Spieth learning how to put on his game face

Jordan Spieth has a green jacket, a US Open trophy - and an eye for photojournalism.

Spieth has been the toast of golf for much of the year with his bid for the grand slam and eventually joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to finish in the top four at all four of the majors.

But after missing consecutive cuts, he could not help but notice one difference in the coverage.

Not through words, but photos.

The smile was replaced by a look of despair. The head was down. The body language was screaming a bad day on the golf course.

"It's actually amazing the amount of pictures photographers must take to get these crazy reactions when you don't think anybody is around," he said. "It's not the most flattering of pictures that happen when you're not playing well."

As for the words? He doesn't read much, though he can sense how quickly fans can jump on and off a bandwagon. Spieth doesn't seem to mind, either, because he reacts that way to the sports he watches and "so why can't people be that way with me?"

Spieth and Rory McIlroy have traded the No 1 ranking the past few weeks. Jason Day has won three of his past five tournaments, including a major. And then Rickie Fowler rallied to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

INKSTER'S ADVICE: Juli Inkster had no shortage of sports figures to question before heading to Germany as US captain at the Solheim Cup.

From the hockey world, she spoke to NHLers Ray Whitney and Jamie Baker. From baseball, she got advice from San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti.

"I'm a sports junkie, and I love talking to them about sports ... about teams and how do you get certain individuals going if they're struggling, or how do you manage 40 guys on a roster and you only play 12?" she said.

"It's just fascinating how everybody does it kind of differently."

Throw in some golf, too. She talked to Corey Pavin, Jay Haas, Paul Azinger and Phil Mickelson.

There was even mention on Tuesday of Inkster using the "pod" system that Azinger employed at Valhalla in the 2008 Ryder Cup, which is the only Ryder Cup the Americans have won since 1999.

DIVOTS: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson are among the Americans who plan two trips to Asia - for the Presidents Cup in South Korea (Oct 8-11) and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai (Nov 5-8). Johnson plans three trips. He is also planning to play the Hong Kong Open. Johnson said he would fly back to Los Angeles after each event instead of staying over ... Park In-bee won the Rolex Annika Major Award for the best overall finishes in the LPGA majors. Park won two majors this year and her worst finish was a tie for 11th in the ANA Inspiration ... The PGA Tour is using Twitter to allow fans to vote which uniforms the US and International teams should wear in the opening session in South Korea on Oct 8.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Billy Horschel (69) is the only player to start the FedEx Cup playoffs out of the top 20 and win the $10 million bonus.