Big challenge for Jordan Spieth: Not reacting to golf's ups and downs

 

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) – Jordan Spieth has a green jacket, a U.S. Open trophy and an eye for photojournalism.

 

Spieth has been the toast of golf for much of the year with his bid for the Grand Slam and eventually joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to finish in the top four at all four of the majors. But after missing consecutive cuts, he couldn't help but notice one difference in the coverage.

 

Not through words, but photos.

 

The smile was replaced by a look of despair. The head was down. The body language was screaming a bad day on the golf course.

 

"It's actually amazing the amount of pictures photographers must take to get these crazy reactions that randomly you don't think anybody is around that you're giving and they capture it," he said. "It's not the most flattering of pictures that happen when you're not playing well."

 

As for the words? He doesn't read much, though he can sense how quickly fans can jump on and off a bandwagon. Spieth doesn't seem to mind, either, because he reacts that way to the sports he watches and "so why can't people be that way with me?"

 

Golf does seem to be fluid at the moment. Spieth and Rory McIlroy have traded the No. 1 ranking the last few weeks. Jason Day has won three of his last five tournaments, including a major. And then Rickie Fowler rallied to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

 

"Everyone has their opinions, and the hardest thing for me to do is not to react to that," he said. "Two weeks ago everyone said, `You're the best there is, you're the best in the world, you're awesome, man.' Not a bad thing said. And then Jason wins – `Jason is the best in the world, man, he's awesome.' ... Rickie wins and all of a sudden people are coming out of their igloos and they're saying, `Man, that's my guy. He's the best in the world.'

 

"You just need to keep your head down, stay focused and try and be the guy that people are talking about next week."

 

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