Woods on Spieth: ‘He’s a more athletic Jim Furyk’

Tiger Woods respects Jordan Spieth’s game, so it wasn’t an insult when the 14-time major champion said last week, “[Spieth] is a more athletic Jim Furyk.”

Woods, speaking to Global Golf Post, was assessing Spieth’s game at the Hero World Challenge, which Woods hosts and Spieth was defending champion. It was in no way meant in a pejorative way. Woods meant that Spieth plays to his strengths, just like Furyk, another player Woods respects tremendously.

Spieth is long enough but not freakishly long like Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, Spieth’s closest pursuers in the Official World Golf Ranking. The 22-year-old is also a grinder, who works very hard over every shot and is a fiery competitor.

After his great 2015, Spieth already has more majors than Furyk, who won his only major title at the 2003 U.S. Open. However, the 45-year-old Furyk could prove an inspiration to Spieth given his longevity. Furyk won his 17th PGA Tour title in 2015 at the RBC Heritage.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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