LOS ANGELES – What once tied them together now looks so strange.
When the 2011 high school graduation class reached the PGA Tour it felt for a time that there was no threshold that they could not go through or redefine.
By 25, Jordan Spieth had won 11 times on Tour and had amassed three major tournaments. Justin Thomas and his own top keeper had six Tour titles (PGA Championship 2017). Overall, the group that includes Daniel Berger and Xander Schauffele (both with four Tour wins each) has won 32 times on Tour.
But those achievements and awards have gone a bit over time and another generation of fearless young players that includes Collin Morikawa (24 years old), Matthew Wolff (21) and Viktor Hovland (23).
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“I feel very old,” Schauffele said with a small smile Tuesday at the Genesis Invitational. “There are a lot more lads out here who play great golf than I do. I am 27 now, I think we are all (class 2011) about 27, 28 years old. There are a handful of guys who can only buy themselves a few drinks that win golf tournaments. I feel old. ”
There have also been some major setbacks for the 2011 class. Prior to winning extra time at the Charles Schwab Challenge last June, Berger had two long years without a win, and Spieth’s fall into darkness competitive has been even worse.
While Spieth is still looking for its first win since the 2017 Open, the top-5 finishes back in the last two weeks have given the 27-year-old hopeful.
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After a game at the Tournament of his first five years on Tour, Spieth has failed to qualify for the final in the last three seasons. He didn’t even make it to the second stop after last season and 2021 started with a familiar result.
“If I look back on Friday night of San Diego and you tell me I was going to take the 54-hole lead two weeks in a row and really just fight, finish strong two weeks, I’d say you’re crazy, ”said Spieth, who started the year with a lost cut at the Farmers’ Insurance Competition.
Spieth said the break came after that cut missed at Torrey Pines during practice sessions and turned that effort into a tie for fourth at TPC Scottsdale and third at Pebble Beach, where he finished three strokes behind Berger who eventually won.
For players like Spieth and Schauffele 27 is not old, even in Tour years, but there is something to be said for experiences, both good and not so good, and the whole class has spent time at both ends.
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Unlike Berger and Spieth, Schauffele has been more consistent throughout his life but it was clear that those close to him are starting to bore. He didn’t finish outside the top 5 in three starts this year, including back-run finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open Waste Management Championships.
“Some hurt more than others. That man [Phoenix] he was not seriously injured. It wasn’t that I missed too many shots, ”he said. “It was a great learning experience for me in an end group where the whole group is a little bit non-stop and awareness is crucial there. ”
Schauffele laughs when he tries to dismiss her as one of the “old boys,” but the truth is, the class is still learning and still threatening to rewrite the record books.