2015 Valspar Championship: Final Round

2018 Valspar Championship

For Jordan Spieth, Personal History at Innisbrook Is Special

If it's possible for a 24-year-old to get nostalgic, that's a big part of why Jordan Spieth is back here at Innisbrook for this week's Valspar Championship.

Four weeks before he won the Masters in 2015, Spieth picked up just his second PGA victory at the Valspar, but his history here is more personal. In 2013, a quiet seventh-place showing at age 19 was enough to secure his PGA Tour card.

"I was playing the back nine yesterday, and I got to No. 17, and that was the spot where in 2013, I holed a chip that got me inside the line to get my card, and in 2015, I got up and down on the 71st hole and then on the second playoff hole, made a birdie putt," Spieth said Wednesday morning. "I thought and said out loud … this hole's got as much good history as any in the world for us. It's cool to recognize and fall back on those moments."

Spieth would go on to be PGA Rookie of the Year in 2013, and followed his win at Innisbrook in 2015 with a breakout season, with wins at the Masters and the U.S. Open. Three years later, he has 11 career PGA wins and is a huge name in the sport, but he hasn't forgotten where he was five years ago, on the same course but in a much different place.

"I had a 5 or 6-footer to get my par (on 18) and I remember walking over. All those nerves went away, and I had the biggest smile on my face," Spieth recalled. "I remember walking over to (caddie) Michael (Greller) and thinking 'Four weeks ago, we were trying to work our butt off to get temporary Web.com status, and now we've got a job on the PGA Tour. It's amazing what a month of good runs can do."