New York: Having surpassed his own expectations by some distance on the 2014-15 PGA Tour, newly anointed Player of the Year Jordan Spieth is not yet sure what his goals will be as he prepares for next season.
Five victories, including two at the majors, highlighted a remarkable campaign for the American world number one and the only clear part of how he will try to build on that success next year will hinge on golf’s four blue riband events.
“It’s hard for me to tell,” Spieth, 22, told reporters on a conference call on Friday when asked what his expectations would be for 2016 after being voted the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year.
“I imagine that the goal will be to win a major, and if not accomplished it will be hopefully a great year away from those, or at least have a lot of close calls. But that’s obviously going to be the primary focus. That’s the highest point in golf.
“That’s what we all know is recognised and what creates kind of legacies going forward ... has the biggest impact on the game. [My goals] will obviously be around majors, but I don’t know exactly what it will consist of yet.” Spieth conceded that his objectives for the 2014-15 PGA Tour season had been specific, but fell well short of how his banner campaign eventually panned out.
“We had great years in ‘13 and ‘14 but still nothing was necessarily pointing to two majors, some more wins and Player of the Year,” said the American, who had triumphed only once on the PGA Tour before the 2014-15 season.
“My goals were to try to win two to three times on the Tour this year, as well as compete and be in contention in at least two majors, make the cut in all four ... and make the Presidents Cup.
“It was a season to remember ... and as far as major championships go, it very much exceeded expectations.” Spieth won the first two majors of 2015 — the Masters and US. Open — and came close to recording the first ever calendar grand slam of the four professional majors, his worst finish a tie for fourth at the British Open.
He ended the PGA Tour season with record earnings of $12,030,465, eclipsing the previous mark of $10,905,166 established by Vijay Singh in 2004.
Asked to sum up his campaign in one word, Spieth replied: “I’d probably say adventurous. It was incredible there in the spring ... on and off the course the craziness that comes with what happened after Augusta [permanent venue for the Masters].
“You can’t go into a restaurant without taking pictures. Stuff that you didn’t have happen necessarily before, just being recognised in the non-golf community ... is kind of the adjustment.
“So I’d say it was adventurous on and off the course. It’s going to continue to be adventurous.”
Meanwhile, Jim Furyk withdrew from the United States team for the upcoming Presidents Cup in South Korea on Friday citing an ongoing wrist injury.
Furyk, one of the most experienced members of the US team who would have been playing in his eighth Presidents Cup, has been replaced by J.B. Holmes who only narrowly missed out on an automatic place in the team.
Furyk will still travel to Korea however as a fourth assistant to US captain Jay Haas, working alongside Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Steve Stricker.
