ASSOCIATED PRESS
“I think that’s the
trend that’s coming.
It’s hard for me to
tell but that’s what’s
happened with me. I
felt very well prepared
for the PGA Tour after
getting some starts as an
amateur and then comparing
them to those events I was playing. It
made it an easier transition.”
You could see that illustrated at the
British Open last year, when a handful of
young amateurs crowded the weekend
leaderboard, including 22-year-old Dunne
in the final pairing. You could see it in the
start of the 2015-16 PGA Tour season with
the first three winners all former junior
golf rivals of Spieth—including high school
Class of 2011 peers Grillo and Thomas,
players who see what he has done and
believe they can follow suit.
“It’s great to see some other guys your
age that I’ve played before with, see them
winning the Masters, winning the U.S.
Open,” said 23-year-old Grillo, who won
his first tournament as a PGA Tour card
holder. “It makes you believe you can do it.
I mean, basically the only player that I look
up to is Jordan. I played a lot with him. He’s
my age—a bit younger than me. Makes you
think, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’”
Thomas, who counts Spieth among his
best friends, broke through two weeks
after Grillo in Malaysia.
“We have all played so many times
against each other since junior golf and
amateur and college golf,” said Thomas,
22. “And, yeah, seeing them win was a little
bit motivating. ... I expected to win a lot
sooner than this, honestly.”
Of course, young stars having success
is nothing new, as Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and
many other greats proved upon their own
arrivals. It’s just that the volume of young
talent capable of winning immediately at
the highest level seems to have increased
dramatically.
“I think it’s a lot different,” said Ryder
Cup captain Davis Love III, who got the
first of his 21 career victories at Harbour
Town in 1987 the week after turning 23.
“You see guys like Smylie Kaufman or
Justin Thomas or Jordan Spieth, they
come out of college or a little bit of college and they are professionals. They are
experienced.
vsga.org
Less than five years removed from high school, Justin Thomas outdueled former Masters champion Adam Scott
in Malaysia last fall to capture his first PGA Tour title.
“I know when I was coming out, I was
still learning the game, learning my way
around. Finding myself. These guys are very
mature, very polished. They played a bunch
of AJGA events all the way up to U.S. Amateurs and Walker Cups and they are very,
very prepared. They are more ready I think
than guys back when I was coming out.”
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