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Commentary: Spieth`s Caddie Comes Home For U.S. Open A Champion
Commentary: Spieth`s Caddie Comes Home For U.S. Open A Champion
With the Masters now over, all eyes turn to the next major championship: The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in June.
The local human interest element jumped a bit today – not only because of 21-year old Jordan Spieth, but also because of his caddie, Michael Greller.
We’re not downplaying the amazing accomplishment of Spieth, becoming the second-youngest Masters winner. But Greller’s story is so incredibly perfect: He’s a former part-time caddy at Chambers Bay and a former sixth-grade teacher at Narrows View Intermediate School in University Place, that a ton of local attention will also surround him when the U.S. Open begins in June.
If you think a 21-year-old winning the Masters is a longshot – I’ll up the ante with the crazy circumstances surrounding Greller.
The 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship just happened to be at Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton. And the golfer for which Greller was originally scheduled to caddie just happened to withdraw due to injury. And Greller just happened to end up caddying for a 17-year-old by the name of Jordan Spieth, who ended up winning the event.
Caddy-player relationships rarely translate from the junior ranks to the pros. But here was Greller, taking a year-long sabbatical from his teaching job in University Place two years ago to caddie for a 19-year-old Spieth, who didn’t even have full-time status on the PGA Tour.
The gamble paid off bigtime. But with Spieth winning a Green Jacket today, and with the U.S. Open here in June, the local story got an even larger shot in the arm. Greller will be returning to the course he once caddied on, no longer a middle school teacher, but rather the full-time caddie for a 21-year-old sensation.
As if Spieth wasn’t going to be a favorite amongst spectators at Chambers in June, the local connection with Greller immediately vaults him right around the top of the list.
It’s another feel-good story of taking a leap of faith, and following a dream – and finding incredible success.
And two months from now, the team of Jordan Spieth and Michael Greller will be one of the hottest commodities in town.