Smylie Kaufman has issued his verdict on the chances of Jordan Spieth contending at The Masters this week.
Spieth is one of those players you can always imagine finding form at the perfect time when he gets to Augusta National.
Of course, the Texan won once and finished second twice in his first three starts at the event. Overall, he has finished in the top 10 six times in 12 appearances.
And there have been some positive signs for the 32-year-old so far this year. While he is yet to register a top 10 on the PGA Tour, he has finished tied for 11th at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Valspar Championship, and 12th at the Genesis Invitational.
Smylie Kaufman expresses a concern about Jordan Spieth ahead of The Masters
With that, it would be no surprise if some were confident that Jordan Spieth may be about to register his first top 10 finish in a major since The Masters back in 2023.
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman explained what he believes it will take for Spieth to put himself in the mix following a disappointing week at the Valero Texas Open.
“Jordan’s putting at Valero was a concern, a big concern. He lost eight strokes putting, the worst putting in the field. But his iron game and his ball-striking has been so good. He’s such a good pitcher,” he said.
“I’m so interested to see how he plays this week, because if he finds something in the putting, and he gets on these quick greens that have more slope to them – Valero last week, soft greens, slow, cross grain, you’re playing wind on slow greens – this week it will be fast, heavily-breaking greens, that’s much more his speed. If the putter is better inside of eight feet, I think he might have a chance to contend just based off how he’s hit the golf ball.”
Jordan Spieth’s putting woes at the Valero Texas Open only tell part of the story
There have definitely been some encouraging signs for Spieth since he returned from the wrist surgery he underwent after his 2024 season had concluded.
He really became a solid driver of the golf ball during that time when his wrist was an issue. Meanwhile, few players have been more ruthless with the putter than Spieth was when he really burst onto the scene in the majors.
The good news is that Data Golf shows that Spieth has gained strokes with the putter in four of his last six starts on the PGA Tour.
He has also gained strokes with his approach play in his last five starts, with The Players Championship representing the high point so far this year.
Spieth’s putting was poor at the Valero Texas Open. Interestingly, it was his worst putting display since the same tournament four years ago, according to Data Golf.
That would suggest that he may not need to read too much into this past week.
The bigger concern would be that he followed that display at the Valero in 2022 by missing the cut for the first time ever at The Masters days later.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
