Before Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas faced off in the 2012 NCAA Championship, they were Team USA teammates at the 2007 Evian Junior Masters, where they became friends. But American golf's next great rivalry may well have began in 2012 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Spieth's contributions helped the University of Texas beat Thomas and the University of Alabama for the school's first title in about 40 years. Freshmen at the time and considered the best amateurs in the nation, Spieth led Thomas most of the day and helped the Longhorns win, 3-2.
After sitting out the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Spieth will continue what has been a jam-packed schedule this season in his home state. The WGC-Dell Match Play knockout event is making its debut at the Austin Country Club, where the winner's share will be about $1.6 million.
"Jordan probably won't talk to me the rest of the week," said PGA golfer and Austin native Ben Crenshaw, who drew names out of a bowl to fill out the groupings. "They've played a lot of golf together. Obviously, they know each other very well. They're admirers of each other."
Spieth and Thomas, both 22, will not actually play against one another until Friday, and were grouped with Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson. Last year's winner, Rory McIlroy, also wound up in a group with a close friend. The PGA Tour's third-ranked player was grouped with Kevin Na, Thorbjorn Olesen and Smylie Kaufman.
"Thorbjorn is a good friend of mine. The first time I played with Thorbjorn was in Egypt in 2010. We've got a little bit of history," McIlroy said. "Smylie, I really don't know that much about. I know that he got off to a great start in his PGA Tour career. As I said, no matter who you draw in this event, you know you're going to get a tough match."
McIlroy is still seeking his first win of the season and is seeking a confidence-booster as the Masters draw near. McIlroy said he has to focus on correcting the mental aspect of his game to get to where he wants to be heading into the Masters.
"The good stuff is in there. I just need to eradicate the bad stuff," he said. "It's nothing to do with me technically. It's more mental.
"I'm beating myself up over mistakes that I'm making on the course, and then I'm not letting myself get over it so that it sort of lingers there for the next few holes."
