Jordan Spieth’s Viral Junior Golf Battle Against Scottie Scheffler & Co Leaves Fans Ranting: ‘Swing Might Have Looked Better in 2009’
In 2009, three of Texas’s brightest were battling for glory at the Byron Nelson Junior Championship. Jordan Spieth. Scottie Scheffler. William Zalatoris. Speith, then a 16-year-old, was already the top dog in the field. In a widely circulated video from the WFAA, the three youngsters are seen teeing off at the Junior Byron Nelson Championship. And, fans surely can’t get over it.
But first, about the tournament. Jordan Spieth fired a final-round 62 en route to his 11-shot triumph at the tournament. Spieth would go on to win a record third consecutive time the very next year. But let’s also not ignore Scottie Scheffler, 13, and Will Zalatoris, 12.
Scheffler finished way behind Spieth, carding a final round 72. Then an eighth-grader at Highland Park Middle School, Schefler told George Riba of WFAA that the length of the tee was a problem. No surprises there because he was still 13 and the field mostly consisted of players four or five years older than him.
North Texas Trifecta ⛳ Back in 2009, WFAA’s George Riba went out to cover the Byron Nelson junior golf tournament and found three future PGA Tour pros: Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.
Full story: https://t.co/Iu0jaWpUj5 pic.twitter.com/oaQmfkl0UP
— WFAA (@wfaa) August 29, 2024
It was the same for Zalatoris. Although, his goals were modest; he wanted to make it to the tournament, and he did. Zalatoris was the fourth youngest player in the field at that time. The clip posted by WFAA and retweeted by many got the fans gaga over it.
The Internet went wild over the throwback clip
Jordan Spieth was at the cusp of his breakout season in junior golf. He went on to win the U.S. Junior Amateur that very summer, made his PGA Tour debut the next year, and then netted his second U.S. Junior Amateur in 2011.
Currently, these three represent the very best of Texas on Tour. Combined, they have five majors, and 26 PGA Tour wins. Former major winner, Trevor Immelman aptly tweeted, “Kinda funny watching this knowing how these guys turned out.” Some, however, consider Jordan Spieth’s swing from 2009 to be the best. “Just an insane video looking back. Spieth’s swing might’ve looked better in 2009 than it does now,” one of them wrote.
Back then, Spieth talking about Scheffler and Zalatoris observed, “Both of them, they’re going to be so good in a few years. They’re already amazing for their age, but if they’re competing with guys five years older than them, imagine what they do when they’re the old .” It certainly proved to be true, as everyone seems to be chasing Scottie Scheffler now. One user noted, “Lotta success among those three.”
Interestingly all three belonged to the Dallas Forth Worth area. A reporter for WFAA commented, “Does DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) produce the country’s best golfers? Certainly can make an argument.” Dallas has also been home to Bryson DeChambeau, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and other notables.
However, it was Will Zalatoris who stole the show. Not because of his backswing, which many commended, but because of his look. Zalatoris was seen with a popped collar in a sky-blue tee shirt. Noting that one user commented, “Would not have thought 12-year-old Will Zalatoris was a popped collar guy.”
The clip has gone viral on social media and for good reasons. Interestingly, there was another future PGA Tour pro in the field: Carlos Ortiz. The LIV Golfer finished second to Spieth in the 78-man field.
