Masters Commentary: Spieth makes Masters win look like an old pro

STARING AT THE pin on the 16th green Saturday, Russell Henley knew the play was to hit the ball right of the flag even though it looked for all the world like that was impossible.

“I said to my caddy right before, ‘I know there is room right,’ but it’s hard to make yourself commit to hitting it right of that when it looks like the pin is not even on the green barely,” the 25-year-old Henley said. “It’s just course knowledge and knowing what is over there. Hopefully, the more I play the tournament, the more I will get used to that pin location.”

Greenwood’s Ben Martin, also 25, struck much the same note. Martin was hoping to make the cut here solely to gain more experience.

“I think I am learning, figuring out my way around here,” he said Friday. “I think that’s huge.

Martin was playing his second Masters this weekend and missed the cut for the second time.

Jordan Spieth, 21, was playing his second Masters this week and shot a record 18-under to win. He finished tied for second here last year in his first appearance.

This is not the way it’s supposed to work. Augusta National is the most hallowed course in the game. It values and rewards experience. It is supposed to befuddle youngsters.

“You have to know where not to hit it here,” you will hear 100 times every week they hold this event.

Spieth hasn’t spent enough time here to learn where the all the bathrooms are, and it doesn’t seem to bother him. He’s played eight rounds in Augusta and has never gone to bed outside the top 12.

Zach Johnson won here in 2007 – his third major. It remains his only major. Nobody expects this to be Spieth’s only one, least of all Johnson.

“There’s something innate, obviously, with him and those type of individuals, something intangible that probably a lot of athletes occasionally touch, but rarely maintain,” Johnson said. “Obviously, Tiger would be the epitome of that. My guess is Jack was like that back in the day. There may be a handful here or there that have touched it. But I think, that at his age, at 21, and what he’s doing right now, you know, I mean granted it is one week.”

It’s actually more than that. Spieth hasn’t finished worse than second in his past four events. He has three wins and six top fives this season, and he will move to No. 2 in the world with this week’s finish.

“It’s just impressive,” Johnson said. “Obviously, you could put him in that classification of phenom, right?”

Spieth credited his quick comfort level here to the fact that he has always played more by feel than by repetition. Rather than hit range balls throughout his youth, he played golf, he said.

“Ultimately,” he said, “I think it comes down to imagination.”

Justin Rose played his best Masters this week, finishing 14-under, and he finished second by four shots.

“Jordan didn’t really open the door,” Rose said, “and I didn’t really expect him to. He has played with the lead now for the last month, and he’s obviously very comfortable doing that.”

It’s OK, Rose said, to be taken aback by a 21-year-old.

“Yeah, it’s not an easy game,” Rose said. “Anyone who comes out and has played at the level that he has and how consistently he’s doing it and how easy he’s making it look, yeah, absolutely I’m surprised. It really shouldn’t be that easy. You just need to take your hat off and marvel at it and congratulate him, because it’s very impressive.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2015 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Masters Commentary: Spieth makes Masters win look like an old pro."