Through two rounds of last weekend’s WGC-Mexico Championship, golfer Jordan Spieth — who is ranked #5 in the world — managed only a one-over-par score, leaving him ten strokes off the lead. In need of a strategy that could help him gain ground in round three, Spieth turned to unusual source of guidance: YouTube.
Spieth watched videos of himself from a previous tournament, and that proved to be just the catalyst he needed. In the third round, he shot an eight-under-par 63, giving him the day’s top score.
Spieth didn’t turn to YouTube for mere motivation, but rather to work on his swing. “I was kind of looking at highlights of a couple of tournaments where I knew I was swinging it well just to see kind of the commitment in the swing and where it was and how I could possibly compare,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you any time I’ve ever searched myself on YouTube, but I clicked on it and I was just looking. I think I pulled up [the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational] for some reason and just saw a couple swings there on the way here.”
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Sure, correlation doesn’t imply causation, but we’re willing to believe Spieth’s YouTube binge had a positive effect on his play. After all, if a javelin thrower can use YouTube to assist his rise to Olympian status, surely Spieth can use it to knock off a couple strokes.
If YouTube did aid Spieth’s performance, the effect was only temporary. In round four, he shot par, and he finished the tournament at seven-under. The performance was good enough for a 12th-place finish, earning Spieth a $131,250 payday. Personally, I think the first thing he should do with that money is cut YouTube a nice big check.
