Why there's optimism ahead for Jordan Spieth despite fading down the stretch at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Spieth nearly won at Pebble Beach, and now the rest of his spring looks like it could be a show

If you came into the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am pessimistic about Jordan Spieth's season, you were in good company. Spieth had quietly been average, or a bit below it, for most of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season, although that sample size remained fairly small.

Regardless of size, though, the numbers were bad. He was not hitting his irons well, not finishing tournaments well and none of it looked particularly compelling. Where was the Spieth who thrilled throughout 2021, won the Texas Open and nearly claimed two major championships?

It's true that he had his first baby in November, and also true that he was in the hospital during Farmers Insurance Open week (a place he rarely plays well), but these are the types of things that typically fade away when the best in the world get between the ropes. For Spieth, however, the only thing fading was his world ranking -- and sometimes a blocked drive or two.