Just a few years ago, Jordan Spieth was considered the best golfer on planet earth. Spieth won 11 PGA Tour events and three majors in the first few years of his professional career. He also rose to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2015. Many wondered if Spieth was the heir to Tiger Woods’ throne, but the young phenom fell off a cliff in the last few years.

Spieth hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2017, and he hasn’t been very close either. The Texan returns to one of his favorite courses this weekend after a lengthy time off. His performance in the upcoming Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial CC will tell us a lot about where Spieth stands in the golf world.

Jordan Spieth’s incredible run of 10 wins in 3 years

During the prime of his career, Jordan Spieth couldn’t be beaten. If he played his best golf throughout any particular weekend, he was going to win. There was no way around it.

Spieth was the most dominant golfer on the PGA Tour from 2015-2017, notching 10 wins in the three-year span. He also won three majors, and he should’ve won a fourth if not for a back-nine meltdown at The Masters in 2016.

During that three-year span, Spieth placed in the top-10 in over 50 percent of the tournaments he played. It was an incredible display of consistency and clutch moments down the stretch, but his play has tailed off dramatically in recent years.

Jordan Spieth’s fall from No. 1 to No. 56

Spieth grabbed the No. 1 spot in the OWGR in 2015, and he stayed inside the top five for the next three years. However, the next few seasons didn’t bring as much success for the budding superstar.

Spieth failed to win an event in 2018 and 2019, and he fell to No. 44 in the world at the end of last season. He only notched four top-10 finishes last year in 23 events played.

So far in the 2020 season, Spieth has played eight events. He only missed one cut, but he has more finishes outside the top 50 than inside the top 20. Spieth finished T-59 and T-58 in the last two tournaments before the PGA Tour went on hiatus.

Spieth is now ranked No. 56 in the world. Names ahead of him include Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Scottie Scheffler, and Shugo Imahira.

Spieth can get back to his winning ways at Colonial CC

If there was a course Spieth could’ve specifically picked to return to, it would be Colonial CC in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas native is more familiar with the track than maybe any course on Tour.

Spieth has an incredible track record at Colonial. In seven starts, Spieth has five top-10s, two second-place finishes, and a win. He’s never shot worse than -5 over four rounds at Colonial in his career. Last season, Spieth had one of his best finishes at the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge. He shot 65 in the first round and finished eighth in the tournament.

There’s no excuse for Spieth not to show up this weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge. It’s in his home state at a course he historically dominates. He’s also had three months to focus on his swing and drown out the failures of the past few seasons.

Spieth is only 26, so he has plenty of time to find his groove again and return to the winner’s circle. Maybe Spieth will prove his 2015-2017 self never left.

But maybe this is just who Jordan Spieth is now — an average golfer on the PGA Tour.

All stats courtesy of PGA Tour