Steve DiMeglio

USA TODAY Sports

As Tiger Woods surveyed the trouble in front of him, Jordan Spieth inched closer to the TV in his childhood home in Dallas.

On the set was the man in the red shirt who was stalking his fourth green jacket late on Sunday in the 2005 Masters. But with a one-shot lead and three holes to play, the best player on the planet had a mess on his hands.

Woods’ tee shot on the par-3 16th sailed over the green, coming to rest against the collar of the rough well below the putting surface. Fifty feet from the hole, Woods had to take a daring route because of a large ridge dissecting the green.

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He had to aim his shot away from the hole, clip the ball perfectly for the desired spin and make it take a right-hand turn off the ridge and not have it run off the lightning-fast green.

The 11-year-old in Texas was nervous for one of his boyhood heroes.

Woods took his shot, Spieth moved closer to the TV and bedlam ensued.

The chip was pure, the right-hand turn was seamless and the ball trickled toward the hole.

One rotation after another, the magical moment built until the Nike swoosh hung on the lip for 1.8 seconds before disappearing into the hole.

After Woods made one of the game’s most memorable shots, the lad in Texas wanted to head straight out of the house and start hitting chip shots on a makeshift green in the front yard even before Woods wrapped up his win in a playoff.

“I was just starting to really pick golf as my No. 1 sport and fall in love with it. That cemented it for me,” Spieth said. “It made me want to literally walk outside and for hours on end practice chipping. It made me want to go and hit those chip-spinners because I always loved hitting those, and I was just starting to develop those at that age.

“Not off the back of the collar of the rough, on dicing greens, under pressure, but seeing that shot sent me outside to practice and practice.”

Historic season

Spieth has his own house these days, a palatial Dallas estate the 22-year-old purchased from fellow PGA Tour pro Hunter Mahan.

He also has his own green jacket.

All those hours of practice paid off as Spieth produced a standout amateur career and sped to the top of the world in professional golf. His five-win season in 2015, which included his first two major titles, a historic run at the Grand Slam, the FedExCup and the world No. 1 ranking, is one of the best campaigns in history.

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His Masters title was a masterpiece. A year after finishing in a tie for second in his first Masters, Spieth arrived at Magnolia Lane’s gates intent to go one place higher and was in form, having had a victory, a second place and a tie for second in his three prior starts.

The Big Kid from Big D stormed to the front with an opening-round 64 that included nine birdies. He started to suck the air out of his foes with a bogey-free 66 in the second round and followed up with two textbook 70s to defeat his nearest competitors, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson, by four shots.

The victory earned Spieth residence alongside Woods in the record books. They are the two youngest to win the Masters, with Woods winning in 1997 at 21 years, 3 months and 14 days — five months younger than Spieth last year.

The two hold the scoring record for 72 holes at 18 under. While Woods’ 12-shot romp in 1997 — a record for margin of victory — is considered to be the most dominant performance among the pine trees and azaleas, Spieth’s tour de force was one for the ages, too.

He made a tournament-record 28 birdies, set scoring records through 36 (-14) and 54 holes (-16) and became the only player to ever reach 19 under.

He has a record eight rounds of par or better to start his career at Augusta and is the youngest wire-to-wire winner.

“That was as good as I’ve seen him be with control of his game,” said caddie Michael Greller, who has been with Spieth from his first start as a pro. “He knew from 2014 that he had the skill set to play really well at Augusta. And 2015 was about taking that one last push on Sunday.”

Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner, valiantly tried to run down Spieth on Sunday, then spoke graciously about his younger opponent.

“He’s just a tremendous shot-maker, great putter, has a great short game. He has no weaknesses,” Mickelson said. “He doesn’t overpower the golf course, but he plays the course strategically well. He plays all the shots properly. And he has that ability to focus and see things clear when the pressure is on and perform at his best when the pressure is on.

“That’s something that you really can’t teach.”

In command

Greller, a teacher in his former life, is a gentle man with a gentle disposition.

He and Spieth met at the 2011 U.S. Junior and there was “instant chemistry,” said Greller, whose background as a teacher prepared him to be the patient and encouraging bagman Spieth was seeking.

“Jordan is a very grounded and relational type of person, and I believe I am, also,” Greller said. “He’s fun to work for because his expectations are so high of himself and everyone on his team. He’s incredibly positive and encouraging of me and everyone on his team. And he gives me good feedback on things I can do better, privately. When you have that trust, it makes those situations like Augusta so much easier.”

One in particular stood out last year and can be traced to all that extra chipping Spieth did after Woods’ shot in 2005.

Spieth had made a sloppy double-bogey 6 on the 17th in the third round, his once-commanding seven-shot lead was down to four and he pushed his approach on the closing hole to the right of the treacherous green, leaving him with a delicate pitch. The chance to crumple awaited.

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“That moment was the first real major challenge of that week,” Greller said. “From there you can easily make 6. There was a lot of discussion on what shot should be hit. I wanted him to hit the bump-and-run with the 52-degree wedge. But he was confident in the flop shot there. There’s a little more risk but more reward with that shot, the flop shot. But when Jordan’s feeling something, I just get out of his way.”

Still, the two talked for about two minutes, bouncing ideas off each other.

“In hindsight, that two minutes calmed things down,” Greller said. “Things were moving very quickly right then. Everything slowed down, and he was really in the present. And then he hit an unbelievable flop shot, but then to step in there and then make the putt on top … that’s Jordan.”

The flop shot came to rest 10 feet from the hole, leaving a left-to-right knee knocker. Spieth stepped up and drained the putt to preserve a four-shot lead.

“Those two shots were the difference in the final outcome,” Greller said. “He felt really good about himself. He felt like he was in command again.”

Spieth usually feels in command — on and off the golf course. Whatever the challenge, Spieth thinks he has the upper hand.

“Jordan’s self-belief is one of his best attributes, no matter what the stage is,” Greller said. “Whether it’s Augusta National or playing P-I-G at his house against me, he just believes he’s going to get the job done. ...

“We like to compete in whatever it is, ping-pong, tennis, cards, basketball and little games around the golf course. ... I haven’t been winning very much lately. I’m in a bit of a lull.”

A special place

Spieth has a lifetime exemption into the Masters because of his victory and said he’ll go back every year until he can’t stand.

In December, he went back to Augusta National for the first time since his win, accompanied by his father, Shawn, and his agent, Jay Danzi. The three played 54 holes, but it was what Spieth came upon in the clubhouse that really got his juices flowing.

“There’s actually a lot of people who don’t realize there’s a Masters trophy, and it’s huge and it sits in the center of the room when you walk in the main clubhouse area,” Spieth said. “And they have the winners and they have the runner-ups on the trophy. … This year I was able to go back, pick out where my name is as a runner-up and then look one spot down and diagonal and there’s your name for winning it with the score. And that was really cool.”

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So, too, was walking into the Champions Locker Room.

“I was always interested in who I was sharing my locker with, and I had not heard, and I walked up and saw my name with Mr. (Arnold) Palmer, which was pretty awesome,” Spieth said.

The visit — he made another in February — allowed him to walk through his memory bank as he played the course. He remembered shots he hit and some of his opponents’ shots.

When he got to the 16th hole, he thought back to a special moment. Again, it involved Tiger Woods.

Spieth had set up a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday last year during Masters week with another of his childhood heroes, Ben Crenshaw. Or to Spieth, Mr. Crenshaw. As they were about to set sail from the 10th tee, a third joined them.

“Tiger came up to us and said, ‘Hey, do you mind if I join?’” Spieth said.

And off they went, with Spieth all ears as the two Masters champions imparted some of their wisdom about the course.

“I think anybody who loves the game and has admired the greats of the game would pay attention to somebody like Tiger Woods and Mr. Crenshaw and what they do at Augusta National,” Spieth said. “That day was so special.”

Particularly when they got to the 16th hole.

“I was walking off the green and I turned around and, as I do on every green, I turn around and kind of look at the green from a different angle, kind of see the various slopes, whatever it is,” Spieth said. “I saw Tiger hitting these putts from the back left part of the green towards what would be the Sunday pin. ... Everyone knows that green from Tiger’s chip shot, there’s a huge slope. I remember watching that putt and noticing how much it broke and it kind of threw me off. I watched him hit quite a few of them.”

Sure enough, Spieth had the same putt for par in the final round, a nasty 10-footer that was extremely fast. He thought of Woods on Wednesday, and he buried the putt to stay four up with two to play.

“I would have played it lower if I hadn’t watched Tiger hit all those putts,” Spieth said. “It was a big moment. To me, that par putt sealed the deal.”

Shortly after Bubba Watson helped Spieth put on his green jacket, the kid inspired by Woods spoke of his love of the Masters and Augusta National.

“I’ve always wondered what it would feel like, and right now it might even have exceeded my expectations,” he said.

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“I’m looking forward to being introduced everywhere as the Masters champion. I know that carries a heavy weight, but it will make me feel so proud.”

He hasn’t wavered on the sentiment one bit.

At the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, hosted by Woods, Spieth was asked what major he wanted to win next. Everyone expected to hear him say the British Open or the PGA Championship, the two he hasn’t won.

But Spieth immediately said the Masters.

“It was the next one coming up,” Spieth said a few weeks later when asked about his answer. “But, no, I believe it’s the best tournament in the world. No disrespect to any other event, but I absolutely love that golf course. It is my favorite golf course in the world.

“The roars, the echoes, the memories, the history from watching it growing up, being on the same golf course. You have these different images from growing up watching that you may have on certain golf courses of other majors, but to have them all on that course, it just adds to the history of the tournament, and you want to be a part of it.

“It is just a special place and a special tournament.”