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For as fantastic as 21 year old Jordan Spieth has played, he still doesn't own a green jacket. Not yet. A four stroke lead going into the final round at Augusta isn't a huge lead. It's not as comfortable as leading going down the 18th. It's almost like a 2-0 lead for against Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was still around.
The last time a sparkling youngster brought that sort of lead into the final round, it all went horribly wrong. We've seen countless comparisons by American golf fans that are falling over themselves about their new superstar. Both Spieth and Woods were -19 for their first six rounds of their Masters career. Spieth is also the age that Tiger was when he won his first major at the Masters in 1997.
21-yr-old Jordan Spieth broke Tiger Woods' 54-hole Masters scoring record. Then 21, Tiger won in 1997 by 12 strokes. pic.twitter.com/GvrqSqNUVj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 12, 2015
21-year-old Jordan Spieth is making history at #TheMasters just like 21-year-old Tiger Woods did in 1997 pic.twitter.com/ZqyYhMbLNO — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2015
Another Historic Masters Collapse?
But there is another comparison that Spieth has to be weary off. One even fresher in our minds. Just four years ago, back in 2011, Rory McIlroy was in the exact same position as Spieth finds himself now.
The two years are almost identical aswell. Both players were 21 years old. Both players were the next superstar, had had early wins and were destined to take over the mantle from Tiger Woods.
Both players had a four stroke lead going into the final round.
Both players lead from the start, extending their leads each day. Blistering starts on Thursday and Friday, before a consolidating round on the Saturday. 21 year old Spieth will never have faced nerves like he'll have on the first tee today. He displayed these nerves at the end of his round yesterday with that double bogey.
But Spieth doesn't have it as nice as Rory did. The quality of the players behind him is staggering - Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. All major winners. That doesn't even include Dustin Johnson who is ranked 7th in the world.
Rory had to contend with rookie Jason Day, and past Masters champion Angel Cabrera. Luke Donald, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel weren't the terrifying names they are today.
McIlroy's is just one of Augusta's historic Masters collapses. Greg Norman blew a six shot lead after 54 holes to shoot a six over 78 that allowed Nick Faldo win the 1996 US Masters.
So when Spieth steps up to the tee at just before 8pm BST, will the roars that are following Tiger, Phil and Rory add to his nerves?
Can he emulate Tiger or Rory?
Only time will tell.
