Opinion | Right Field: Jordan Spieth no longer just a boy from Texas
Fame will inevitably change the new Masters champion and the corporate clamour for his time has already begun
If something is too good to be true, it probably is. That's not just a cynic's creed either; it's a reality of life and right now Jordan Spieth is too good to be true. He is an insanely talented golfer, who is unfailingly decent, composed, presentable and family oriented. He is tall and handsome with an understated swagger to his gait.
Precocious? He came second last year at his first Masters at the age of 20. And just to make him a bit more human, he not only talks to his ball and gets visibly upset at bad shots, he has a rapidly receding hairline that would drive any adult male, let alone a 21-year-old, to distraction.
He also has a green jacket now after winning last week's Masters in a bit of a romp. Spieth's score of 18 under tied Tiger Woods for the lowest at a major and he is the second-youngest winner ever at Augusta, a mere five months older than Tiger was when he set the mark.
McIlroy and Spieth could well become this generation's Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, two all-time greats whose rivalry enriched and grew the game
He is now the number two-ranked golfer in the world, one spot behind Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, and there is a clamouring chorus hoping that fame will not change him. But it has and it will because fame inevitably changes everybody.
Less than 48 hours after putting on his green jacket, Spieth was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and appeared on David Letterman, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, CNN's Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, while also giving putting tips to former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg on his eponymous television network.
He is no longer just Jordan from Dallas, Texas, he is the celeb du jour caught squarely in the vortex of fame. He will now have to learn to say no to the endless requests for his time and that in itself constitutes a change for the always accommodating Spieth. At this level, time is an even more precious commodity than money. How you manage it defines your career.
Because of their success at such a young age, the comparison with Tiger started almost immediately. However, with all due respect to Spieth, there is no comparison.