Spieth Wins No. 13 At Harbour Town With Little Help From His Putting

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Set aside all of the Easter and fatherhood swooning—oh it was flowing—the real standout component of Jordan Spieth’s 13th PGA Tour win came on the greens. He was not good. All-time bad in the strokes gained era.

“I won this golf tournament without a putter,” he confirmed after beating Patrick Cantlay on the first hole of sudden death to win the 2022 RBC Heritage Classic.

That he could capture his 13th win over a strong field with a balky putter makes this one of his most impressive career wins. Consider:

Spieth ended Saturday’s round with a short miss estimated at 18 inches. He then overcame this bizarre lie after driving the 9th green, blasting his next into the hospitality tent area and almost salvaging par.

Jordan On A Special Week At Pebble: "You don't want to leave."

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While a late bogey cost a few other small mistakes cost Jordan Spieth the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he (A) still managed to find his way to the interview room afterwards and (B) said glowing things unrelated to his sponsorship obligations. (Yes, I’m thinking of players raving about Royal Greens in fear of their lives.)

The bar these days is low for sure, but it’s still nice to see a player with such perspective after a tough loss down the stretch.

Q. You spoke on Tuesday in your opening press conference about loving this course loving this tournament. Can you just reflect on the week a little bit and how it went for you?

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I mean, I can't tell you how many times maybe had half a dozen times I got to tell Jake, Hey, we didn't even have to pay to play Pebble Beach this weekend. And the weather we had, I mean it's just, you don't want to leave. Like we we've been here since Saturday and as excited as I am for the next couple events, I mean I could stay here for months and just play this golf course, it's just -- all three of them were so much fun this week. They were in such great condition, they were firmer, faster, weather permitted. So it's always amazing it's one of our favorite places in the world on the Monterey Peninsula.

Silly Season: Two Stroke Penalties For Spieth, Stenson After Using Wrong Tee Box

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You know it’s the end of the year when two players you’d consider among the more detail-oriented tee off from the wrong box. Playing first out and undoubtedly taking as little time as necessary, Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson teed off from the 17th tee on The Albany’s 9th.

By all accounts the Tour staff had made clear of this possibility and gigantic tee signs were on each box, meaning the caddies also had a chance to intervene. So this one was on the players, as the video explanation from Shane Bacon and Notah Begay covers it all, followed by Spieth and Stenson talking to the press after the round:

To get an idea how zoned out the two were…

Q. What was your reaction when the official told you?

JORDAN SPIETH: I actually didn't think we were going to get penalized because it's a charity event, but then I realized there's world ranking involved and all that. I think the frustrating part for us now is that every other group's going to be -- they're making sure to tell them, but for us they didn't. It obviously didn't matter for us, which is fortunate I think for those guys. 

HENRIK STENSON: My question was if we could just finish 19th and 20th and leave after 9, but that wasn't an option, either.

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, he did. He asked them if we could just go to the airport and I said I'm down.

In normal times this would be quite humorous particularly given how meticulous these two and their bagmen usually are. But with all of the disruptive tension and importance of world ranking points, even the above antics get noticed when the field in a 20-player even has checked before the conclusion.

Jordan On FanDuel Partnership: "It was pretty exciting to look into it."

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You don’t normally hear players mentioning how much fun it was to investigate a possible sponsorship. But the hard sell mode only reinforces what seems like inevitable issues at some point with golf and gambling. At least players like Spieth express some trepidation in endorsing a gambling outfit.

From Steve DiMeglio’s Golfweek story:

“In my rookie year, this wouldn’t have been something that would have been on the radar given where sports gaming was back then,” Spieth said in a phone call with Golfweek. “But look at where it has gone the last couple of years. It was pretty exciting to look into it.

“Golf has a unique space to get into (gaming) to help bring more eyeballs into the sport, bring (other) sports fans into being golf fans, and with FanDuel being the biggest and doing the best job at responsible gambling, it made a lot of sense.”

The story also notes how Commissioner Jay Monahan played a role in convincing Spieth to take FanDuel’s money.

Spieth said Monahan convinced him golf could not refuse to welcome gaming considering its steady growth throughout the sports world. Spieth said the Tour’s movement into gaming “gave us the confidence as individual players to want to search out and look for opportunities in this space.”

Great how these independent contractors work with the Tour on a not-very independent basis.

The Ground Game Makes Good TV, Files: Spieth And Wolff At Austin CC

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No need to say much other than it sure is fun to see players use the ground so beautifully.

The PGA Tour’s Twitter account agrees. Artists at work, 2021 WGC Dell Match Play:

Spieth and Wolff are in a fascinating bracket both because of the recent strong play by their other group members (Fitzpatrick/Connors), but also because their Friday scenarios are wild.

From GolfDigest.com’s Christopher Powers:

Now, rather than being 2-0-0 and controlling his own destiny, Spieth is 1-0-1, as is Wolff, who will play Matthew Fitzpatrick on Friday. Fitzpatrick won his Thursday match handily over Corey Conners, the group’s fourth member, bringing his record to 1-1-0. Should Spieth lose to Conners on Friday, a Fitzpatrick victory would advance the Englishman to the knockout stage, while a Wolff win or tie would put him in the knockout stage. Even if Spieth wins, he may still have to beat Wolff in a sudden-death playoff if Wolff beats Fitzpatrick. A Spieth win and a Fitzpatrick win or Wolff-Fitzpatrick halve are Spieth’s two dream scenarios. Got all that?

"When you do your report on @JordanSpieth you gotta let him hear the speech."

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So much to love here with this major Jordan Spieth fan. The depth of knowledge, the delivery, the assuredness and of course the pure audacity! Oh, and so grateful that this video was captured by a fan instead of a scribe, who would face credential revocation for sharing.

Spieth: "It's nice to be going to bed wanting to do what you love to do and you get to go do it."

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I saw enough of Jordan Spieth playing round one of the Genesis Invitational to safely say his mojo is back. Whether it translates to the form of years past remains to be seen, but after an opening 68 in tricky conditions, he is primed for a third straight week contending in a PGA Tour event.

After the round he reflected on the improved state of his game, dutifully answering questions about his resurgent form.

Q. Can you just characterize what the battle has been like since your last win, trying to find these things? Obviously they're starting to come back to you, but just the level of patience that it's taken for you and how much of an inner battle that maybe is.

JORDAN SPIETH: Sure. It's kind of the first time in my life where I've had a significant dip in success. It had kind of been a nice uptick every single year. So just kind of learning how to deal with that and doing it--and having to do it in such a public way was very difficult, can sometimes present even more challenges. But at the same time, the idea is to get to the bottom of it, turn it around, make progress each day and recognize that's the past and I can use it as having some scar tissue and use it to my advantage going forward. But ultimately I'm just in the same search that everybody else is that steps on the first tee, which is feeling really in control of the golf ball and shooting low scores. Everybody's search for that is a different path and I'm living mine right now.

Q. I assume you feel a sense of momentum that's generated over the last little bit; is that true? And are you a believer in momentum and has that been something you've been chasing, just let me get it going?

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, yeah, I feel some moments where I kind of hit the shot and I have that kind of step of confidence that I just, it's kind of been missing. I'm gaining I think I can use the word momentum into just gaining confidence, gaining confidence in what I'm working on. And that kind of belief has me going to bed at night wanting to go to work tomorrow and wanting to go out there and trust what I'm doing. Whether we pull it off or not, just to make progress. It gets me really excited about playing golf and for me that makes me happy. I mean, it's nice to be going to bed wanting to do what you love to do and you get to go do it. Can't take that for granted and I'm glad to be on this side of it right now. And I do feel that there's positive momentum right now, but if I get complacent, that's the worst thing that could happen. It's just about pushing through. Now's the time where I work harder than ever and continue to trust what I'm doing.

**Spieth’s group has been added to Friday’s Featured Group coverage…

Mudball! Spieth Holes Out Second Approach Of Week, Leads AT&T Pebble Beach

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Jordan Spieth is looking for his first win since the 2017 Open at Birkdale and second AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am title Sunday.

But it was his second hole-out of the week that stole Saturday’s third round show (incidentally played an hour faster without amateurs this year). But what’s most fun about the 16th hole eagle? Spieth played for the mud.

From Steve DiMeglio’s Golfweek story:

The best swing came at the par-4 16th. After a fairway-splitting tee ball of 249 yards, Spieth holed out from 160 yards for eagle. In the first round, he holed out from 113 yards for eagle-2 on the 10th at Pebble Beach. That keyed a 65 and he added a 67 at Spyglass Hill in the second round.

“I hit an 8-iron,” Spieth said of his Saturday eagle. “I had 158 yards adjusted, with the wind in off the right and a little bit of mud on right side of the ball, so I knew I could throw it out to the right and let kind of the wind and the mud do most of the work. In the air I thought it was going to be really good, it was one of the only shots I kind of said, ‘Oh, be good,’ today. And as it landed it was just exactly where I was trying to hit it. Certainly a bonus for it to drop.

“It’s a good lesson to learn for tomorrow, that how quickly things can change out here. Guys are going to make runs and I’ve just got to stay really patient, recognize that setting a goal for myself and sticking to it is important because things can change quickly out here.”

The shot:

Thursday Chamblee: "Spieth is headed into oblivion. That’s hard to turn that ship around."

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Brandel Chamblee on Thursday, talking to Golfweek’s Adam Schupak.

Q: You just said Jordan is “on his way to oblivion.” I take that to mean you see him getting worse rather than better.

BC: If you go back and look at Ian Baker-Finch and David Duval’s ascent and descent in the game of golf, they track a similar path to Jordan Spieth. When they get to a point where they are really searching and they get desperate there’s not only the insecurity of whether or not you’re ever going to find it again, there’s also that psychological scar tissue. It’s like a physical wound and some of them will heal up and some of them will kill you.

Ian Baker-Finch or David Duval, no disrespect to them, but the only reason I picked them out is they made the game look so easy for a period of time as did Jordan Spieth. Their descent is a reminder to all of us that it is ephemeral. You can lose it in the blink of an eye. He seems to be searching every single week, spending lots of practice swings, over the ball a long time.

Duval will be thrilled!

Now those of us used to Chamblee’s pivots on the distance issue will not be surprised to learn he had already forgotten the comments about his fellow Longhorn when Schupak returned for a follow up. This, after Spieth posted rounds of 67-67-61.

GW: Do you want to walk back any of your comments about Jordan since we talked the other day?

BC: What did I say? I can’t even remember. I wasn’t probably sanguine about his comeback.

He did something today I don’t think I’ve seen. I’ll go look it up. I can’t remember a person being in the lead position in a golf tournament being dead last in fairways hit and next-to-last in distance from the edge of the fairway. That’s unprecedented. I don’t know how you do that. I guess you can in a place like the desert where there is a lot of luck involved in the lies you get and then you hit your irons like a God. He still has the ability to stun us with his short game and putter.

As I chewed on it today, there are a handful of people who lost their edge. Sam Snead in 1947-48 he won only one time because he had the putting yips and then he won 17 times when he sorted that out the next two years in 1949-50.

From oblivion to losing his edge is definitely different.

As for that final round 72 and playing this week, Schupak also reported on Spieth’s post round remarks stating his pleasure at having decided to play the Waste Management. The T4 was his best finish since a T3 at the 2019 PGA Championship.

The commentary is as robust as ever even when the mic’s cut off on the live network show.

Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger listed the reasons so many were happy to see Spieth in contention again.

He set up an enjoyable read this way:

But the first sentence is the telling one. All of sports are loaded with I-don’t-know. Most athletes aren’t willing to admit it. Spieth is. How refreshing.

He’s a breath of fresh air and has been for years.

I was rooting for Spieth on Sunday at Phoenix. (Yes, sometimes we root.) Unless your name is Jena or Chase, I’m guessing you were, too.

Xander And Jordan: Waste Management Partying On Super Bowl Sunday Like It's 2017

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Put some fans back on the course—even whose life goal is to coin the next Baba Booey—mix in one of the most volatile finishing stretches on earth and put Jordan Spieth in the lead? It should add up to a stellar Waste Management Open final round.

It’s been a while since Spieth has had a chance to win but seeing his Saturday 61 reminded just about everyone that the sport is more fun to watch when he’s hovering around a leaderboard.

I’ll leave the rest of your Sunday preview to 15th Club’s Justin Ray who went on quite a Saturday evening Tweetstorm:

PGA Tour highlights from Spieth’s 61:

When Asking For A Mark Might Have Saved Xander Schauffele A Shot (Or Two)

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As a connoisseur of backstopping gone bad I so rarely get to enjoy the spoils of the nefarious practice now that players seem to have gotten the message that ball marks are their friends.

Full enjoyment of this Farmers Insurance Open round one incident is not possible since we don’t know if Jordan Spieth was desperate to mark his ball, only to have Xander Schauffele prioritizing fast play.

But as Christopher Powers writes for GolfDigest.com, the doozy of a bad break led to a Schauffele bogey and Phil Mickelson quickly asking Spieth to mark the same ball that sent Xander’s pellet running.

The setup from Powers:

The hole is only 322 yards, and Schauffele had blasted his drive just left of the green, leaving him with a difficult sidehill lie to a tucked left pin. Up on the green, Jordan Spieth, one of Schauffele’s playing partners, had not yet marked his ball. Schauffele went ahead and hit anyway, and would you believe it, his ball hit Spieth’s and ricocheted all the way off the other side of the green. Take a look:

Again, there are two ways of looking at this: a very bad break, or he had it coming since he didn’t ask Spieth to mark his ball. Protect the field, as they say. Something tells us the fine folks on Golf Twitter will be leaning toward the “karma” argument, but we can’t be too sure.

I looked and found two Tweets from the Schauffele Legion. This either speaks to my searching skills or the audience size for round one of the Farmers.

Somewhere a gambler was happy as Spieth ended up beating Schauffele in a group match bet by just a a stroke for those where sports betting is legal.

Someone else wasn’t so happy though they have yet to blame the backstop gone bad for their financial suffering.

The offending shot in a small embed (go to GolfDigest.com to see it in a larger version):

Colonial--AKA Charles Schwab Challenge--Set Up For A Doozy Of A Finish

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Kevin Na’s not walking putts in—at least intentionally so far this week Mike McAllister reports—but he did make a mess of a hole Saturday and Nick Menta reports that Na’s caddie Kenny Harms channeled full rage toward a Live Under Par Ambassador (aka fan with a cell phone). Charming.

The mess of a hole, minus the confrontation:

A ‘73 Dodge Challenger is on the line and maybe even the Colonial jacket, though the Colonial name and Ben Hogan have been scrubbed from the signage and messaging this week.

Mac Engel wrote earlier in the week that this may have been of Fort Worth’s effort to not become Houston.

Two back, Jordan Spieth could set a Shotlink era record for feet of putts made. He’s already had his best putting week through 54 in that respect and needs about 115 feet of putts to drop for the new high water mark.

15/15 Inside 15: Jordan Spieth Has His Best (Strokes Gained) Putting Day

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You can’t keep the great putters down for long and it’s fun to see Strokes Gained putting a figure on his Colonial, err…Charles Schwab round one performance. Spieth is one back of Tony Finau after the opening round. He must have dreams of that restored Dodge Challenger going to the winner. Really!

From PGATour.com’s Sean Martin:

A PGA Tour round-up and highlight real from Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

The putter was on 🔥 today. #LiveUnderPar

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Q&A With Ben Crenshaw On The State Of Putting

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For Golfweek’s May putting issue, I couldn’t help but ask Ben Crenshaw all sorts of grumpy old man questions like why can’t these kids put like you used to, what’s with these silly green reading books and what happened to all the blade putters?

I enjoyed this answer to a question about how to get kids developing their putting:

Crenshaw: Putting contests, I always thought, were great. Harvey encouraged that. Having to putt against someone and go around the clock. There’s no better practice, because you’re putting something on the line, you’re competing. When you’re putting at different holes, that’s what golf is. When I was a kid, I found about eight balls out on the golf course. I went up to the putting green by myself, and I hit this one putt about an hour. Same putt, over and over. Harvey said, “Ben, I see what you’re doing. Your stroke looks pretty good, but you’ll never have that putt again the rest of your life. Putt to different holes.” You see young people do that in practice. They get the chalk out with straight lines and all that stuff.

Asked To "Nerd Out" About His Game, Jordan Spieth Passes

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Jordan Spieth opened with a fantastic 5-under-par 66 at the Shriners and has started the 2019 season in style.

And even though the always-interesting star telegraphed at The Open this summer to expect an increased guardedness when discussing his game, it was still disappointing to see him clam up this week when asked to spell out what he saw in his 2018 stats and what he worked on in his short off-season.

Q. 31st in the FedExCup is a pretty good low mark for a career so far. How do you assess it yourself given it was you first winless season in a while, and what do you need to do better this season?

JORDAN SPIETH: You know, I really felt like I played like 30th, but Tiger played healthier than everyone thought. He just kind of took my spot there and then went on and won

But, yeah, it was a building year. I look back at last year as something that I think will be beneficial for me in the long run. I really believe that. I know that's an easy thing to say looking at kind of the positive in a negative, but there were tangible, mechanical things that I needed to address, and I was able to throughout the season.

Unfortunately, I had to play so much, like I said, towards the end that I couldn't really get it intact. So I stepped on the first tee knowing that I was playing a C-game instead of figuring where my game is at through the first couple rounds.

But I've done a lot of good work over the last four weeks, whether it required time off thinking or required actual practice. I've done I think a good balance of that and come in here with confidence.

Q. Will you nerd out a bit on us on those things you were trying to do?

JORDAN SPIETH: I can't, you know, because that's a competitive advantage for myself.

Last I heard, golf is an individual sport where the competition is not reading your offensive schemes and making adjustments to your chip shots. Furthermore, if you hit a ball in the rough, your playing partners cannot capitalize on knowing what you worked on this off-season to hit a better recovery shot, can they? Really?

I can’t think of a single thing he could have said that would have aided the competition. Such insights are probably only interesting to family, friends and fans.

If PGA Tour players no longer feel free to talk about how they are moving their ball back an inch in the stance, or “revealing” that their play from 100-120 yards was an off-season focus, press conferences will be getting very short! And very awkward.