The Masters, if we’re lucky, is about to turn into the Jordan and Justin show

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2021 (1999 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is a tantalizing scenario that may play out at the Masters this weekend involving two longtime buddies with much in common in the world of golf.

No, we’re not talking about Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, both Southern Ontario natives, PGA Tour winners and Kent State University alumni. They’ve accorded themselves very well this week, and Canadian golf fans will surely be hoping one or both makes a charge on moving day, to which a tournament’s third round is often referred.

The golf world at large, however, will have its eyes squarely on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The 27-year-old stars, whose close friendship dates back to their junior golf days, sit tied for fourth and tied for sixth respectively through 36 holes. Spieth is two shots back of leader Justin Rose and Thomas is three behind. They are two of the best players to come along in the wake of Tiger Woods’s long run of dominance and, with Woods absent this week recovering from a much-publicized car wreck, a Spieth-Thomas duel on Sunday would be a dream scenario.

Spieth, especially, garners attention. The Texan is maybe golf’s most captivating male player since Woods. He won early and often and with a lot of magic. He made long putts, pulled off phenomenal recovery shots, and showed a Woods-like knack for prevailing under pressure, his 2016 Masters meltdown aside. That he struggled so mightily in recent years made him more relatable, and that he won last week in San Antonio put the spotlight on him again as Masters week began.

Thomas took longer to find his professional footing but now has more PGA Tour victories than Spieth — 14 to 12 — and is the higher-ranked player. This year’s Players champion has a swing that’s less prone to breakdowns than Spieth’s and he is more explosive too. He has just one major victory — the 2017 PGA Championship — while Spieth is that tournament away from completing the career grand slam.

What they haven’t really done, however, is battle tooth and nail for a tournament title. Not at the game’s highest level anyway. The only time they finished first and second on the PGA Tour was at the 2017 Dell Technologies Championship, a FedEx Cup playoff event near Boston. Thomas won by three shots over Spieth but they did not play in the final group on Sunday together. Spieth was in the penultimate pairing and never seriously threatened Thomas, who held onto a lead rather easily with a final-round 66.

In the four major championships they’ve captured between them there wasn’t one occasion where both were in contention. Thomas didn’t even play in the 2015 Masters and 2015 U.S. Open that Spieth won and he missed the cut when Spieth took the 2017 British Open. Then, when Thomas emerged victorious at the 2017 PGA, Spieth was well behind in a tie for 28th. In that sense, they’ve always been able to cheer for one another in person or from afar. But never have they been the impediment in the way of the other’s glory. It would be sensational if that unfolded this week.

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“You know, I’m just going to have to take it for what it is, and I can’t worry about what anybody else is doing,” Thomas said Friday, when asked not about Spieth but about the competition in general. “I know that I have confidence in myself, and I know that I’ve gotten it done at high levels and high stages before, but I’m going to have to beat a lot of good players to do it.”

The Masters has had many famous battles among superstars. Byron Nelson over Ben Hogan in a playoff in 1942. Arnold Palmer over Gary Player in 1962. Jack Nicklaus over Johnny Miller in 1975. Nicklaus, most famously, over Greg Norman and Tom Kite in 1986. Nick Faldo over Norman in 1996. Tiger Woods over David Duval and Phil Mickelson in 2001. Throw Woods’ win in 2019 in there too because among the players he edged by one shot were Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.

Neither Spieth nor Thomas are in the same company as Hogan, Snead, Palmer, Nicklaus, Faldo or Woods. They are, however, two of the game’s most popular players and two guys for whom golf fans cheer vociferously. They are both passionate players who evoke passion among onlookers. They are often brilliant but occasionally flawed. They are American, too, and that means something when it comes to media attention. Spieth and Thomas in the final group Sunday, a few shots clear of the field? It’s getting way ahead of ourselves, sure, but it’s possible given their current positions.

Aside from Rose there are no other major champions on the first page of the leaderboard at present. Quite frankly, Spieth and Thomas should be favoured to pull away. They are the players to watch. Nothing is guaranteed in golf, the hardest of games, but one of them is going to be there right to the end. Hopefully, for the sake of drama and entertainment, it’s both.

Jason Logan is the editor of SCOREGolf Magazine and is based in Toronto. He is a contributor to the Star’s Sports section. Follow him on Twitter: @jasonSCOREGolf