Asked To "Nerd Out" About His Game, Jordan Spieth Passes

Jordan Spieth opened with a fantastic 5-under-par 66 at the Shriners and has started the 2019 season in style.

And even though the always-interesting star telegraphed at The Open this summer to expect an increased guardedness when discussing his game, it was still disappointing to see him clam up this week when asked to spell out what he saw in his 2018 stats and what he worked on in his short off-season.

Q. 31st in the FedExCup is a pretty good low mark for a career so far. How do you assess it yourself given it was you first winless season in a while, and what do you need to do better this season?

JORDAN SPIETH: You know, I really felt like I played like 30th, but Tiger played healthier than everyone thought. He just kind of took my spot there and then went on and won

But, yeah, it was a building year. I look back at last year as something that I think will be beneficial for me in the long run. I really believe that. I know that's an easy thing to say looking at kind of the positive in a negative, but there were tangible, mechanical things that I needed to address, and I was able to throughout the season.

Unfortunately, I had to play so much, like I said, towards the end that I couldn't really get it intact. So I stepped on the first tee knowing that I was playing a C-game instead of figuring where my game is at through the first couple rounds.

But I've done a lot of good work over the last four weeks, whether it required time off thinking or required actual practice. I've done I think a good balance of that and come in here with confidence.

Q. Will you nerd out a bit on us on those things you were trying to do?

JORDAN SPIETH: I can't, you know, because that's a competitive advantage for myself.

Last I heard, golf is an individual sport where the competition is not reading your offensive schemes and making adjustments to your chip shots. Furthermore, if you hit a ball in the rough, your playing partners cannot capitalize on knowing what you worked on this off-season to hit a better recovery shot, can they? Really?

I can’t think of a single thing he could have said that would have aided the competition. Such insights are probably only interesting to family, friends and fans.

If PGA Tour players no longer feel free to talk about how they are moving their ball back an inch in the stance, or “revealing” that their play from 100-120 yards was an off-season focus, press conferences will be getting very short! And very awkward.