Jordan Spieth Pulled Off Golf’s Best ‘Up and Down’ of the Season and Cracked the $50 Million Barrier
When Jordan Spieth’s performance fell off from 10 victories over three seasons to none in the next three, he at least was able to point to making the cut at The Masters Tournament every year.
He got back into the win column early last year and also returned to the top 10 on the money list. Still, other than second place at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two months ago, this season was shaping up as a disappointment. Spieth even missed the cut at The Masters for the first time in his career.
Just a week later, the season is turning positive.
Jordan Spieth’s up-and-down year is looking up again
The golf expression “up and down” refers to getting from the greenside rough or bunker to the hole in two strokes or less, effectively salvaging the hole after a wayward approach shot.
It’s also somewhat of a description of Jordan Spieth’s past two weeks on the PGA Tour. Spieth was second at the AT&T Pebble Beach in February, but the rest of the season had been mediocre at best with no other showings in the top 20 and a missed cut at The Players Championship.
When Spieth went 74-76-MC at The Masters, he looked as though he might be destined for the sort of lost season that saw him drop from second on the 2017 money list to 32nd, 51st, and 78th the next three years before fighting back to sixth last season.
On Sunday, though, Spieth pulled off quite the up and down by beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff at the RBC Heritage for his 13th career victory.
Jordan Spieth eclipsed the $50 million mark in earnings
His playoff victory at the RBC Heritage gave Jordan Spieth the unusual distinction of winning on Easter Sunday for the second year in a row. In 2021, he won the Valero Texas Open by two shots over Charley Hoffman.
The latest victory earned Spieth $1.44 million, pushing him to a milestone. That’s because the check lifted him past $50 million for his career. At $50,578,855, Spieth is 11th in earnings, according to Golf Digest.
Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods leads the all-time money list at $120,895,206. Next up are Phil Mickelson ($94,955,060) and Dustin Johnson ($74,256,508). Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh round out the top five at a little more than $71 million apiece.
Spieth, who is still just 28 even though it seems like he’s been around long enough to be in his mid-30s, sits about $3.85 million behind Sergio Garcia to climb into the top 10.
Quite the rally from a dismal Saturday finish
Jordan Spieth entered the final round three shots off the lead despite shooting a 68 on Saturday. That round ended on a frustrating note as Spieth continued season-long putting woes by lipping out an 18-inch putt at No. 18 on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
“I won this golf tournament without a putter,” he said following the playoff victory the following day.
However, he did convert a 10-foot birdie putt at the final hole on Sunday to shoot a 5-under 66 at Harbour Town Golf Links.
“I was about as upset after the round yesterday as I’ve ever been in a golf tournament,” he said, according to Golfweek. “There’s just no excuse for those kind of brain farts as a professional to myself, but also to Michael, who’s working his butt off, to go out there and do that that could potentially affect the outcome of a tournament.”
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