Ending 2015 as number one bad news for Spieth’s major prospects
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Since 1986 10 different golfers have started a new season on top of the official world rankings and of this group Tiger Woods is the only player to have won a major in the next 12 months.
Greg Norman had seven seasons to win a major in the year he started as the world’s top golfer but couldn’t do it, while Nick Faldo has failed twice and so has Rory McIlroy.
Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald are the other members of this unwanted club.
Jordan Spieth is next to try and follow in Woods’ footsteps after victories in the Masters and US Open in 2015 helped him end the year top of the official rankings.
It is 5/4 that he wins any of the four majors in 2016, but based on the success of those to previously start a year in top spot, the 4/7 that Spieth fails to add a third major to his resume in the calendar year appears the better value.
If Spieth is to win another major in 2016, the ideal time to run into form will be the start of June.
Although the Masters would have already passed, the US Open gets underway on June 16th at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, the venue where Angel Cabrera won the same major in 2007.
This tournament starts a big 108 days in the world of golf, with the Open Championship, PGA Championship, Fed Ex Cup play-offs, Ryder Cup and the Olympic Games, where golf features for the first time since 1904, all taking place in this period of time.
Meanwhile, Spieth is not the only young back looking to make an impression in 2016. Jason Day is currently second in the world rankings, with McIlroy in third. This is the first time since the launch of the official world rankings that the top three have all been aged under 30.
For those expecting Spieth to emulate his achievements of 2015, he can be backed at 8/1 to win exactly two majors or 150/1 to triumph in all four.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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