On the face of it, it appears as if Jordan Spieth’s issues this season are entirely down to his trusty putter having turned cold in 2018. That has been the consensus, and up until a few weeks ago, it would have been difficult to argue otherwise. Since then, Spieth has suffered his worst run to date this year, with two missed cuts and a disappointing T42 at last week’s Travelers Championship. However, it’s within these past three weeks that have revealed the most about the state of Spieth’s game and mind at the moment.

Spieth, who ranks 179th for Strokes Gained-Putting this season, has had to deal with constant questioning from the media this year regarding his poor performance on the greens. The Texan’s most devastating club throughout his young career had always been the flat stick, and it has suddenly betrayed him. However, Spieth’s putting has been excellent in the past three weeks. The 24-year-old has gained strokes with the putter in all of his last three events with a deadly combined total of 8.4 strokes gained in this category. Spieth’s upturn in recent weeks with the putter has gone unnoticed, as his long game, which has been hailed all season long, has crumbled in the same period. Spieth sits 13th for Strokes Gained-Tee to Green this season, however, in the past three events he has lost a combined 9.6 strokes to the field.

Meanwhile, another man who has suffered similar volatile changing in fortunes with certain parts of his game this year is none other than Tiger Woods. First, it was his driver holding him back, then his putter, and then at Shinnecock Hills Woods’ irons didn’t fire. Despite the frustration, there is a confidence that borders on certainty among the minds of the golfing world that Woods is going to put all parts of his game together very soon. Despite Jordan Spieth suffering the same frustrations, there is no confidence that he is close to doing the same. The serene calmness that Woods has projected all year is the exact opposite of how Spieth has dealt with the issue. His irritation has been constantly evident.

Jordan Spieth’s frustrations have scrambled a mind that once appeared to be impenetrable on the golf course. Spieth has openly hinted toward this in recent weeks. Last week, he told the media at the Travelers that he had tried to do too much in Round 1 at Shinnecock Hills and it cost him dearly. After a miserable Friday in Connecticut, Spieth pinned the problem down to mental mistakes.

“Unfortunately didn’t stick with the game plan, and it cost me two or three strokes today,” Spieth said. “Just stuff I could control before I hit it. That’s the most frustrating part of today.”

His demeanor on the golf course has given truth to these admissions all year. An already very animated and talkative player on the golf course, Spieth has been more fractious than ever with both caddy, Michael Greller, and spectators alike. Nothing portrayed how the game had gotten well and truly under Spieth’s skin than when the camera panned to him by the side of the 18th green on Friday evening at Shinnecock Hills. Spieth stood with his shoulders slumped against the backdrop of the amber evening sun, shaking his head with a look of both bewilderment and anger knowing full well that he had just thrown away the opportunity of playing the weekend of the U.S. Open.

It was at this point of the year in 2017 that Spieth turned his season around, winning the Travelers before The Open Championship. This year, however, Spieth looks further away from saving his season than at any other point this year. He has played seven of the last eight weeks, which shows his envious single-mindedness and determination to turn his year around, and it feels unjust that this determination has gone unrewarded. The adage of trying too hard resonates very much in this case. Spieth ends this exhausting stretch of golf with more questions than answers than when he began it, and Golf Channel’s David Duval also believes that he is mentally suffering. 

“Listening to him talk about his golf right now, and how he’s feeling and what he’s doing on the golf course, he’s talking about mental mistakes,” Duval said. “He’s been trying to force the issue too much. I think he’s played a little bit too much. I think it’s time for a breather, a chance to regroup and get ready for the summer season.”

Spieth is currently not committed to play before he will defend the Claret Jug at Carnoustie in July, although he may opt to play the John Deere Classic, an event that he has played previously in preparation for The Open. The high expectations placed on Spieth by both the public and himself have led to mental exhaustion and frustration, with his patience tested to the extreme, and recharging his batteries looks the prudent play.

It’s worth remembering that Spieth is 24 years old, a three-time major championship winner and an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour. His impatience is unnecessary, as has been some of the intense scrutiny and criticism of Spieth’s game all year. He has become a victim of his success and a well earned mental reset before the years third major could make all the difference for Spieth’s 2018.