Brandel Chamblee says major champ is ‘half the player he was’

Rory McIlroy will always dominate golf’s career grand slam conversation until he wins The Masters.

The Northern Irishman would become just the sixth player in history to end his career with all four majors if he slips into a Green Jacket come next Sunday at Augusta National.

But just a month later, another one of this era’s defining players will have a shot at joining that most exclusive club.

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Jordan Spieth is also three-quarters of the way to a grand slam and is missing only the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy to complete his own garlanded career.

Spieth’s golden era as the world’s best player between 2015 and 2017 saw him win the Masters, The Open and the US Open.

But the Texan is now entering his seventh year since his last major win, where he beat Matt Kuchar to the Claret Jug in such epic fashion at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

And Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee believes Spieth’s fallow years in terms of majors are a result of too much tinkering on the driving range.

“Look at him. Since 2017 how many times has he won? Three times. You go look at his strokes gained total from 2013 to 2017, and you look at his strokes gained total now, and he’s roughly half the player that he used to be,” Chamblee told GolfWeek.

“That’s not oblivion by a long stretch, but when you’re winning majors and setting the world on fire and winning as often as he was to where he’s at right now is quite a difference.

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“I think the most dangerous place on any golf course, not OB or not in the water, it’s the driving range. That is the most dangerous spot at a Tour course. We talk a lot about players that make changes and get better. That’s just the nature of our job because they’re at the top of the leaderboards. So it’s a wonderful story.

“They were this player before, they’re this player now, they’ve made the changes, we laud whoever they’re working with, we laud the changes. We don’t talk as much or even ever about all the players that make changes and are at the bottom of the leaderboard because then they’re gone.”

Spieth’s last PGA Tour victory came at the RBC Heritage back in 2022, and he has missed his last two cuts in underwhelming preparations for the first major of the season.

“Jordan Spieth’s changes to his golf swing, they may not be obvious when you just watch him, but if you put it on video and compare it to 2015, I would say it’s substantially different,” Chamblee added.

“He used to have just a slight cup in his wrist at the top. The club was set beautifully. Now he’s got a bow in the wrist and the face is a little bit shut because the whole world has fallen in love with strong grips, bowed left wrists and massive rotation.

“Did he do that to pick up a little speed, because he did pick up a little speed. But it’s a dangerous thing to start messing with your golf swing.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.