You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy™
The Masters.
It is the mother church of golf.
It’s green jackets and velvet greens.
It’s Amen Corner and Azaleas that only bloom for a few weeks in spring.
The Masters is caddies in white and Arnold Palmer still relevant and healthy.
The Masters is a tournament that makes non golfers look up from their scrap books and yard work.
The Masters is a yearly event that makes golf enthusiasts wet their pants not to mention their whistle.
Every year there is a new story that begins: “A tradition like no other.”
This year the story book has been about Jordan Spieth, a wunderkind with a driver, a putting savant.
The 21-year-old is only in his 2nd Masters and going into Sunday, he’s leading wire to wire.
According to a breathless Jim Nantz, the last wire to wire champ was Raymond Floyd, in 1976.
That’s almost 30 years ago.
That’s Masters Significance.
Wire to Wire.
Few people lead the Masters and win it, wire to wire.
That’s like the Titanic hitting the iceberg and still making it to port.
But Wire to Wire is what this Lone Star star did.
He’s 21 years old and has put on the glass slipper.
He’s the toast of the golfing world and has the Tiger by the tail.
Literally.
Many say he is the new Tiger Woods. He has that certain something that commands attention. He is bold and wise beyond his years.
It’s as if he is channeling the golfing prime of Arnold Palmer and Bobby Jones.
Standing over a 12 foot putt, he’s got the nerves of a nuclear power plant worker juggling plutonium.
Blasting it off the T he has the recoil of a bear trap.
All he does is win.
Unless you have an unhealthy addiction to golf, before Masters weekend, you might not have known Jordan Spieth.
After this weekend; you will.
The kid’s face is a Wheaties Box waiting to happen.
The kid is a meteor crashing into Butler’s Cabin.
With Tiger’s fall from grace, the golfing world has been clamoring for a phenom to rally around.
Rory McIlory has flirted with the role, but America wants an American star.
Will Jordan become a one name super star like Tiger?
Perhaps.
He’s got a ways to go, but the future is promising.
Jordan is calm where Tiger is bombastic.
Jordan is easy-going where Tiger is volatile.
Both are apt to pull a rabbit out of their golfing hat from anywhere on the course.
That’s what makes them magicians, worth watching worth rooting for.
Golf needs a hunky player with tight buns who attracts the ladies.
Golf needs a balls of steel links-lion who men waiting for the NFL draft want to root for.
When Tiger was TIGER, ratings swelled like a hyper sensitive kid and a jelly fish sting.
Galleries were boisterous like a Rugby team at a free keg party.
Golf needs a singular savior to bring it back.
Golf needs a brand name that transcends the greens and the golf channel highlight shows.
Tiger is a brand. For a decade he was golf.
Jordan Spieth?
He is steely eye and quiet. He is laser focused and determined. He is a western gun fighter glinting into the sunset and dropping a 15 footer over the edge.
But can he be the next Michael Jordan, the next Kolbe Bryant, the next Peyton Manning.
Could Jordan Spieth be that rising star where a 1st name is all you need?
He’s 21 years old. He’s wearing a green jacket today. He’s an athlete who happens to golf.
Is he the savior?
Is he a one name iconic brand that can rally a nation?
Battle lines are drawn. Time will tell.
Life’s Crazy™