Rozner: Don't count out Spieth just yet

If Jordan Spieth were simply cooked at this point, no one would blame him.

Not that he'd want to admit it, but Spieth has every right to be mentally exhausted.

Before he turned 22 in late July, Spieth had already captured the Masters and the U.S. Open. He had a putt on 18 to make the Open Championship playoff - won by Zach Johnson - and he started the final round of the PGA Championship 2 shots back and lost by 3 to Jason Day, finishing second.

If you subtract Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan, it was the best major season in the last 85 years.

Pretty heady stuff.

But after the PGA at Whistling Straits, Spieth missed the cut at both the Barclays and Deutsche Bank, though he won't blame an emotional washout for his play in the first two legs of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

"There wasn't a letdown. I just had two bad weeks. Just leave it at that," Spieth said Tuesday in Lake Forest after a practice round at Conway Farms, as he prepped for the BMW Championship. "You're just not going to make every single cut. You're going to have two bad days in a row every now and then."

With no event last week and having had the chance to recharge, Spieth likes the notion that he's not the favorite this week, relishing an underdog role, however ridiculous that may be.

"I feel very confident about where I'm at right this second," Spieth said. "I rested a lot. I got a lot of work in this past week, took some time off."

Spieth enters the third of four playoff events trailing only Day in the Cup standings and still has a big shot to take home the $10 million prize, with the Tour Championship being the crucial tourney for any player in the top five.

"I'm doing most of my work throughout the week, kind of starting small and as the week goes on, try to peak for next week and approach it like it's a major championship," Spieth said of Atlanta. "But the weeks before majors this year have also been good weeks for me, so I feel confident about this week."

Spieth opened the Barclays with a 4-over and backed it up with a 3-over Round 2, missing the cut by 5 shots, and then opened the Deutsche Bank with a 75 and missed the cut by 3.

But golf being golf, Rickie Fowler also missed the cut at the Barclays and came back the next week to win Deutsche Bank.

So as the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, Spieth chuckles at the flavor of the day changing as frequently as the winds off Lake Michigan.

"It's what can you do for me now," Spieth said with a smile. "I'm that way with sports teams, so why can't people be that way with me? Everyone has their opinions and the hardest thing for me to do is not react to that.

"Two weeks ago everyone said, 'You're the best there is. You're the best in the world. You're awesome, man.' Not a bad thing said.

"And then Jason wins. 'Jason is the best in the world, man. He's awesome.' And then Rickie wins. Rickie wasn't even what you guys were talking about. You guys were talking about me, Rory (McIlroy) and Jason (as the Big Three).

"Rickie wins and all of a sudden people are coming out of their igloos and they're saying, 'Man, that's my guy. He's the best in the world.'

"The more I can smile and laugh about that…You just need to keep your head down, stay focused and try and be the guy that people are talking about next week."

Spieth, Day and Fowler will go off No. 10 at 11:53 a.m. Thursday at Conway Farms, undoubtedly the featured group of Rounds 1 and 2.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. It's not a bad place to be, playing with these guys week in and week out," Spieth said. "Jason and Rickie winning the first two (playoff) events is big for the sport.

"So to have four of the top five in the world at 27 years of age or younger is really cool. Those guys are good buddies. I'm friends with both. We're going to have a good time. I played with Jason when we played Conway last time.

"Not that it means much, but I'm obviously comfortable playing with Jason now that I've played with him so much the last couple months, and bringing Rickie in will just add another element."

And no worries this time that Spieth won't see the weekend. With only 70 players reaching the third round of the playoffs, there is no cut.

"I'm happy to be checking into my hotel, and when they ask what day I'm checking out, I can say, 'I'm checking out on Sunday,' " Spieth said with a smile. "It's nice."

It would be even nicer if the golf story of 2015 were in contention on the weekend.

Don't bet against it.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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