Johnson Wagner has said that he has already seen enough to believe that Jordan Spieth will be in the mix at The Masters next month.
Regardless of the form Spieth is in, he is always someone to watch out for at Augusta National. He did not finish outside the top two across his first three starts at The Masters, winning in 2015.
Obviously, the last few years have not seen the Texan at his best. It is rapidly approaching four years since his most recent win on the PGA Tour.
Nevertheless, Johnson Wagner is confident that Spieth’s name will be prominent on Augusta National’s iconic leaderboards in a couple of weeks.
Johnson Wagner assesses Jordan Spieth’s form heading into The Masters
Spieth is yet to finish inside the top 10 on the PGA Tour this season. He has, however, registered two 11th place finishes, while he was 12th at the Genesis Invitational.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Wagner was asked about what he wanted to see from the 32-year-old at the Valero Texas Open before he tipped Spieth to contend at The Masters.
It turns out that Wagner does not need too much convincing.
“When you think about certain players, certain venues, the current form doesn’t really matter. When you think about Augusta, Jordan Spieth has gone in with varying differences in form and competed really well there. I think we’re seeing exactly what we need to see out of Jordan,” he said.
“He’s been consistent, he’s been better off the tee, his iron play’s been good. I don’t think we’re seeing the big foul balls. If you’re looking ahead to next week at Valero Texas Open, it really punishes foul balls, but also rewards short game and imagination. So I just want to see him make the cut, be there, be great to see him get in contention, but I don’t necessarily need to see Jordan Spieth in the final couple of groups on Sunday to be bullish on him going into Augusta.
“I think he’s ready. Clearly, his wrist feels a lot better than it did last year at this time. He’s really comfortable with his swing, and not seeing these crazy rehearsals that we’re used to seeing out of him. I think finally he’s comfortable in what he’s working on, and I think he’s playing with a clear mind.”
We are firmly on the road that leads to Magnolia Lane. The Florida swing on the PGA Tour is in the books, with the likes of Cameron Young and Matthew Fitzpatrick among the players to win during the run.
Wagner was asked to grade Spieth’s performances throughout the Florida swing. He suggested that there were plenty of promising signs from the three-time major champion.
“It’s funny the way we rank these guys. I’m basically grading them on themselves. I’m going to give Jordan a B+,” he said.
“If it was Scottie [Scheffler] with those results, it would probably be lower. But I’m going to give Jordan a B+, I’m happy with where he’s at. I’m such a fan of his. We’re seeing consistency, that’s important to me.”
Wagner predicts where Spieth will be before the final round at Augusta National
Spieth has finished inside the top five in exactly half of his starts at The Masters, most recently back in 2023 when he played a brilliant final round to finish tied for fourth.
He has also missed the cut at Augusta National in two of his last four starts at the event. That cannot be discounted when predicting how Spieth is likely to perform next month.
But Wagner is clearly confident that Spieth is going to register yet another superb finish this time around.
“I think he’s always going to be in my top five [power rankings] leading into Augusta, and I’ve seen everything I need to see out of him to be somewhat confident to put him in my top five,” he said.
“His form almost doesn’t matter. I am very happy with where Jordan is. He’s going to be there come Sunday at Augusta, whether somebody’s running away with it, I don’t know. But Jordan’s going to be in that top 10 going into the final round at Augusta.”
With so many elite players finding form at a similar time heading into The Masters, it is going to be incredibly difficult for Spieth to secure his second Green Jacket this year.
However, it says a lot that no one should be truly surprised if Wagner’s prediction proves to be spot on.
