With Masters collapse, Spieth has lost some of his aura
Well, the 2016 Masters is over, and two "C" words come to mind to describe the second-place finisher, Jordan Spieth. Those two words are "clutch" and "choke."
Great champions usually experience one more than the other, and both reared their heads this weekend for Spieth.
He was clutch with par saves and birdies for three days, but he struggled at times like everyone else. He had some minor hiccups on Saturday, but Sunday's collapse was the story of the weekend. I can only describe it as a choke job - just a total meltdown. His slow, methodical play might have gotten the best of him, which allowed bogey-free English golfer Danny Willett to seize the tournament.
Now, Spieth has lost the aura that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus possessed for so long.
Spieth will be back, but the players know he can be beaten, even when he is leading late in the tournament. Willett was 50-1 to win, yet hung in there and managed to beat the imploding Spieth.
The next so-called golden era of golf is supposedly now - but where were Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Rory Mcllroy, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day this past weekend?
Some credit should still go to Spieth; he defended his crown and came in second.
Congratulations to Willett and a pretty good Masters.
North Side of town
I heard a promo on Fox Sports Radio on "The Jason Smith Show" with Chicagoan Mike Harmon discussing the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber and his season-ending injury. Smith questioned Schwarber playing in left field at all, and last year Cubs fans seemed to agree with that thought.
The national media is placing some of the blame for the injury on manager Joe Maddon for putting Schwarber out there, and they are right because Schwarber really can't play the outfield! That's all Maddon, but the Cubs will overcome this current loss.
Besides, if losing Schwarber can hurt them that much, the Cubs ain't all that anyway!
South Side of town
The other team in town, the White Sox, are under the radar and, so far, playing pretty well. Center fielder Adam Eaton and the boys, along with Chris Sale (2-0), have been pleasing to these eyes. Can they keep it up? Who knows, but it would be fun to have both teams in town challenge for the playoffs.
If Robin Ventura and this team can make some noise and do something special, I'll be the first to say give him a new deal ... stay tuned.
Program notes
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• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.