Jordan Spieth lost six shots on three holes at the 10th, 11th, and 12th holes at the Masters on Sunday.
Jordan Spieth is not the favorite to win the U.S. Open after his collapse at The Masters on Sunday. Sportsbooks gave Jordan Spieth 7:1 odds of successfully defending his US Open championship.
Jordan Spieth had a meltdown at the 2016 Masters of historical proportions, similar to Greg Norman’s collapse at the 1996 Masters. Jordan Spieth ran his lead to 5 strokes after four straight birdies beginning on the 6th hole Sunday.
Spieth’s Demise at Amen Corner
So-called “Amen Corner” proved to be his undoing, as it was for Greg Norman in the ’96 Masters tournament. Spieth bogied the 10th and 11th holes, which allowed the field to get within striking distance. On the 12th hole, he had a quadruple-bogey 7, which completed the disaster.
Jordan Spieth righted the ship with birdies on the 13th and 15th holes, but a bogey on the 17th meant he would not complete the comeback. He tied for second with Lee Westwood, as Danny Willet won the Masters to collect his first Major victory.
Jordan Spieth’s Young Career
Despite the loss, Jordan Spieth continues an impressive run of Major appearances in his young career. In the 3 Masters he’s entered, the 22-year old Spieth has finished 3rd, 1st, and 2nd. Few 40-year old golfers can claim to have had finishes of 1-2-3 at the Masters.
The defending champion spoke of his disappointment at losing in this manner. Spieth said, “It’s tough, really tough. We still have the confidence that we are a closing team, we can close. I have no doubt about that ability. It was just a very tough 30 minutes for me that I hopefully never experience again. Big picture, this one will hurt. It will take a while.”
Rory McIlroy a 11:2 Favorite US Open
Rory McIlroy is a 11:2 favorite to win the U.S. Open in June at Oakmont, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The sportsbooks certainly assume Jordan Spieth is going to have trouble recovering from such a crushing defeat in under 2 months. Golf is as much of a mental game as a physical one. Golfers have seen whole careers derail over the kind of loss Jordan Spieth had on Sunday, though most publications discount that the young 2-time Major winner is going to suffer long term effects.
McIlroy had his own disappointment over the weekend. Coming into Saturday, the 1-time Masters winner was only 1 stroke behind Jordan Spieth. McIlroy fired a 77 on Saturday to fall 5 shots off the pace and never challenged on Sunday.
McIlroy Had His Own Collapse at 2011 Masters
The favorite to win the 2016 US Open could tell Jordan Spieth a thing or two about collapses on the back nine on Sunday at the Masters. In 2011, at the age of 21, Rory McIlroy began the final day of the Masters with a 4-stroke lead. He struggled to maintain his lead on the front nine, but a collapse on the 10th hole led him to a round of 80 and a 15th place finish that year.
At the time, people wondered if the Northern Irish golfer would recover, having had such a bitter disappointment. 5 years later, he’s only won 4 Majors since that time. Over those 5 years, Rory McIlroy became a fan favorite, and in many ways was deemed the future of golf in the Post-Tiger Era. That was until Jordan Spieth had his amazing 2015 season — an even younger golfer with 2 Majors under his belt (and close calls in several others).
Charity Contributions
There’s another reason Rory McIlroy is popular with fans. Golf viewers get the idea McIlroy is a genuinely nice guy. While it’s hard to know while sitting at home watching through the TV screen, that is the perception of the fandom. One might not think such things would matter when it’s time to gamble, but betting often reflects personal preferences.
The Belfast Telegram provided further evidence that might be the truth recently, when they announced Rory McIlroy was #1 on the list of British celebrities who had donated money to charities in the past year. He has donated more than £1 million over the past calendar year.
Danny Willett Has 25:1 Odds
Danny Willett goes into the U.S. Open at Oakmont as a 25:1 bet to win his second major. In winning the Masters, he became the 1st Englishman to win since Nick Faldo won in 1996 and the first European since 1999 to win the Masters.
