Spieth wants his name to ‘go down in history’

Abu Dhabi: The tantalising prospect of world number one Jordan Spieth going head to head with his great rival Rory McIlroy is the biggest talking point at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which gets under way on Thursday.

On Wednesday, it even emerged that the titanic twosome had literally collided during a venture, which although fun and light-hearted, epitomised their shared competitive spirit.

Spieth, who is making his Middle Eastern debut at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, joined forces with his American compatriot Rickie Fowler in a GolfBoarding ‘Rider Cup’ race against McIlroy and the Swedish star Henrik Stenson.

GolfBoarding involves players riding across a golf course on boards powered by environmentally-friendly lithium-ion batteries and capable of reaching a speed of 10 miles an hour.

“It was actually quite competitive,” McIlroy, the world number three, told media at a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. “Actually, Jordan nearly took me out. We collided halfway down the fairway. Thankfully I didn’t fall off.”

Asked jokingly whether he had deliberately sought to “take out” the four-time major winner, Spieth quipped: “Well, he’s one very good player that I could have taken out of the field. But we were instructed to go through a pretty narrow gap and there was four of us on the GolfBoards.

“So Rickie and Henrik were out front and Rory and I were kind of going this way together and I kind of slowed down and bumped the back of his board. “Fortunately, his ankles stayed on the board, so that was nice.”

Sadly for those craving another incendiary rivalry of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson proportions, however, Spieth and McIlroy do not seem fixated on each other and are instead fully focused on adding to their myriad accomplishments.

Exhibiting maturity and pragmatism of a seasoned veteran, the 22-year-old Spieth eloquently expounded on his insatiable lust for success.

Asked whether his mindset had changed since becoming the game’s pre-eminent performer following his two major victories at the US Masters and US Open last year, Spieth said: “I think there are two ways of going forward with that. One is you can be satisfied and think about all the stuff you’ve done. Or two, you can look at what these guys who you’ve looked up to your whole life have accomplished more than you have, right.

“So look at Tiger, Phil — this is still our generation. Tiger, Phil, Rory, these guys that have done more in the game of golf than I have, and I want to strive to get to what they have done.

“I want my name to go down in history for as many things as it can. That’s where my mind is. I’m less satisfied with what’s happened and more hungry to try and keep it going.”

McIroy outlined a similarly single-minded approach, rejecting a suggestion that this week’s event was a chance for him to “lay down a marker” against Spieth, who began the year in scintillating fashion with an eight-shot victory at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

“I don’t play the game on markers at all,” the 26-year-old Ulsterman said. “I want to play my best, and I don’t have to just beat Jordan Spieth this week. I have to beat another 142 guys.

“I want to play well this week, and if that means laying down a marker to someone or to the rest of the field, then that’s great. But I just want to try to play my best and hopefully win this thing.

“I’ve had four runners-up [finishes] and I’ve been close a couple times. Hopefully I can change that this week.”

This year is, as the world number five Stenson remarked to Gulf News last week, “mammoth” for golf, with the sport making its debut at the Olympic Games and the biennial Ryder Cup between the United States and Europe taking place in September.

Spieth is hugely excited about both showpieces, particularly the prospect of being part of the Americans’ attempt to end the Europeans’ dominance of an event they have not lost since 2008.

“It’s a huge goal this year for me, and possibly at the very top of the list to try and get that win as a team. We are tired of hearing about changes that need to be made.

“We are tired of hearing about the past. And we’re ready to believe in kind of a younger. more hungry team going forward.

“It’s a different animal, the Ryder Cup, I honestly believe that. But we have a lot of momentum at this very point in time right now.

“It’s still a long time until Hazeltine, but if we can continue what we’ve been doing over this past kind of year in young American golf, we’re going to go in and get in that team room and be pretty excited about who is next to us.”

“That’s a question that really only would get me in trouble to actually answer,” Spieth added, when questioned about whether he would prefer to win an Olympic medal or a major title. “To be honest, I don’t know. It’s unsure, and it will be I think unsure for 10 to 20 years how significant a gold medal will be in golf.

“For me, the way I look at it right now, I look at them equal. Just because to say you won a gold medal for your country in the Olympics, some day you could go ahead and lie and say it was a triathlon or you could say it was whatever and seem like a real athlete.

“But if I had not won a major, I would probably still say a major. At this point I would argue that a gold medal would be very, very special.”

While Spieth was ambivalent about his goals, McIlroy was unequivocal.

“I think a major championship is the pinnacle of our sport,” the 26-year-old said. “I think I’ll be remembered for my major championships.

“So all I’ve dreamed of from a little kid is winning majors. I never dreamed of competing in the Olympics or winning an Olympic medal, so in my mind a major will always be more important.”

Spieth and McIlroy’s grandiose ambitions can wait, however.

The immediate future — Spieth and McIlroy will tee off in a group with Rickie Fowler at 7.40am on Thursday — is a capital collision which promises to electrify given the pair’s thunderous statements of intent.

Full name Jordan Alexander Spieth
Born July 27, 1993 (age 22) Dallas, Texas, US.
Height 6ft 1in (1.85m)
Weight 185lb (84kg; 13.2st)
Nationality American
Residence Dallas, Texas, US

College University of Texas (1.5 years)
Turned professional 2012
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 9

PGA Tour 7
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Other 1

Won: 2015

Won: 2015

T4: 2015

2nd: 2015

PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 2013
PGA Player of the Year 2015
PGA Tour Player of the Year 2015
PGA Tour leading money winner 2015
FedEx Cup Champion 2015
Vardon Trophy 2015
Byron Nelson Award 2015

Full name Rory McIlroy
Nicknames Rors, Wee-Mac
Born May 4, 1989 (age 26) Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland
Height 5ft 9in (1.75m)
Weight 11.6st (162lb; 74kg)
Nationality Northern Ireland
Residence Holywood, Northern Ireland and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Turned professional 2007
Current tour(s) European Tour, PGA Tour
Professional wins 19

PGA Tour 11
European Tour 12
Asian Tour 1
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Other 1

4th: 2015

Won: 2011

Won: 2014

Won: 2012, 2014

PGA Tour leading money winner 2012, 2014
PGA Player of the Year 2012, 2014
PGA Tour Player of the Year 2012, 2014
Vardon Trophy 2012, 2014
Byron Nelson Award 2012, 2014
European Tour Order of Merit winner 2012, 2014
European Tour Golfer of the Year 2012, 2014, 2015
Mark H. McCormack Award 2012, 2014, 2015