So I was in the car listening to CBS Sports Radio while running some errands on Saturday afternoon when the show’s host, Andrew Fillipponi, started talking about his lack of interest in watching the Masters because Tiger Woods wasn’t competing for his sixth green jacket.
He felt the Masters just wasn’t the same without Tiger, that he had a hard time watching the tournament without him at Augusta, and that there are no other household names like Tiger’s currently on the PGA Tour (which I disagree with, but whatever).
A caller, Brad from Indiana, agreed with Fillipponi, and they started talking about one past Masters champion (no, not KPMG hero Phil Mickelson) who ended up tied for third after the tournament concluded yesterday. Here’s an excerpt from their discussion (bold emphasis added):
Brad: You’re exactly right. Tiger Woods was a household name, still is. I couldn’t pick Jordan Spieth out of a lineup.
Fillipponi: Jordan Spieth doesn’t look like a great athlete. You just look at Tiger Woods, he’s muscular, he’s a bigger guy, the way he carried himself. Golf is supposed to be all about etiquette and a gentleman’s game, but he looks like a guy that could honestly have excelled at any sport. Jordan Spieth looks like a guy that does your taxes. There’s nothing larger than life about him. He’s such a nice guy, he doesn’t intimidate, he doesn’t have the classic build or personality of a great athlete.
When I heard that, I had to laugh. Typical generalization of accountants: puny, unathletic nerds who are B-O-R-I-N-G. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there are a lot worse people than Jordan Spieth to whom accountants can be compared.
He likes to go golfing. He wears slacks and a polo shirt to his office. He keeps his head down and does his job in a professional manner. He’s had successes and he’s had failures, but he is respected by those in and especially outside his profession. And he works on weekends. So he and you have some similarities. The only thing you probably wished you had of Spieth’s is his career earnings.
Here’s a link to the portion of “The Poni Express” when Andrew Fillipponi talks about Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. The call with Brad from Indiana starts at 35:23.
First – Mickelson finished T-21 in 2021 Masters.
Second – while you may or ,ay not be right about Jordan Spieth’s appearance, neither he nor his 3 major victories probably care.