19th Hole

Jordan Spieth rates his season and says this part of his game will be a lot better next season

Published

4 years ago

Aug 29, 2022

Jason Daniels

Jordan Spieth was once one of the best putters on the PGA Tour.

Related: US Amateur winner explains reasons for slow play following stinging criticism

From 2014 to 2017 he was constantly in the top 50 on tour, plenty good enough if you have the tee-to-green game of a world No. 1. Indeed, the affable 29-year-old was a permanent fixture of the world’s top 10 until late in the 2018 season, regarded as making up-and-downs that nobody (bar Tiger Woods) ever had the temerity to do before in the modern game.

Related: Tour issues memo to players after TV coverage was pulled due to ‘excessive swearing’

Witness Spieth’s first victory, a playoff win at the 2013 John Deere — against event stalwart Zach Johnson and David Hearn — when a holed bunker shot on the 72nd gave notice of the short-game to come.

Yet, as is golf, as it came, it went, and Spieth ended 2020 and 2022 outside of the top-100 in strokes-gained-putting, with this latest season his worst performance yet, 153rd in the stats table.

Jordan is unique, though. Never scared of saying what he thinks, a perfect subject for the on-course mic, he told Golf Digest that his effort this year rates, “Probably like a 7.5.”

The good news is that he fully admits the issue and is confident of turning it around for the new season that starts in a couple of weeks’ time.

It’s not been a terrible year, certainly improved from the barren seasons of 2018 to 2020, when his world ranking dipped from second to 80. His victories at the Texas Open and RBC Heritage were the impetus for a spell back inside the world top-10, and finished T13 over the weekend at the Tour Championship.

Still, expect better next season.

“Going into next year, I should putt a lot better,” said the three-time major champion to Golf Digest after the third round at East Lake Golf Club. “I found some key stuff to work on in the offseason, and then continue to get better in the full swing as well.”

Golf experts have found Spieth experimenting with all kinds of methods throughout the year, requesting caddie Michael Greller to study AimPoint, tinkering with his pre-shot routine and swing, and even crediting his wife, Annie, for his latest victory at Harbour Town.

However, Spieth is happy with the way things are shaping up.

“I wish I was more consistent this year. I struck the ball better than last year and felt I putted better, too. I just felt like I couldn’t really get anything to go in this year. Kind of one of those years.”

On the thinking behind the future tweaks, he revealed:

“Yeah, a bit [technical] but really a lot of set-up stuff and the start of the stroke; for a while I was having to save it a bit and now I feel a lot better,” Spieth said. “I got really off in 2018, finished [123rd] in putting, was in top five the next year. But this [year] was different than the ’18 year. I felt way more comfortable, felt my stroke was a lot cleaner. Some tournaments, you get the ball going in from the beginning and I didn’t seem to get many of those.”

Whilst the 2022 major season was a single top-10 better than two years ago, it wasn’t up to the Spieth standard, missing the cut at Augusta for the first time in nine career starts.

“I normally judge it [the season] off majors, and this was my worst majors season by far,” the three-time major winner said. “It was just weird.… I felt everything was in place, but I just didn’t score well.”

It was certainly strange for Spieth fans and golf viewers alike, but expect a return to the norm in the 2022-2023 wraparound season, and certainly as we approach the first of those “Big Four.”

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”