Jordan Spieth admits Jason Day has 'separated himself' from the rest of the field
No one has been more dominant in the past year than Jason Day. Not Rory McIlroy. Not Jordan Spieth. In fact, no single athlete has had as much success as Day, who's won seven of his last 17 starts.
It wasn't long ago that Spieth was on a similar tear, winning both of the year's first two majors of 2015. Now, he's the one that's looking up at Day, who's built a comfortable lead as No. 1 in the world. And understandably, that irks Spieth.
"He's separated himself and that bothers me and it motivates me," Spieth told reporters at the AT&T Byron Nelson on Tuesday.
Spieth cites the fact that he could win the next two events and still not overtake Day for No. 1.
"He believes his game is better than anybody else's and he's on his game and so it is better than everyone else's," he said.
Spieth has come under some criticism for his missed cut at the Players Championship, which Day of course won with ease. His 2016 season as a whole has been somewhat of a struggle, with his collapse at the Masters being the main cog in that notion. So to keep out his doubters, Spieth took to Twitter to post a picture of him with sweet shades on.
At my parents looking through old pictures. These shades need to make it back in my life #blockinghaters pic.twitter.com/xvfEZPKIfZ
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) May 16, 2016
It's not just Day that Spieth's competing with. Sure, he's the only one ahead of him in the world rankings, but Rory McIlroy isn't going anywhere, nor is Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas or Bubba Watson.
"You know, I'm also motivated by what Rory McIlroy can do, what Phil Mickelson can do, these guys that have won 4 and Phil won 6 Majors, I think, that are currently still playing very solid golf," Spieth continued. "These guys who are legends now and future legends of the game. I can be inspired by all of them. Jason's most recent win is inspiring, too."
It will be interesting to see how Spieth rebounds from last week's disappointment this week at his hometown tournament. All eyes will be on him, to say the least, but that's been the case for the last year. He's used to it.
