A year later, Jordan Spieth looks back at a 2015 season that was, not peering into the valley but rather looking up from it.
He followed consecutive victories at the Masters and the U.S. Open — with a close call at the British Open as well — and a $10 million FedEx Cup playoff bonus a year ago with a season that won't, and maybe never could, match such a dizzying run.
He had two victories in 2016 among his eight top-10 finishes, but a Sunday meltdown on Augusta National's back nine yanked a second green jacket and a third major in a calendar year from his grasp, when he was still just 22.
It also has colored a current season he calls a "pretty great year," even if he hasn't putted as he'd like.
"It actually makes me really put in perspective how special last year was," Spieth said. "No one wins two majors a year for their entire career and a FedEx Cup. That just doesn't happen. You don't ever want to think that. You want to think you can keep improving and even the results will get better."
But hello, reality, which he says both drives him and allows him to appreciate 2015.
"If we're in a valley, that's a great valley to be in, right?" he asked. "You mature each time going through, and I feel like I've matured quite a bit this year as a person and a player trying to stay focused on my goals and keeping outside noise outside."
The last of his goals this season is winning his first Ryder Cup while playing in it a second time, even though a victory pays him nothing.
"Ryder Cup," Spieth said when asked if he'd rather have that or another huge FedEx Cup bonus. "I got one of them. I don't have the other one."
