when you wake up in the morning [in the U.S.] and see guys all miserable out there and you’re sitting on your couch watching and thinking, ‘Life is good. Look at these guys.’”
Now he is one of them.