Jordan Spieth Adds Another Chapter in Golf's Best Comeback Story This Season

Jordan Spieth ran out of gas on the first nine Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Having won the Valero Texas Open one week ago to snap his three-year winless streak, Spieth didn’t have enough in the tank to mount a comeback. He closed with a respectable final-round of 2-under 70 to share third place, but a sluggish start did him in.

“I’m tired,” Spieth conceded after the round. “I felt some mental fatigue for sure and made a couple bonehead mistakes over the weekend, just from, I think, maybe the long stretch.”

Spieth, the winner of the 2015 Masters, recorded his fifth top-3 finish at Augusta National and added another chapter in golf’s best comeback story this season. To hear Spieth tell it, there is work still to be done to retooling the golf swing that won three majors between 2015 and 2017.

“I’ve made a lot of good progress, but I feel like that road ahead is still significant for me,” he said.

How far off is open to debate as Spieth led the field in greens in regulation, hitting 56 of 72 greens. Despite a couple of chip ins during the tournament, Spieth only got up and down eight times, and mentioned a poor chip at the eighth hole Sunday that left him a 17-foot birdie putt as the only shot on the front nine that stuck in his craw.

“I wish that I had the control of my swing that I hope is coming or I think is coming soon because it would have made things a little easier this week,” Spieth said. “Structurally, it’s still not matching up where I want it to, and I feel like I’m doing a significant movement to try and get there. I still have a little bit of the old tendencies, but I get it in a better striking position, with the wrists in a better place, the club face and the shaft plane in a much better place, which is why I’m able to come out and contend.”

Photos From the 2021 Masters

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States lines up a putt on the 13th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States reacts to his birdie on the tenth green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States looks over a putt on the tenth green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the second hole during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States walks up the first fairway with caddie Michael Greller during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Jordan Spieth of the United States walks off the 18th green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Jordan Spieth of the United States looks over a putt with his caddie, Michael Greller, on the 12th green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Jordan Spieth of the United States fist bumps his caddie, Michael Greller, after chipping in for birdie on the tenth hole during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Jordan Spieth of the United States lines up a putt on the sixth green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Jordan Spieth of the United States laughs with his caddie, Michael Greller, on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Jordan Spieth of the United States looks on from the 16th green during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Jordan Spieth of the United States and his caddie Michael Greller line up a putt on the 13th green during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Jordan Spieth of the United States reacts to his birdie on the second green during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the first hole during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States walks across the 17th green during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Cameron Smith of Australia, Collin Morikawa of the United States and Jordan Spieth of the United States look over their putts on the 15th green during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the 13th hole during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States lines up a putt on the third green during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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  Masters champion Jordan Spieth warms up on the Tournament Practice Facility during Practice Round 3 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 07: Justin Thomas of the United States and Jordan Spieth of the United States laugh on the eighth green during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  Masters champion Jordan Spieth plays a stroke from the No. 18 tee during Practice Round 2 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 06: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  Masters champion Jordan Spieth on No. 17 green during Practice Round 2 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 06: Jordan Spieth of the United States talks to Dustin Johnson of the United States on the range during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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  AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 05: Jordan Spieth of the United States talks with his caddie Michael Greller during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 05, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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  Jordan Spieth, during a press conference at Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, April 5, 2021.