No reason to doubt Jordan Spieth is over his Masters collapse

— -- Way back in Ye Olden Times -- you know, like five to 10 years ago -- if we wanted to know how a professional golfer was dealing with the residual effects of a major championship heartbreak of apoplectic proportions, we'd have to wait until his next public appearance and discern whether he really believed his clichéd rhetoric about moving on with the rest of his life.

We'd have to figure out if those words rang hollow in the wake of fresh wounds, if his forced smile was only a thin veil for that disappointment, if his frustration could still be triggered without a moment's notice.

These days? We can just check Instagram.

That was the case for Jordan Spieth after he failed to successfully defend his title at last month's Masters.

As we all remember -- and most of us will never forget -- Spieth parlayed a five-stroke lead entering Sunday's back nine of the tournament into a three-stroke loss to Danny Willett. The devilish par-3 12th hole became his personal Waterloo -- heavy accent on the "water" -- as he rinsed his tee shot into Rae's Creek and splashed his next shot there, too, leading to the most inopportune quadruple-bogey in recent major memory.

Unlike when, say, Jean Van de Velde returned from his cringe-worthy 1999 Open Championship defeat or Phil Mickelson finally came back to competition following his 2006 U.S. Open loss, we didn't need to wait for Spieth to show his face in public again to get a sense of how he was handling the aftermath.

He soon embarked on a trip with some buddies that quickly became known through social media as #SB2K16 -- or hashtag Spring Break 2016, for those ignorant in the language of social media.

The ensuing videos and photos revealed a vacation with fellow pros Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Smylie Kaufman that featured plenty of shirtless golf, silly selfies and enough crazy antics to make a fraternity blush.

All of which meant we didn't need to wait until the next time Spieth spoke publicly to find out whether he was spending full days curled up in the fetal position after his brutal defeat. We just had to log on to understand that was hardly the case.

Of course, a picture might say a thousand words and a video of four shirtless golf stars can, well, say even more, but it still helps to hear those words straight from the source's mouth.

Which is why what Spieth said Tuesday prior to his maiden excursion to Oakmont Country Club, site of this year's U.S. Open, should help assuage any lingering fears that the Masters loss is going to cause irreparable damage to his psyche.

"I'm not taking it very hard," he promised. "I've got ladies in grocery stores coming up there, putting their hand on me, going, 'Really praying for you. How are you doing?' I'm like, 'My dog didn't die. I'm doing OK. I'll survive. It happens.' Again, unfortunate timing. I laugh about it now -- I really do."

This might be the difference between a two-time major champion faltering under the game's biggest spotlight versus a player still seeking his first. Or maybe it's the difference between a 22-year-old pro losing a major versus one twice his age.

The most likely scenario, though, is that these words reveal something about Spieth's intestinal fortitude, a mindset that has him laughing in the face of such apparent heartache rather than crying himself to sleep at night.

It doesn't hurt that he had plenty of support afterward, either.

"The biggest impact came from personal messages that I received from some of the world's greatest athletes," he explained. "I'm not going to give names out, because that's confidential, but literally from the world's greatest athletes. I received notes immediately following that night, pretty much saying, 'This happens everywhere. No doubt, you'll be back. Don't draw on it. It happens to everyone in all sports at different levels.' Pretty much they believe that, just as we believe, that we'll be back."

There was really never any reason to believe otherwise.

Jack Nicklaus holds the career major record with 18 titles, but he also owns the mark for the most runner-up finishes with 19. The point is, no successful player in the game's history was ever immune to failures on those biggest stages.

Spieth now has results of fourth place or better at each of the past five majors, including those two wins. If there's a takeaway for him after his most recent contention, it's not that he faltered under pressure, but that he even got himself into that situation with something less than his best stuff.

"I've actually spoken with a couple other past tour players who've said [it seemed like] you had your B game, just by having played a couple of rounds with me here or there," he said. "It's good going into other major championships that we can separate ourselves, even if your best stuff's not there to start. With the right patience and the right course management, we can still have a chance to win.

"I'm not the longest hitter or the straightest hitter of the golf ball, percentage-wise, but I believe that the way that we play is a way that we can win majors and we're very confident in the way we go about it. The fact that maybe not having our best stuff can still do it, pending one swing, it's certainly extremely nice to know."

Back in the old days, we'd be trying to read Spieth's face to understand whether he really meant those words or was just saying all of the right things for the cameras and microphones.

Now, though, as Spieth spoke at Oakmont, his message echoed that of the one we witnessed during his spring-break vacation.

He isn't going to let that Masters loss bother him. In fact, it just might have taught him a few things about himself and his game that will lead to even more success in the near future.

As he spoke those words, Spieth undoubtedly understood that he'll have many more opportunities, starting very soon.