Jordan Spieth will never get over his Masters collapse

Spieth will be looking to bounce back at the US Open in June

Davis Love III could sympathise when watching world number two Jordan Spieth collapse on the back-nine of the Masters. Love knows exactly what it feels like to fall at the final hurdle of a major. He had a putt on the final hole to win the 1995 US Open at Oakland Hills, but things didn’t go to plan. 

“Every time I see something like that I think back to the 1995 US Open when I had a putt to win, then I had a putt to get in the play-off, and I made the putt to not be in the play-off,” said Love, whose three-putt that day handed victory to Steve Jones. 

“I bogeyed the last two holes when I could have won the US Open,” added the 2016 Ryder Cup captain. “You never forget it – maybe you’re not going to have another chance.”

Love did get another chance, at the 1997 PGA Championship, and took it, shooting rounds of 66, 71, 66, 66 to win by five shots and secure his only major victory. 

At just 22, Spieth already has two major wins under his belt, and Love believes he’ll add plenty more to that total. 

“At 22, you’re going to have a lot more chances, so I’m sure he’s looking at it differently, but it doesn’t matter if he wins five Masters and five of every other major and breaks Jack’s record, he’s still going to look back and say, ‘I could have won that one’.”

Love will be hoping that Spieth is back on top form at Hazeltine this September, as his Team USA look to avoid a fourth straight Ryder Cup defeat. 

“He’ll never get over it, but he got a lot out of his game last week, that’s the way I look at it,” said Love. “He survived without his ‘A’ game and he almost won the golf tournament. I was really impressed with the way he played not really having it, and then the way he handled himself afterwards. It’s hard, but I think he will learn a lot from it.”