Spieth's special IQ will see him through, says Faldo

[July 14, 2015]  By Tony Jimenez
 
 ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Jet-lag will be no obstacle for Jordan Spieth at this week's British Open because he is young, fit and strong and possesses a special golfing IQ, according to former world number one Nick Faldo.

The 21-year-old Spieth flew to St Andrews on Monday, a day after registering his fourth victory of a remarkable season in the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Illinois.

Six-times major winner Faldo dismissed any idea the American wonderkid might be drained by his recent exertions.

"It's amazing, when you're that young, you would say, one good night's sleep to get over jet-lag and he'll

probably be fine tomorrow morning," the Briton told reporters.

Some critics have suggested Spieth made a mistake by playing in Illinois immediately before attempting to become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win the first three majors of the season but Faldo sees it differently.
 

"If he believes that's the way to do it, then that's the way to do it," said the triple British Open winner. "That's the way Jordan Spieth wants to do it, guess what? It's right.

"What he's doing is phenomenal. He's confident, he's seeing the right shot, he's visualizing the shot...and he keeps churning out good shots.

"When you're doing that you just jump back on the saddle and ride again," said Faldo, who turns 58 on Saturday.

Asked if two and a half days' preparation was enough for the U.S. Masters and U.S. Open champion to discover the best way to tackle St Andrews in Thursday's opening round, the Englishman waxed lyrical about Spieth's special talent.

"Jordan has got this great ability, many people play practice rounds with him, one round, and the next day he'll be

talking about the course and they'll have missed everything he's talking about, all the little subtle slopes," Faldo explained.

"He's obviously got a very high golfing IQ and he takes

a lot on board."

Faldo, though, did have one golden nugget of information to pass on to the world number two as he prepared to tackle the famous links course on the east coast of Scotland.

"One thing you probably shouldn't do? Probably go for a dip in the ocean before you play," he said with tongue firmly in cheek. "Could be a bit chilly."

(Editing by Alan Baldwin)

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