It has been a thrill ride for Greller. On the day we spoke, Greller, with a rare day at home in University Place before returning to the PGA TOUR’s enormous grind, received in the mail a hard-bound, personalized copy of the official commemorative book of the 2013 Presidents Cup, in which Spieth competed last fall.
“There’s a picture in there of me watching Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) playing ping pong,” he says. “And pictures of all the team stuff we did off the course. I was flipping through it, looking at all the pictures and thinking, ‘Is that really me?’”
Spieth, who turns 21 in July, won his first tournament last year at the John Deere. He had nine top-10 finishes in 2013 and was a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup. In addition to placing second in this year’s Masters, he was in contention throughout The Players Championship, and in television promos before the U.S. Open, Spieth was mentioned alongside Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. That’s how improbable, and rapid, his rise has been.
Still, there have been the inevitable unfair criticisms and unreachable expectations put on him by many of the golf pundits. Why all the second-place finishes? Why can’t Spieth break through? How great is he, really? Will he be the next Hogan? The next Jack? The next Tiger?
Let’s step back and remember: JORDAN SPIETH IS ONLY TURNING 21 IN JULY! He has gone from playing the Web.com Tour, to being labeled “The Next Tiger” in all of about 20 months.
“What excites me is that Jordan is only 20,” Greller says, “and how talented he is and how many years he has ahead of him to improve upon that talent. You hear critics say that he’s only won once and he’s never won a major, but you look at how young he is and how talented he is and if you really look at it, we’re still playing with house money here. Because he is so young, right now I feel like we have nothing to lose.
“You have to remember that Jordan’s been around the highest level of golf in each stage of his life,” he continues. “And the team around Jordan has been in place for quite a while. His swing coach, his trainer, his family, his immediate friends. When you look at what he’s accomplished already, he still has a very good perspective on all of this.”