How Jordan Spieth's story began in an old Pennsylvania steel town

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Jordan Spieth wasn't wearing the University of Texas' burnt orange when he met the British Open media Wednesday, but his home-state connections were obvious anyway.

The thoughtful answers of the golfing phenom, who beginning Thursday is aiming for a third consecutive major championship after winning the Masters and U.S. Open earlier this year, had a slight Southwest twang, and when the subject of Fort Worth legend Ben Hogan was raised, his tone turned reverent.

Yet for all his Lone Star loyalty, it may be the 21-year-old's Pennsylvania roots - less-known but as deep as a St. Andrews pot bunker - that on the eve of his history-making Old Course quest better explain Spieth's rapid rise to golf's summit.

The steel-town toughness, the artistry and flair, the athleticism, competitiveness and poise he exhibits, all can be sourced to his Pennsylvania heritage.

His parents were born, raised and educated in and around this old mill town. And here, though modest by comparison, the Spieths and Juliuses carved out sports reputations of their own.

"Both his parents were not only outstanding athletes, they were excellent students and wonderfully nice people," said Fran Vari, a longtime basketball coach and teacher at Saucon Valley High, the alma mater of both Shawn and Chris Spieth.

Nick Diehm, then Saucon Valley's baseball coach, said he is reminded of the Spieths' qualities every time he sees their son interviewed. "He's got so much poise and is so genuinely nice that you can't believe he's only 21," Diehm said. "That's exactly how his parents and grandparents were. They raised him right."

It was at their Hellertown high school in the late 1970s that Spieth's parents met. They would go on to college here - she Moravian, he Lehigh - get their masters degrees and in 1986 marry in Lehigh's chapel. That year they relocated to Seattle before Chris, a computer-science major, took a job with Neiman Marcus in Dallas.

One of the golfer's grandfathers, Donald Spieth, still lives and works in Bethlehem as a Moravian College music professor. The other, Bob Julius, is a retired Bethlehem Steel engineer living in North Carolina. Other Spieth relatives remain in Pennsylvania, including two Philadelphia-area uncles.

"Once they moved to Dallas, it was a little harder to keep track of them," said Dan Julius, Chris' youngest sibling and a middle-school teacher who lives in Abington. "But when they started telling us about Jordan winning all these junior tournaments, we were thinking, 'Hmm, something special must be going on in Texas.' "

Donald Spieth, 75, is also the director of Moravian's community orchestra, a group that has played Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues. He and his first wife - Patricia, who still resides in this area - divorced when Shawn was young.

"It's really funny but so many people know me up here that they feel like they know Jordan, too," he said before departing to see his grandson play in Scotland. "In a way they do. This area definitely has contributed to his success."

Donald Spieth also is an avid sports fan, so were his sons growing up in Bethlehem, then Lower Saucon Township. A golfer, shortly after the 2009 Women's Open at Saucon Valley Golf Club, he and 15-year-old Jordan played the course.

Jordan, his grandfather said, was determined to break 70.

"He shot a 69," Spieth said.

At Saucon Valley High, Shawn Spieth pitched and played first base for the baseball team and was a guard on the basketball team.

"He was a very good shooter," Vari said. "I'll never forget this one game. It was in the fourth quarter and we were upsetting one of the powers around here, Allentown Central Catholic. Shawn had 27 points. Then Allentown put a box-and-one on him and we lost. That was really hard for both of us."

Shawn Spieth's younger brother, Stow, 45 and a Narberth bartender, became a basketball star at Bethlehem Catholic.

By the time Shawn got to Lehigh, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the College of Business and Economics, he was focused on baseball. A platoon first baseman, he hit .378, .250 and .315 in 72 games from 1982 to 1984. In 1986, he was a graduate assistant coach.

"We used to call him Sweet Swinging Shawn Spieth," said Lehigh teammate Mike Coryell. "It's not too big a jump to think that sweet swing translated into his son's golf swing."

Shawn also pitched occasionally, but not very well. For the 312/3 innings he threw, his ERA was close to 9.00. He had more success in summer American Legion ball, where one of his frequent mound opponents was future Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer.

By 1980, as a high school senior, Shawn was a better-than-average golfer, although spring baseball kept him from competing. "I think he was a 7- or 8-handicap," Vari said.

Chris Julius, her three sisters and two brothers grew up on Willow Street in Hellertown, adjacent to the high school.

Her father was particularly interested in soccer. Bob Julius, who famously got a bear hug from his grandson after this April's Masters, cofounded a Bethlehem youth league in 1968 and his oldest son, Bob, became Navy's captain.

"We lived right next door to Saucon Valley," said Dan Julius. "We never got on a school bus in our lives. We were always playing something on those fields."

In 1966, when Chris was 4, her mother suffered a brain aneurysm. For the next 44 years, Bob Julius cared for his wife, held down a full-time job and kept active in his children's lives.

"He loved sports. He was a real stalwart for our team, never missing one of Chris' games here," said Ann Sinnott Skuches, who coached Spieth's mother at Moravian.

At 5-foot-9, Chris Julius was Moravian's power forward. In 50 games as a junior and senior, she collected 504 points, 294 rebounds and 96 assists.

"She was strong and very coachable," said Skuches, "and a great free-throw shooter."

She also was something of a pioneer, majoring in computer science, an unusual interest for an early 1980s woman. Professionally, she and Shawn, her brother Dan said, always knew where they were headed.

"Chris was good in math and she and Shawn both were always interested in business," he said. "There was never any question what they were going to do. She could see that computers were the future."

Golf played only a peripheral role in her youth. She worked at the Bethlehem Steel Country Club (now Silver Creek C.C.) as a waitress. And a version of the game became a popular date-night activity.

"She and Shawn often went to a chip-and-putt course and, us being the youngest, they'd bring along me and Shawn's brother, Stow," Dan Julius said.

Now, said her brother, her primary athletic activity is running marathons.

Jordan Spieth's sudden fame sneaked up on many friends and family members. Aware now, all are basking in the shared glory.

"Our team got together and watching him win the Masters was like watching your own son do it," Coryell said.

And Jordan isn't the only one they admire.

"People ask me about Jordan," Dan Julius said. "I tell them, 'The heck with Jordan. I want to be [Michael Greller, the middle-school math teacher who's now Spieth's caddie].' How does a teacher get a job like that?"

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Jordan Spieth doesn't turn 22 years old until July 27, but he already is having one of the best seasons in recent golf history. Here are some highlights:

2015 Masters champion. Spieth was the first player ever to reach 19-under par in the Masters.

2015 U.S. Open champion.

Ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking behind Rory McIlroy.

Five career PGA Tour victories in two full seasons, plus this season.

Ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour in scoring average at 68.826.

His 61 last week in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., was the lowest round on the PGA Tour this year.EndText

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Where: St. Andrews, Scotland.

First Round: 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday TV: ESPN

More in Sports, D1.

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