Jordan Spieth loyalty to PGA Tour commended by Phil Mickelson
Wednesday 15 July 2015 19:53, UK
Phil Mickelson has praised Jordan Spieth's loyalty to the PGA Tour after the world No 2 honoured his commitment to play in the John Deere Classic and miss out on vital Open Championship practice.
Spieth is halfway towards a calendar grand slam following his wins at the Masters and US Open, but will arguably not have the ideal preparation for next week's 144th Open.
The Texan will only arrive in St Andrews on Monday morning on a charter flight and has played just once before on the Old Course.
Compatriots Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Jimmy Walker are all playing in the Scottish Open at Gullane this week, while Spieth contests the first PGA Tour title he won in 2013 in Illinois.
Spieth has been using a simulator in his Dallas home to gain some experience of playing the Old Course, but has insisted he gave little thought to changing his travel plans.
"I think it's incredibly loyal of him to do that," Mickelson said. "He's half my age, or less than half my age; he probably doesn't need time to get adjusted to the time change. And he's playing competitively the week before and his game should be sharp. So I can't comment on what he needs to do for him to play his best. Only he can do that."
Fowler also believes Spieth has already proved he can handle the time difference between Scotland and the United States.
"I believe that playing the week before or playing competitively leading up to a major is a good thing," said Fowler, who finished in the top five in all four majors last year.
"Being in a different time zone is tough. But I have seen him go back-to-back wins playing in Australia last year (winning the Australian Open) and coming to win Tiger's event in Florida the week after. So if he's playing well, I don't think it really matters how big of a travel it is.
"It's cool to see him stick to his commitments. When he comes over here, he'll be just fine. If he's playing well, he'll be tough to beat."
I believe that it's advantageous for me to try and win this week and to continue the momentum into the Open Championship
Spieth who became only the sixth player in history to win the first two majors of the calendar year will tee off alongside defending champion Brian Harman.
"I committed to this event well ahead of time, never really crossed my mind to drop out," the 21-year-old said. "The first year it was on the end of a four-week stretch going over there, and I just ran out of gas, and then last year I just didn't have my best stuff. I didn't even have my best stuff at the John Deere, just kind of got through it, and actually had a strong finish.
"So this year I believe that if I can work myself into contention, I don't think it matters where it is. As long as I can get myself in contention, find out how I'm performing, what kind of minor tweaks I need to do, if any, the first couple days at the Open Championship to get ready for the major, then that's the plan.
"I think this is good preparation for me to get good feels, to get in contention, and to find out what's on and what's off when I'm in contention. I'm here because I believe I can win this week. I believe that it's advantageous for me to try and win this week and to continue the momentum into the Open Championship."
Ryder Cup team-mate Fowler also believes Spieth has already proved he can handle the time difference between Scotland and the United States.
"I believe that playing the week before or playing competitively leading up to a major is a good thing," said Fowler, who finished in the top five in all four majors last year.
"Being in a different time zone is tough. But I have seen him go back-to-back wins playing in Australia last year (winning the Australian Open) and coming to win Tiger's event in Florida the week after. So if he's playing well, I don't think it really matters how big of a travel it is.
"It's cool to see him stick to his commitments. When he comes over here, he'll be just fine. If he's playing well, he'll be tough to beat."
Watch the John Deere Classic on the red button on Sky Sports 4 from 21.00 on Thursday
