Thursday 2 April 2015 19:50, UK
Jordan Spieth's debut second last year confirmed what we've known for some time: normal rules don't apply where he is concerned.
In an event which has gone over 30 years without a debutant winner, Spieth managed to overcome a significant power and experience deficit to push Bubba Watson all the way, leading in the early stages of the final round - just his fourth in the Masters. That it was no great surprise says much about the regard in which he's held.
A two-time US Junior Amateur winner - Tiger Woods is the only other man to have won that title more than once - Spieth's name has long been on the lips of golf experts and it's also no real surprise that he's now a fully fledged member of the world's elite, even at the tender age of 21.
While his peers may hit the ball further and even straighter with swings that look more orthodox, Spieth's greatest attribute is that which we can't measure: he has an incredible ability to just get it done. His short-game is superb and his maturity is such that he has to be considered a key player in this year's tournament as well as in every other he chooses to enter.
Somehow, there were a few who felt he 'needed' to win more to justify the hype, but Spieth now has four professional titles to his name. He is, to remind you, 21 years old. Three of those titles have come in the six months leading up to the Masters, including when he got the better of Patrick Reed and Sean O'Hair to win the Valspar Championship in March. Both PGA Tour triumphs have come via play-offs involving vastly more experienced players who know how to win.
To win the Masters and therefore enter 2016 with form figures of 2-1 at Augusta would be truly extraordinary, but this is an extraordinary talent who is playing as well as anyone right now. There's no reason to expect anything but a strong week from the standout 20-something in the US.
Believe the hype.
