I watched just about every single round he played last season, all of the rounds he played in the majors back in 2015 for sure. And not once did he even offer a hint of being a slow player back then.

But this year is totally different. Not sure what it is - I know that when guys are fighting their swings and they don't know where it's going - they slow down and try to analyze and rehearse what they think is correct. His swing wasn't that great this week, he made some bad swings that had absolutely nothing to do with the wind (although the wind obviously didn't help). But on Sunday - no wind - the same deal, back off, regroup, address, back off, wipe off the grip, throw a few tufts of grass in the air to confirm that there is no wind, regroup, address.

I mean - I've seen guys with full-swing yips take less time.

He's gotta get out of that habit. It's destroying the flow of his game, and he's giving himself entirely too much to think about.

    pike51

    +1---he used to get too fast when he was in contention. Now it's too slow. Maybe he will figure it out soon.

      PA-PLAYA

      He's over analyzing his shots now....consequence of more on the line and struggling with his game. Needs to revert back to just playing golf.

          Ringoblack

          Yes, absolutely. But here's what I don't get. You've got a 2 or 3 shot lead, you've got two very reachable par5's coming up. Why on earth would you not take a moment of pause, consider the situation, understand the significance of making a simple 2-putt par there, and get your head screwed back on straight?

          Up until that point and time in the tournament - he was obsessing over every little detail. But the very moment that he needed to slow things down long enough to rationalize that situation, to process exactly what he needed to do - he just rushes right in and takes on that pin. I mean - Jordan - you've dotted every i and crossed every t up until that point, and despite it taking forever - you're still doing okay. But then you just get up there and fire away, with no thought about where that ball might go if you don't catch it perfectly?

          And to do that again, three minutes later, another ball in the same hazard? It took him 5 additional strokes to play that hole after the first ball found the water. He made a double bogey with this second ball! What happens if he drops, puts that third ball on the green, 2-putts for a double? He's in a playoff at the very least, probably wins the damned thing because he's not so shell-shocked going into the last hour of play.

          Yeah, it's easy to see that after the fact, sitting in my recliner... but I would think that the kid has watched enough Masters reruns, read up on the tournament history enough, to know that you don't play for birdie there on Sunday with the lead!

          I just didn't get it. I don't get the paralysis by analysis, and then suddenly just not giving any thought whatsoever on a little hole with such a notorious history in dealing with greedy players who have the lead on Sunday!

          To get bitten by that snake once is bad. Twice? That's unforgivable.

              Whatever the case, in the last 3 years at The Masters he has finished T2, 1, T2. Also with his win in 2015, he ties the all-time scoring record. Oh yeah, in 2015 He also won the US Open and T4 at the British open and 2 at the PGA.

              I can give him a pass for today without being too critical. He is smart and he will learn.

                brsmith

                Yeah. I thought he managed things very well at the end, very genuine responses in the post-round, and I think he has the perspective to put this behind him.

                I do, however, think he needs to put in a little work to get his swing back in better form. He doesn't have to be perfect, but I do believe he needs to address that chicken-wing that isn't exactly helping that blocked shot that comes up short and right. He'll figure it out. It's not like he needs a swing overhaul.

                  I honestly think that Karma came up and bit him in the ass on 12 yesterday for all of this shananigans and slow play. You screw with the golf gods long enough and they will bite you in the ass. So instead of the green coats dishing out a few penalty strokes, the golf gods took care of it for us.

                  This game is never easy, never fair, and never without controversy. But the one thing you can count on are bad swings, bad lies, and bad weather. It's how you handle bad luck that makes or breaks you as a champion. Maybe the kid was unconscious until the end of last year, and maybe now that he isn't hoisting trophies on a regular basis that doubt has crept in. Whatever it is, Jordan Spieth is allowing Jedi mind tricks to fuck with his head.

                  Wasn't it Lee Trevino that coined the phrase, "golf is 90% mental, and the other 10% is between your ears."

                  Karma baby. Willett didn't really win the Masters, Spieth mentally choked it away.

                  I have said it too many times, the kid is good, but he relies on making obscene putts to win because his wedge game sucks. Call it what you will, but he finally proved it to the world on 12. He's nowhere near the player Woods was when he was dominating and this slow play makes it damn near unbearable to watch.

                    DC300 because his wedge game sucks.

                    I don't recall the last guy to hit from so far back after dunking one in the water there.
                    I think that was a mental error as well.

                      Like I mentioned earlier, none of these guys can think for themselves....the caddy probably didn't tell him where to drop the ball so how would Jordan know?....idiot.

                        DC300 because his wedge game sucks.

                        After sitting on the range at Augusta last Monday and specifically watching Jordan Spieth practice, I would disagree with this assessment. These pros are not out there if their wedge game sucks. If anything I seem to recall Spieth chipping in from a bunker or two to win a few tournaments.

                        But I will assume here that you are saying this in relative terms, comparing him to other PGA Tour pros?

                        For example, Charl Schwartzel was a robot with laser like accuracy from 75, 150, and 200 yards, hitting a target no more than a yard wide in circumference around the target every time, but Charl did the old fashioned trunk slam Friday afternoon in missing the cut.

                        I guess my point being that major tournament golf will expose even the smallest flaw in even the best players game. I lost count of the number of pros who would stick practice shots that were beyond accurate and amazing from multiple distances on multiple holes. The skill level is otherworldly, and I even remarked to my brother, that compared to these guys, my golf game is a complete joke. Even as a 6 handicap, these guys are all at a skill level that I don't even understand or can't comprehend. If you are on the PGA Tour, you even make the top 1% of all golfers look bad. That's how good the top 125 in the world are.

                            Typhoon

                            Jordan said after the round he wanted a distance where it would hit and stop and 80 yards was the number. That is why he dropped where he did. The distance determination was his.
                            If he had hit it any worse, he wouldn't have even made the creek.......a layup from 80 yards.
                            I laid up to a waste area last year from 125, with room to spare, using a 7 wood. Oooooops.

                              brsmith he's going to be bust saying, "But I'm not Greg Norman" for a while. Didn't think he had a meltdown in him.

                                  I wonder if this thread would exist if he won the tournament?

                                    PIGDivot

                                    I play a lot of tournament golf, as a 3 handicapper at my club. I only point that out, not to boast or pat myself on the back, but to convey that even though I might occasionally be critical of how a player on tv behaves or carries himself, or how I might occasionally offer a very biased opinion on a strategy-based play that has me thinking in terms of "what on earth was he thinking!" - I tend to bite my tongue when it comes to the actual nuts-and-bolts of the execution part.

                                    Although I can't relate to that degree of pressure at that level, I know that pressure pretty damned well at my level, on much shorter, simpler course layouts; against players that haven't won 2 majors or made a cut in a pro event back when they were just getting their driving permits. People are free to express their own opinions, all of us at some point or another love to Monday Morning Quarterback. But I don't make much of a habit grilling a guy for succumbing to a degree of pressure that I personally couldn't even begin to fathom.

                                    I reckon I'm just not that qualified to be the guy who pretends to know how easy the game is at that level.

                                    As far as his pace of play and this sudden knack for being overly analytical - that is all fair game, he's earned the grief that comes with being put on the clock two days in a row and being told to pick up his pace. He most certainly needs to get out of this phase before he becomes the poster boy for the 6-hour round.