It's hard not to like Jordan Spieth. A survey confirmed that on Thursday.
According to The Marketing Arm (via Dallas News), Spieth now ranks No. 5 when it comes to endorsement value among nearly 4,000 celebrities. When it comes to the likeability factor, only Tom Hanks, Bill Gates and Kate Middleton tracked higher.
Prior to his record-setting performance at Augusta National, Spieth failed to standout in any of the attributes ranked by The Marketing Arm's database. One green jacket later, the native Texan is now among the celebrity elite in every category but one.
For Matt Delzell, the managing director of the Marketing Arm, it's a meteoric rise like never before.
"Golf has never been considered influential or trendsetting," Delzell said. "To see Jordan at No. 10 in trendsetting with Katy Perry, Macklemore and Emma Watson, and then to see him rank 12th in influence next to Justin Timberlake and Ellen DeGeneres, that's crazy for a 21-year-old golfer. Simply astounding."
Like most flavors of the month, however, Delzell doesn't expect Spieth's celebrity to be a lasting one.
"[His numbers will erode] unless he goes on the greatest run that golf has ever seen and he wins the other three majors this year, which I don't see happening."
Since the erosion of Tiger Woods, Golf has struggled to capture the younger demographic. Now, with Spieth's rise and an already established Rory McIlroy, the sport has two faces that can jump-start the target market.
"You've got these two hot young studs coming up as No. 1 and 2 in the world and that's exactly what golf needs," Delzell said. "It's the best chance for golf since the fall of Tiger. It still has a lot of comeback work to do, but the golf gods were definitely smiling at the Masters."
The Marketing Arm of Dallas ranks entertainers, sports stars, politicians and musicians for endorsements from advertisers.
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