In South Korea for Presidents Cup, Jordan Spieth gets superstar reception
INCHEON CITY, Korea – A rock star landed at Incheon International Airport on Sunday night, greeted by some 50 members of the Korean media and 10 television cameras shooting his every move.
His name? Jordan Spieth.
The No. 1 player in the world has been living his life on a public stage for some time now, but recently, on the heels of the best year in golf and his well-mannered, easy-going ways punctuated with a bright and frequent smile, the theater that is Jordan Spieth continues to swell.
Asked last week to use one word to describe his season in which he won five PGA Tour titles including the year’s first two majors, was the youngest to win The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup, and cashed for more than $22 million in prize money, the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year opted for adventurous.
Go into a restaurant and everyone wants a picture. Fill up the tank and everyone wants a picture. Get off a plane and you’re on the evening news.
“Japan was like that,” Spieth said Monday as he began preparations for this week’s Presidents Cup. “After the Masters in New York, where we went to so many places, that was nuts. And then here, paparazzi everywhere.
“I don’t like it or dislike it. It is what it is. I think it’s very, very cool that around the world you can be recognized and that people care and they are able to see what you are doing on and off the course and they enjoy it. If they are taking video and pictures of it, then people have an interest and I think that’s cool to have that kind of impact, especially halfway around the world.”
Spieth didn’t have much time to enjoy his season once he left Atlanta, where he put a bow on the 2014-15 season by winning The Tour Championship and the FedExCup on Sept. 27. He had a bit of down time and practiced a bit before heading to Korea for the biennial match play tussle between the U.S. and the Internationals.
Although the long plane ride took a bit out of him, Spieth’s tank was boosted as soon as he saw his gear for the Presidents Cup.
“When you see this,” he said as he pointed to an American flag on his sleeve, “and you know you are wearing that and you look at the golf bag and you see all the red, white and blue, you know it’s different from what you used to seeing,” Spieth said. “This is a very unique opportunity that you get once a year. If you’re lucky you get this opportunity. When you see the flag or the golf bag, the heart gets pumping and you want to prepare. You treat it like it’s the biggest event of the year.”