What The Masters win means for Jordan Spieth

After a dominant win at Augusta for Jordan Spieth, the question is, What’s next for him and golf? 

When you start talking about the newest Master’s champion, Jordan Spieth, all you need to know is that every player on tour talks first about the kind of person he is, and then about his amazing talent.

Bubba Watson and Zach Johnson—two past green jacket winners—were in the front row early Sunday evening to watch the 21-year-old finish the best performance of his career —in which he slid a makeable putt right past the hole on 18 in an attempt to capture the lowest score in Master’s history.

More from Golf

• 3M Open picks 2023: Expert picks, best bets for PGA Tour golf this week
• Brian Harman’s dominating Open win came as a surprise… except to himself
• Ryder Cup 2023: Zach Johnson hints at Brian Harman being on US team
• Brian Harman runs away with Open Championship win: Golf Twitter celebrates
• Open Championship weather: Temperature, more for Royal Liverpool on Sunday

Spieth said immediately after winning The Master’s that he was already looking forward to coming back to win another next year. The kid is lazar-focused on one thing and one thing only—complete and utter domination.

That was apparent this week. Every time he hit a great shot, he still admonished himself for not making it more perfect. When he finally tapped in on the 72^nd hole to tie Tiger Woods’ Master’s record 270 (-18), the look on Spieth’s face revealed a 21-year-old as relieved as he was happy.

It may have been because he had the likes of Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose in his rearview —as well as Rory McIlroy and some guy named Tiger.

Yet as great as each of them played, especially Rose and Mickelson—who tied at 274 (-14), which most years would have won or at least tied the dang thing—nobody really ever challenged Spieth. The closest anyone got Sunday was when Spieth was at -17 and Rose -14.

Even then, the difference felt catastrophic. It felt like Spieth was running away with the tournament. There wasn’t even a moment from about the time he teed off on the back nine on Thursday that it felt like anyone had an inkling of a chance to capture the green jacket except the impossibly mature-for-his-age Texan.

Just look at some of the impressive statistics that surround Spieth’s first major:

• Became the second youngest player to win The Master’s at 21 years, eight months
• Again, tied for the lowest 72-hole score at Augusta National—270 (-18)
• First player since 1976, Raymond Floyd, to lead after each round at The Master’s
• First player since 1984, Ben Crenshaw, to win The Master’s the year after finishing second
• His eight straight rounds of par or better at The Master’s to start his career is a new record
• Most birdies in a single Master’s event (28)
• Fifth American in last 100 years to win a major before he turned 22 (Woods, Tom Creavy, Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones the others)
• Became one of just three players since 1940 to record 3+ PGA Tour wins before age 22 (Woods & Sergio Garcia)
• Also, first player to ever get to -19 at The Master’s

And those are just the most notable milestones (all taken from ESPN Stats & Info).

But there are a few interesting notes regarding Spieth intentionally neglected in the above list. After all, weren’t we all captivated by Spieth’s dominance over the four days in Augusta, GA? What we’re curious about now is whether Spieth is in fact the next great one in golf.

And so we ask, What does Spieth’s win at The Master’s mean for his career?

Every time he hit a great shot, he still admonished himself for not making it more perfect.

In the immediate timeframe, it certainly means he will be the talk of golf—at least until The US Open tees off. But it also means for the next few days he’ll be the talk of all sports talk shows and nightly highlight shows.

Not only that, he’ll be asked to go on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and/or Jimmy Kimmel Live. He’ll probably be asked to do morning shows—such as Today and Good Morning America.

Looking further in advance, Spieth will be the defending champion here next year. He’ll get to choose the dining menu for the annual Champions Dinner, which will be held on the Tuesday night preceding next year’s tournament. And he’ll always have his green jacket hanging up in the Champions Locker Room where he’ll also be able to dress for next year’s (and subsequent year’s) event.

Speaking of that, he’ll always be invited back to Augusta to play The Master’s until he can no longer physically do it, because of his win this week.

But that’s not really what any of us are curious about, as true as all those things happen to be. None of those things are unique to Spieth. They are unique to winners at Augusta. But that’s a group of 49 gentlemen.

No, rather what we all want to know, what Jordan Spieth himself will have to answer many times over the coming week, weeks and months is this: Is Spieth the next big thing in golf — the next Tiger Woods?

Is it symbolic that Spieth tied the Master’s low round score with Tiger Woods—arguably the second best player in golf history?

The truth is that no one can possibly know the answer to either question. Everyone wants to compare Spieth to legends in other sports, but he just won his first major and has one green jacket. It’s hard to not get ahead of ourselves, but the reality is it’s far too early to say what Spieth will become.

That doesn’t mean we can’t be excited as golf fans for what the future may hold.

And history is on Spieth’s side:

But does that mean Spieth is going to become the next Tiger? Probably not, if we’re being honest.

First of all, we need to recognize, again, that Woods is by far the second best golfer ever. He dominated golf in a way that you might say even Jack Nicklaus did not, as he had Arnold Palmer as a legitimate second fiddle.

Sure Woods had Phil Mickelson biting at his heels, and for a brief stretch it seemed that Sergio Garcia could legitimately go toe-to-toe with Woods, but that of course never developed due to Garcia’s yips in majors.

But as great Mickelson was, and still is, he was never Woods’ equal (though you could fairly say that Mickelson is now the better player). And that is where the Woods comparisons should end. No golfer will ever dominate the game again the way Woods did from 1996 to 2009—2009 being a conservative marker for the backend of his dominance.

Instead, a far more likely scenario is that Spieth will join Rory McIlroy for the next decade-plus in a back-and-forth battle for No. 1 in the world. The truth is that battle has already begun. Youth is being served.

McIlroy has already won four majors, and he’s still just 25-years-old. This week he was attempting to earn the career Grand Slam. Only six men have ever accomplished that feat in the game (five in The Master’s era).

If McIlroy had won this week, he would have been the second youngest to ever earn the career Grand Slam. He still could be if he comes back next year to win his first green jacket.

Mickelson has only a US Open championship standing in his way to add to the list, though he will likely fade from the scene sometimes in the next couple seasons. His best is behind him, though he is still playing fabulous golf. There is no doubt he is one of the best to ever play the game.

But even if he does at some point in the next couple years capture the elusive US Open title, he will not be in the conversation of greatest player ever. Only two men in the Master’s era belong in that conversation—Nicklaus and Woods.

And isn’t that what we’re talking about when striking up comparisons with Woods? So if that’s the question, it needs to stop. Spieth is 21. He’s not the best golfer in the world — yet.

It’s a baby steps process for Spieth, as he first needs to overtake Rory McIlroy as the World No. 1 before he moves into the conversation that many are putting him in after his win at The Masters. That is the real question that must be answered — can Spieth take over McIlroy. Right now McIlroy and Spieth look like they could dominate the game. But to suggest one will dominate singlehandedly is ridiculous.

Ultimately it is good for golf that one will likely not eclipse the other in such a manner. As great as Woods was at the height of his dominance, golf lacked. If Woods was not playing in a tournament, common fan interest faded.

But if Spieth and McIlroy together are at the height of their games—combined with the occasional major run from someone such as Rickie Fowler or perhaps even Sergio Garcia—golf will be all the more exciting.

That duo will be great for the game of golf. Scratch that, that duo is great for the game of golf. They are now the two best players in the world. The ride over the next 10-15 years should be thrilling.