|
PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth recently attended a Brown win over Maine men's basketball game to watch his younger brother, Steven, a senior wing and the Bears' leading scorer who is enjoying the best season of his career. We sat down with the two brothers -- who are a little more than a year apart -- to talk about a variety of topics, including the time Steven lost a tooth because of his brother, Jordan's hair (of lack thereof) and how Jordan has changed since becoming a golf icon. Jeff Goodman: How competitive were you guys when you were growing up? Jordan Spieth: Really competitive. I think we got it from our parents. They're both college athletes, and we just were raised to play all sports and certainly have fun with it. We certainly got overboard. That's when we normally had to stop. It probably made us both better at what we do. JG: When was a time where you remember going at it against each other? Steven Spieth: I don't know if there's a specific story because you can't really get aggressive going at it in golf. We had a makeshift hole in the front yard, but all you can do is say, "Hey, I hit it closer than you," and then the other person's like "All right." Then that's the end of it.  JG: What about with basketball? SS: We definitely used to get after it a little bit. There's been a couple broken bones. We'd normally start out going outside saying we're just going to shoot around, then we end up playing a game and we end up somewhere inside actually legitimately fighting. JG: Steven, how do you describe your older brother? SS: Hairless. [Laughs.] Um, no. Wise. JG: Jordan, I don't think your hair is that bad.  JS: No, it's not. I don't know what his big deal is. JG: Jordan, what's it like watching your brother play? JS: In high school it was easier because I was at every game and I had friends on the team, too. We were in the student section, so everyone was going crazy the whole time. Now, watching it, via laptop or an iPad or whatever, I get so into it. I actually broke an iPad one time. I have an actual broken iPad after watching one of the games. I think it was [because of] a bad call. JG: What's it been like to watch Jordan's star rise so quickly? SS: It happened quick in the public eye, but he was the No. 1-ranked amateur when he was a junior in high school. So I always knew he was going to have a shot to be really good. JG: What was it like for you when he won the Masters (2015)?  SS: I actually had a stress fracture in my foot that I didn't know about, and I walked all 18 holes every day, so ... you're welcome. ... I just remember them kind of bringing our family back down behind the ropes to say congratulations it was all pretty surreal. The champions dinner and all that stuff. I know that was his No. 1 goal going into being a professional, so it was pretty awesome to be able to see that happen so quickly. JG: The perception is that Jordan doesn't do anything wrong. I want some dirt here. SS: You want some dirt? I don't know if I could do that. JS: What about when I shot your tooth? SS: I don't know if I can tell that story. OK, yeah, he did. He's caused me a couple root canals. ... He shot my tooth out with an airsoft gun. JS: We only had one full mask. ... And then he just had goggles on. And now I don't really know why his mouth happened to be wide open while I was shooting air, but it was. SS: It's probably because I was hitting him a bunch of times so I was laughing, and he got a lucky shot. So now I have a fake tooth. JS: My mom still gets mad at me for this.  SS: So maybe there's like some emotional damages type of lawsuit coming soon because I had to have another root canal last summer on the same tooth. JS: Lawyer up. Let's go. [Laughs.] SS: You know what the worst part about it was? I think I traded him the gun that he shot me with, the airsoft gun, for 50 cents and some of those magnetic earrings, like the light-up earrings. Remember that? I really wanted them. I was like 10 years old. Had to have them. JG: Steven, what do you want to do after you graduate? SS: Right now just continue to have the best career that I can here and have the best season I can and then just go from there. My goal is to play professional basketball whether it be overseas or whatever. I think it could be really cool to travel, play and get paid. JG: Could you ever foresee that out of your brother? When you guys were younger, did you ever see him as being a professional basketball player? JS: Yeah. If anyone asked what we wanted to be when we grew up we probably said these two things [golf and basketball], which is kind of cool because I don't think many people get the opportunity to do what they grew up saying they wanted to do. But yeah, I definitely could foresee it based on his success from an early age on.  JG: Jordan's got a little bit of money now. What's the best prize he's given you so far? SS: He's not much of a present guy. [Laughter.] JS: Steven wants money. SS: I guess it would have to be -- I don't know if we're allowed to even talk about that because I kind of got in trouble, but ... JS: Well I had a free-burrito-a-day-for-a-year Chipotle card. So I was here at the end of the summer and said I'll see you in the fall, do you want this Chipotle card until I get back? SS: I think it was more I asked you. We've got a Chipotle right on campus, and the problem with it was, it wasn't free Chipotle once a day for just me. It was who on the team wants Chipotle today? Over and over. So, my dad gave me a call a couple months ago. He got an email from headquarters of Chipotle saying probably chill out on that. So I had to give it back last night, unfortunately. JG: Jordan, how good a golfer could Steven be if he actually had committed to it?  JS: Scratch. If he played three times the amount he does, and that's not really saying much 'cause he only plays 20 rounds a year. He's got really, really good touch. Good hands. At the right golf course, he's [shooting] 72 right now. JG: What about Jordan on this Brown team? Could he be a walk-on? Water boy? What role would he have? SS: [Laughs] He could supply some more gear if he wanted to. Maybe if we were Under Armour, that would've happened. JG: Do people trash-talk you on the road because you're Jordan's brother? SS: Oh god, do they. Anytime I go to the free throw line in any gym that's half-packed I hear a bunch of "Fores!" as I'm shooting. JS: [Laughs.] That's awesome. JG: How has Jordan changed? SS: None. He's so down-to-earth. He's same person he's been growing up. People kind of flock to him wherever we go. But he does a great job of handling it. He doesn't ever turn someone away. JG: What are the characteristics that you guys wish you had of each other? JS: I would say his flow, for sure. Then, probably a little extra patience. SS: I'd say just poise. I mean, the way that he handles himself on the world's biggest stage as far as golf goes, and the way that he handles himself. There's obviously a great golfer, great athlete -- if you want to call golfers athletes. Then off the course, just the same person. Just down-to-earth, humble, and just a fun guy to be around.
|
