Mailbag: Why Jordan Spieth won't catch Jack Nicklaus' Masters record

Well, we have officially reached that point where the Masters is in the rear view mirror and we can barely see the wreckage that occurred two weekends ago at Augusta National (hey, if Rickie Fowler and Smylie Kaufman can make fun of the Jordan Spieth chunked wedge on Snapchat while on vacation with Spieth, I think everyone is going to be OK).

It's an interesting stretch on the PGA Tour right now, with the RBC Heritage last week, the Valero Texas Open this week and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans next week.

What makes me happy about this part of the schedule? That Spieth, and others, can finally get a little bit of R&R. A lot of the top names have been go-go-go since 2016 began, and this is an important time before the Players Championship to just get away from the game and enjoy life a little.

With the Olympics this year, Spieth, Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and many other Americans and Europeans could play the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship, the Olympics, the FedEx Cup and a Ryder Cup in 108 days. That's insane. This is the time to rest, to get away, to enjoy a Spring Break of sorts. It's nice to see some of the big names doing just that, but that doesn't mean golf is in hibernation.

It's a post-Masters/pre-Players mailbag! If you have future questions, hit us up on Twitter at @shanebacon or fire over lengthier questions on the Facebook page.

Bacon: A couple of Masters follow-ups to knock out. This, of course, was on the Friday 73 that Ernie Els shot after whatever the heck happened to him on the first hole Thursday (it looked like a guy trying to kill a bug with his putter and accidentally hitting his golf ball instead).

I wrote about his play after that round, but how about that follow-up to the missed cut at the Masters? His T-14 at the Heritage was his best finish in a professional golf tournament since Bay Hill last year, and considering what went down and some of his quotes about having to face his peers on the driving range on Friday at the Masters, a pretty darn impressive week from the Big Easy.

After his Sunday 66 that jumped him 34 spots on the leaderboard, Els admitted that he got in his own head at Augusta and it took him some time to get back to normal.

Golf, man. This sport can confuse, perplex and make some of the best of their generation look like a fool one day, and a genius the next.

I was impressed with Ernie on Friday at the Masters, and was equally impressed with his bounce-back at Harbour Town.

Bacon: I'm assuming a cooler full of beer and a "no golf talk allowed in the house" rule would have been the first two steps.

How do you deal with that as a 22-year-old? You have history in your palm and all of a sudden, in 12 minutes, it's gone, and you're fighting to make a historic comeback just to get back to where you were at. I would have been a mess. He makes birdie on the very next hole. There's a reason why certain people have that "it" factor and some of us write about it.

I'm not worried about Spieth at all. I said it immediately after on the Clubhouse podcast, and I'll continue to preach it; Spieth is too talented and too in control of his own emotions to let a couple of bad swings doom him moving forward.

But yes, beers would have been necessary following all of that. I might have even gone with a Natty Light as a personal punishment to myself.

Bacon: Nobody is ever winning six Masters again. The talent pool is too deep, the staying power is too difficult, and the need to be a pro for two or three decades isn't necessary. By the time Jordan Spieth is 46, the age Nicklaus won his final green jacket, he will have so much money that his Snapchat-equivalent stories will all be filmed from his Scrooge McDuck gold coin vault in one of his homes.

I've preached this a lot, but we are in the generation of the one-time major winner. Danny Willett is a really solid player, we saw that on Sunday at Augusta, but he could easily end his career with just one major, like Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Jason Dufner and on and on (I actually asked Brad Faxon this week which one-hit major winner is most likely to win again on the podcast).

We just saw how hard it is to win a major two weeks ago. Spieth is the most rock-solid mental guy we have in this generation, and he even let it get to him after finding the water with his tee shot on 12. He lost it for a second, a split second, and it cost him a green jacket.

What if he has a one-shot lead in two years and someone goes full Schwartzel on the back nine and steals it from him? What if he has a two-shot lead with two holes to play and has a Kenny Perry moment, something that can happen to anyone?

A reminder to everyone reading; it is really, really, really hard to win a major, a single major. Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and many more can attest to that.

If Spieth wins six majors total it would be an incredible accomplishment considering this era and how many great players there are. Six Masters is just not realistic. Tiger Woods looked like he was going to win 16 when he dominated in 1997, and never snagged another after his win in '05.

Bacon: And there it is, our first Bryson DeChambeau question!

I got a lot of questions in the inbox the past two weeks, and a majority were about this kid. DeChambeau turned pro before Harbour Town last week and then went on to finish T-4. He's in the field this week in San Antonio, and if we were being honest with one another, should be the favorite (he's 25-to-1, behind Jimmy Walker at 15-to-1 and a host of names at 20-to-1).

I don't want to be another media member gushing over DeChambeau, but I will say that I got to chat with this kid at the U.S. Amateur last year and he couldn't be a nicer, more polite guy. He does everything right in the sense of how he approaches the attention around him, and understands what he wants and how great he wants to be, and he's just 22 years old.

I find it funny that his haters (and there are some, already!) just discount what he did as an amateur. Not only did he join Jack, Phil, Tiger and Ryan Moore as the only players to win the NCAA individual title and the U.S. Amateur in the same season, but he did it while always having to answer questions about his style, his equipment, his way of thinking and analyzing the game. DeChambeau has been in the spotlight for years, and now that he's a pro, is probably more comfortable making that transition than most golfers doing something similar at his age.

But will he win one of his first 12 PGA Tour starts as a pro? I'll say no for now. We saw that shaky swing he made on Friday at Augusta National when he was nearing a final group invite as an amateur.

He knows all the eyes are on him, and while he's obviously a solid player, I think it'll take him some time to actually close out a PGA Tour title with all the attention and expectations.

I think DeChambeau wins before the end of '16, but I think it's more likely in a Fall Series event than in the next dozen or so starts.

Bacon: First, DeChambeau isn't eligible to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team as of now. You can read the full explanation here, but basically to earn a spot, you must be what is called an A-3 PGA of America member classification. To gain an A-3, you must be an exempt PGA Tour player (or Champions, Nationwide, LPGA or Futures), so DeChambeau will basically need to earn enough money to land a card through sponsor invites or a win (like Jordan Spieth did at the John Deere in '13) to get his name on the points list.

So let me answer the second question first, and the first question second (not confusing at all!).

What does DeChambeau have to do to earn proper attention from Davis Love III? He's got to win, for sure. I'd say at least a win, another top-5, and his game to be peaking around that PGA Championship time. I think if his game is clicking, he has to earn a spot on this team because he would be such an interesting member of that American team and exactly what Team USA needs.

Will he make the Ryder Cup team? No, he will not. (Brad Faxon said on the podcast exactly what I believe, that experience at the Ryder Cup is very overrated.)

Bryson DeChambeau

Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Tiger, Steve Stricker, these are names that have played in tons of Ryder Cup teams for the United States, and the results continue to be a big, fat L.

Task forces, team dinner meetings, all of this is fine and looks good in headlines, but the bottom line is finding guys that enjoy playing together and are excited to play together.

DeChambeau would be an amazing type of player to have in both four ball and foursomes at a Ryder Cup, the type of player who hits his wedges close and makes a lot of putts and wouldn't deviate from his game plan.

I am all in on Bryson, and would love to see him make the U.S. squad this year. Speaking of the full American team, let's take an updated look at who would be a great fit, shall we?

Bacon: Before we get into the rankings, I laughed at this tweet someone sent to SI's Alan Shipnuck earlier in the week.

Now, that isn't entirely true, with Tony Finau winning the non-WGC event in Puerto Rico the same week as the Dell Match Play, but it is pretty crazy that American golf, especially the big names, have been so invisible since the Northern Trust Open in late February.

As for the Ryder Cup rankings, here are the current rankings, with the top-8 landing automatic invites to Hazeltine if points ended today.

1.) Jordan Spieth

2.) Dustin Johnson

3.) Bubba Watson

4.) Brandt Snedeker

5.) Zach Johnson

6.) Rickie Fowler

7.) Phil Mickelson

8.) J.B. Holmes

9.) Patrick Reed

10.) Bill Haas

11.) Brooks Koepka

12.) Kevin Kisner

Bubba Watson

Of that list, I think it's safe to say that Spieth, DJ, Bubba and Rickie will be on the American squad, no matter what. I also think Zach is the type of guy these older captains love for their team, and I would be surprised if Phil wasn't on the team even if he had to be a captain's pick.

But the team I want to see? Here it is: Spieth, DJ, Bubba, ZJ, Rickie, Phil, Reed, Koepka, Finau, Justin Thomas, Kevin Na, DeChambeau.

That's the winning American Ryder Cup team! You're welcome, everybody. Bank it.

As for the Europeans, I'm almost scared to pull up their page as it seems their team gets more and more stacked each Ryder Cup year. Gulp, OK, here goes.

Danny Willett

Danny Willett

Rory McIlroy

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Andy Sullivan

Henrik Stenson

Justin Rose

Rafa Cabrera-Bello

Sergio Garcia

Soren Kjeldsen

My goodness, do you realize some of the names that aren't automatically on this European team? Great players like Thorbjorn Olesen, Chris Wood, Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Pieters, Lee Westwood and, ahh, this can't be happening again, can it?!

Before the season it really did look like the Americans would have a huge advantage at this Ryder Cup for the first time since Tiger was an amateur, but things are tightening up with some of the lesser names gaining confidence with great finishes and green jackets.

The interesting thing to watch as this whole European team unfolds is how many veterans will make the team on reputation alone.

Will we see Westwood or Ian Poulter or Graeme McDowell, or will he go with younger players who have played better golf the last year or so? It's going to be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Bacon: I mean, I have to say the Waste Management because it's in my hometown and it's basically Coachella with a golf tournament happening in the middle of it, but I love the Colonial and even though you said it, I have to put the Players Championship in it.

I attended the Players last year as a "fan" and not a media member, and let me say, it's one of the best golf experiences I've ever had. There are so many places to hang, so many good spots to catch golf, and so many local eateries that set up shop around the golf course for yummy bites and cold drinks (Rickie Fowler famously snagged some tacos from a truck a couple of years back in between holes).

TPC Sawgrass was basically built to host golf tournaments, and I'm not sure another place, outside of the majors, does it better than the Players.

Definitely a must-visit if you are trying to check out some golf and have a bit of fun, plus, there are so many good couch areas around Sawgrass to take a quick nap if you're a bit beat from all the walking.

Bacon: I'm almost done with "Chasing Greatness: Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer and the Miracle at Oakmont" by Adam Lazarus, and if you're a fan of golf history and the ups and downs of U.S. Opens, it's a must-read. I've really enjoyed it, and pulled a lot of info out of it that will help during the broadcast in a couple of months at Oakmont.

Bacon: I would probably frame all the SI covers that Tiger was on, because they are all so iconic. Maybe have a Tiger Woods wall with just those great covers, because there were so many and it reminds us daily that Woods was the greatest to ever play the game during a stretch of golf and he deserved all the covers and more because he was so darn impressive.

I would have some Lee Wybranski art from some of the U.S. Opens, a framed picture of St. Andrews, Cabot Cliffs, Bandon Dunes (16th at Bandon, probably) and Royal Melbourne, and a top-100 courses in the world board that you could tick off when you got the chance to play one of those beauties.

In the cigar part of the man cave I'm having photos of golfers taking down cigarettes on the course, like the iconic shot of Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer at the 1966 Masters, any shot of John Daly taking down a heater and absolutely including two-time major champion Angel Cabrera enjoying some tobacco.

And a Lee Trevino wall, where I just have photos of Trevino being goofy and his great quotes splattered around his images. Trevino was such a legend, and I think his take on golf would go great in a man cave.

Bacon: I guess I'd say fairway wood, because golfers part way too soon with their drivers, their wedges and their putters. I think being a fairway wood means I stay in the bag (like Woody in "Toy Story") the longest.

If we're talking golf club in the sense of an actual golf course, I'm leaning towards a fun "hang" spot like Whisper Rock, Bandon or Prairie Club. Those places are fun, lively and have groups of people there to play golf and play golf only.

And if we're talking sandwich, I guess I'd say a club sandwich with crispy bacon, no middle piece of bread (we 30-somethings have to watch the unnecessary gluten) and mustard instead of mayo.

Bacon: You've gotta go Jason Day at this point. He already has two wins and is the most likely candidate to win the "Jason Day Award for a Late Season Sweep."

For some reason, he gets better as the season goes on, and with two wins already, I think he could get to four or five before the year ends.

Bacon: Is it possible to like a golfer more than I like Kiradech Aphibarnrat? First, his name is unbelievable (when I'm announcing for PGA Tour Live and know he's coming up it's like a surge of caffeine is immediately coursing through my veins), he's fun to watch, and he's really, really good (T-6 at Bay Hill, T-18 at the Match Play and a T-15 at the Masters in his last three starts).

But his push-up form needs some work.

First, the push-up in question.

OK, Kiradech, my three points of emphasis here:

1.) You gotta lock those arms out. A push-up needs to be locked out on completion. My high school football coach would not have counted either of those.

2.) Get that chest on the ground! All the way down, all the way up. That's how these work.

3.) And this is for Bubba, let's get those flying elbows in a bit! No need to be that wide with the arms, Bubs!

I love this video. More like this please, Kiradech.

Bacon: If you missed it, Adam Scott announced this week that he won't be at the Olympics in Rio (Vijay Singh also said he wouldn't be attending; so too did Louis Oosthuizen), telling Golf Australia, "My decision has been taken as a result of an extremely busy playing schedule and other commitments, both personal and professional."

I have a few thoughts on this, but I wanted to start with the simple decision not to play. Scott and Jason Day were locks to make up a very impressive Australian team, but as I've noted a few times, how fun is it to have Scott and Day on a team when they aren't actually playing together? The 72-hole stroke play format has been a buzzkill to the Olympics since it was announced, and I think a different style of format would have caught the interest of players, and fans, alike. Scott and Day facing off as representatives of Australia would been more appealing to everyone when you consider they might be playing a team of Rory-McDowell, Spieth-Fowler or Rose-Casey. The miss has always been in the presentation of this format, I believe, but it also didn't help with the scheduling.

Back in 1971, the PGA Championship was moved to February instead of the common August date because of anticipated brutal weather in the Florida area (PGA National was the host).

If the PGA could be moved for weather, why couldn't it be moved every four years for the Olympics? How cool would it be for the PGA to be played in late February? We'd have an early season major, followed by the Masters, and the summer belonging to both Opens.

That would allow the Olympics to live on its own at the end of the season, preceding the FedEx Cup and giving Americans and Europeans a break before the Ryder Cup.

I don't know if the PGA of America would be against this. Augusta National might, because it would lose the allure of the "first major of the season." The players might, because they would have to front-end their scheduling so they could be prepared for the PGA. But personally I think it would be awesome to have it switched up every four years.

I'm interested to see how many players follow Scott's lead and bow out of the Olympics before the summer. The Ryder Cup has a great history, the Presidents Cup allows everyone else in the world to be shown in a global golf event and the majors are the majors, but the Olympics are new and it seems that players aren't as excited as other athletes are about winning a medal as of now. That will most likely change when someone Instagrams a picture of a medal next to a Claret Jug or a green jacket following the competition, but Scott's decision has at least opened the door for others to follow his lead and not be lambasted for it.

Bacon: Three things:

*Their ability to hit shots out of plugged lies in bunkers to a respectable distance and save pars (even good players out of plugged lies are hoping to just keep it on the golf course).

*Their ability to battle away bogeys on a consistent basis. These guys just will not allow themselves to make bogeys, and it's so impressive to watch when they get out of position, which happens a lot more than people think.

*Their ability to close out rounds. I played with some Web Tour guys in a money game in Phoenix not too long ago, and I am always impressed at how they can close the round out with a birdie on 17 or one on 18. When you watch any professional tour, you see guys make clutch birdies on final holes all the time, or pull off insane golf shots late in their rounds. Regular golfers get nervous when they're closing out good rounds, choking more often than not, but these guys can always put the finishing touch on a round and I long for that ability all the time.

Basically that was a lengthy way of saying, "everything they do is impressive."