This article is part of our Weekly Recap series.
It's now officially official: Jordan Spieth is Back! (Yes, with a capital B and an exclamation point.)
Now the big question is: Can he go back … to back?
Spieth ended a nearly four-year winless drought at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday and the 24-hour news cycle waited all of 14 seconds before wondering whether he can now win the Masters this week.
The short answer is: Yes, he can.
This collision course of Spieth and Magnolia Lane has been building for months, since he began showing signs of becoming his old, No. 1 self. They first surfaced in early February at Phoenix, where he held – and blew – a 54-hole lead and tied for fourth. Talk of Spieth being B … A … C … K has consumed the golf world ever since. He blew another 54-hole lead the following week in a tie for third at Pebble Beach, then added a tie for 15th at Riviera (a course not his best fit), a tie for fourth at Bay Hill, a T48 at THE PLAYERS (another dicey fit) and a T9 at the Match Play.
Until Phoenix, there was no indication – and no guarantee – that this would happen. Superstar athletes stop being superstars all the time, though it's not usually the very best in a sport when they are still in their 20s.
But when the funk goes on this long, after Spieth last won at the 2017 Open Championship, it's fair to eventually think