Donald Spieth on his Masterful grandson

DONALD SPIETH remembers making the trip from Bethlehem to Dallas to visit his son Shawn's family when his grandson Jordan, the oldest of three children, was around "10 or 12." He was there at the same time the PGA Tour's AT&T Byron Nelson Golf Championship was being played, which was hardly coincidental. And it was then when he first became aware that Jordan could have some kind of a future swinging golf clubs.

"I knew he was taking the sport seriously, playing a lot," the elder Spieth said. "So I sat down with him as we were watching [the tournament]. And I asked, 'Jordan, what's your handicap?' And he said, 'Plus 4.' So I'm like, 'Oh, OK, you are serious.'

"He was always the first one up in the morning, the first one looking for a ride to the course. He'd stay all day, just practice and play. I think that's about when he decided to give up all the other sports. That's what it took. I think that's just his personality. His dad had a lot of drive like that. So does he. And his brother [Steven, a basketball player at Brown] is the same way . . .

"I think whatever [Jordan] had decided to do, he would have been very good at it."

Now 21, in April he won the Masters, 1 year after finishing second, by four shots over five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and by six over four-time major winner Rory McIlory, who at 26 is the only guy still ahead of him in the world rankings. In the process, he matched Tiger Woods' record for the lowest 72-hole score at Augusta National, 270. Only a bogey on the last hole kept him from owning it by himself.

Donald Spieth wasn't in Augusta this spring, as he'd been in 2014 when Jordan led early in the fourth round before losing by three to 2012 champ Bubba Watson. This time it was Jordan's maternal grandfather Bob Julius - a retired Bethlehem Steel engineer now living in North Carolina - who was part of the greeting party waiting to share congratulatory hugs with the winner behind the 18th green. Donald had to watch the history unfold on TV at a friend's house in the Lehigh Valley. So he didn't get to talk with Jordan until the following morning, though he was texting with his son.

"The year before, you couldn't see a lot [being out on the course]," Donald Spieth acknowledged. "There were always five people standing in front of you. So you were just hoping to get a glance of what was going on. Here, you could see every shot. It's a very nerve-wracking experience. When you're watching, you're always more worried than they are.

"I just wanted to tell him how proud I was. I asked him how he was feeling. He said he was just wiped. And he was on his way to New York to do all those crazy interviews. He didn't have a lot of time.

"For me, it was just partly relief. I know how much he put into it. The devotion, the energy, giving up things, just a combination of all those feelings that led up to it."

So what was going through his mind when Jordan went for the green with his second shot on the par-5 15th, which meant hitting it over water instead of safely laying up, even though he was leading by four? Jordan, of course, would make his record-28th birdie of the week, which made him the first to reach 19-under at the Masters.

"That's the hard part," Donald Spieth said. "You have conversations with yourself: 'Man, why did you hit it over there?' At the same time, it's really fun. I wasn't sure he was going to go for it. There's a lot of risk in that shot. I think he had to be in that zone where he just felt so comfortable, although he was talking pretty hard to his ball. I was yelling for it to just get going. But he pulled it off. It was an another amazing shot.

"By that point, I guess nothing should have been a surprise."

The two usually get to see each other several times a year. The next time will be late this month, again during the Byron Nelson. Other than the fact that Jordan now has a green jacket, Spieth says nothing in their relationship will be any different. A renowned conductor, orchestra builder and educator at Moravian College who is divorced and remarried (his ex-wife lives in Quakertown), he even gets to occasionally tee it up with the latest major winner. They have played at Saucon Valley. The last time was 6 years ago, the year the U.S. Women's Open was held on its Old Course and just before Jordan would win the first of his two U.S. Junior Amateur titles at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J.

You think it might be a little bigger deal if Jordan ever makes it back there? And how many shots do you suppose he might have to give Donald to make it a fair match?

"That hasn't been discussed lately," said Donald Spieth, who at 72 claims to have a 19 handicap. "I don't think I can count that high. I gave all my genes away. Now I have fun."

Jordan's parents were athletes at Saucon Valley High. Shawn played baseball at Lehigh University, while Chris played basketball at Moravian. Jordan was born in Texas. Yet the ties to Eastern Pennsylvania (his uncle Stow lives in the Philly suburbs) remain relevant. Especially these days.

"Almost anywhere I go, whatever I'm doing, they all knows who he is," Spieth said. "A lot of people who've never watched golf before suddenly are big golf fans. When he's playing, everyone has to be watching. And they'll say to me, 'Ah, there's the famous grandfather.' That makes you feel good. I still do my things, too. But I used to walk in and they'd go, 'Oh.' Now, most of the time if I'm at a concert and my name gets mentioned, it's 'Are you related to Jordan?' Or, 'I know you.' That's nice, too. I really don't mind. For sure there's a lot worse things they could know me by."

It's special. But being related to Jordan would have meant just as much to him if his grandson was simply starting out as a local club pro.

"Off the course, he's my grandkid," Spieth said. "He's a nice kid to be with. He loves to play pingpong, shoot pool, just hang out and talk. When we stayed with him last year at the Masters, he'd get up like everybody else, figure out a time to go warm up, just like one of the kids going out to do something. But he was doing it on a pretty big stage.

"As soon as it was over, he was thinking about when he could get back. That goes back to when he was 12 or 13 and they asked him if he wanted to play in the Masters. He said, 'I want to win the Masters.' He wasn't bragging or anything. He said it with confidence. That was his goal. Once he finished second, he wanted to see what he could do to come in first."

So what's next?

"I think he's going to handle it well," Spieth said. "He'll continue to set goals. I think the kind of goals he sets for himself will keep him grounded. He knows that Rory's a good player, but one of his goals is to be No. 1.

"I know there's lots of pressure on him. Everyone wants another Tiger [Woods], to be the new face of golf. That's a lot. Hopefully he'll just continue being himself."

However the journey unfolds, there are certain perks that can never be taken away.

"I have a flag from the Masters, signed by [Jordan]," Spieth said. "It says, 'For Pop Pop, with love.' How do you put a value on that? It's the personal stuff that's important."

Maybe he'll even get to try on that coveted jacket.

"It would never fit me," he said. "I'd have to diet for that. I just know it looks great on him."