Johnson Wagner has commented on Jordan Spieth’s chances of winning the PGA Championship and completing the Career Grand Slam this week at Aronimink after his good start to the second major of the year.
Spieth opened his tournament up with a one under par round of 69 in Philadelphia. He made four birdies and three bogeys to leave himself in a tie for 15th after Thursday.
Of course, Spieth is once again chasing history this week. The Texan has been a PGA Championship triumph away from completing the Career Grand Slam ever since 2017.
What has shocked Johnson Wagner about Jordan Spieth’s performance at the PGA Championship
Johnson Wagner believes that Spieth’s chances largely hinge on one club in particular.
Speaking on Scorecard on CBS, Wagner claimed that he cannot quite believe just how poor Spieth is on shorter putts given the strengths within his game.
“He gave us a lot of hope. This is the club right here [the putter] that he needs to get going. If he’s going to win majors again, we need to see 2015 Jordan Spieth on the greens,” he said.
“It’s shocking to me how good he is, how much touch he has from long range, but struggles with those short ones. Does he look at the hole? Does he not look at the hole?”
Johnson Wagner assesses Jordan Spieth’s chances of winning the PGA Championship
Spieth actually gained 0.41 shots on the putting surfaces on Thursday, according to Data Golf. Nevertheless, as Wagner notes, there was a time when it seemed impossible for Spieth to miss any putt inside of 10 feet.
He is 89th on the PGA Tour in that category so far this season. And of course, he is still awaiting his first top 10 of the year despite coming close on a number of occasions.
So perhaps that is why Wagner is not yet convinced that Spieth is going to be the man to lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening.
“With the rain we had overnight, we’re not going to see the greens as soft as them. They’re only going to firm up. The wind this afternoon, you can already see them get more bouncy, especially 17 downwind. But I’m a three [out of 10] on the excitement level. Hey, I love Jordan Spieth, I love you Jordan Spieth. But I’m going to take it day by day, because I don’t want to be let down,” he said.
It would certainly be very good for the game if Spieth could win another major. He is clearly not the same player that he was just over a decade ago when he looked destined to challenge every record in the book.
But it will do his confidence the world of good if he can end his four-year wait for another win.
If that victory comes at a major championship, Spieth will surely be optimistic that there could yet be many more to come.
