The closer, Jordan Spieth, does it again at the U.S. Open

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WASH. -- Jordan Spieth stood over a 5-foot bogey putt on the 71st hole of the U.S. Open. He had done well to get it to that point after an errant tee shot found the right rough, just feet from the train tracks that run parallel to the 17th hole. At the time, he held a three-stroke lead and only needed to avoid disaster to win the U.S. Open. Get out with a bogey and collect your trophy.

Then disaster struck.

Spieth missed the short putt and was forced to tap in for a double bogey. While he was doing that, Louis Oosthuizen was making birdie on the 18th green. Just like that, there was a tie at the top of the leaderboard. Missing that putt with the stakes sky high could have destroyed a lesser player. Spieth, however, shrugged it off like water off a duck’s back. He took the short walk to the 18th tee box and stepped to the back left of the tee box to get a few casual practice swings in.

After gathering himself and watching playing partner Branden Grace tee off, Spieth stepped up to take his turn at the tee. This was his most important shot of his tournament. A good drive would give him a chance to go for the par-5 green in two and get back at least one of those strokes he just lost. A poor tee shot, however, and it might be a scramble just to get into a playoff with Oosthuizen.

Before he could even take the club back, a slow grumble started from the 17th grandstands, just a few feet to Spieth’s back. He heard it immediately and backed off. By the time he was a step or two away from the ball, the grumble had turned into a full fledged roar. Dustin Johnson had just piped his tee shot into the par-3 within a few feet. The crowd went nuts, many standing to cheer as the ball tracked closer and closer to the pin and settled just 6 feet away.

Coming off a disaster hole, pressure was already high. Knowing someone in the group behind just hit a brilliant shot would have caused most people’s pulse to kick into a new gear. Maybe it did for Spieth, but he certainly didn’t show it. The crowd at No. 17 wasn’t even done ooh-ing and aww-ing before Spieth stepped back up to his ball like nothing had happened. He then proceeded to hit an absolutely perfect drive.

Many have crumbled under lesser circumstances in major championships. It wouldn’t have taken much for Spieth to do the same. Instead, he followed his worst putt of the tournament with two of his better shots. His second shot into No. 18 tracked to less than 20 feet. Just like that, he went from a double bogey and collapse to in position for eagle and the potential win. He settled for a tap-in birdie from 7 inches, which proved to be the winning stroke.

Winning major championships is as much mental as it is physical. The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay was a 72-hole grind that challenged the players’ game while also testing them mentally and physically. Spieth rose to every challenge, even when he created them himself.

He wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but when he stepped to the 72nd hole and everything was on the line, he was darn close. Just 21 years old and with back-to-back majors, Spieth is now halfway to the single-season and career grand slam. Jordan Spieth is quite the sight to behold.