Tag: Jordan Spieth

No Travelers for Tiger Woods, but field still bursting with stars

While Tiger Woods won’t be playing, another loaded field will be heading north to the Travelers, including the top 7 players in the world.

Tiger Woods won’t be traveling to the Travelers Championship.

The reigning Masters champion and 15-time major winner will extend his break from the PGA Tour for at least another week after not committing by Friday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline for next week’s Travelers at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Woods has never played in the tournament. He did not issue a statement.

We last saw Woods in The Match: Champions for Charity on May 24, where he and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. Woods, seeking a record 83rd PGA Tour title, last played on the PGA Tour on Feb. 16, when he shot a final-round 77 to finish in last place at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club north of Los Angeles.

In his only other Tour start this year, he tied for ninth in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

The next tournament where Woods could make his first Tour start would be the July 2-5 Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. That will be the fourth tournament since the PGA Tour resumed action last week with the Charles Schwab Championship. Woods also bypassed this week’s RBC Heritage.

Still a loaded field

While Woods won’t be playing, another loaded field will be heading north to the Travelers. The top seven players in the world are in the field – world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2 Jon Rahm, No. 3 Justin Thomas, No. 4 Brooks Koepka, No. 5 Dustin Johnson, No. 6 Patrick Reed and No. 7 Patrick Cantlay.

In addition to those men, No. 9 Webb Simpson and No. 10 Xander Schauffele are also playing. The only top-10 player not in the field is Adam Scott.

Defending champion Chez Reavie, a winner by four shots in 2019; two-time winner Bubba Watson; 2017 winner Jordan Spieth and 2012 champ Marc Leishman will be at TPC River Highlands. Adding to the star power will be newly minted 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Gary Woodland and Jason Day.

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Jordan Spieth hits bump in road, then reels off six straight birdies at RBC Heritage

The three-time major winner’s lone blemish on Thursday at the RBC Heritage was just a bump in the road that gave way to an extended joy ride.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Jordan Spieth was going all Jordan Spieth again.

No, not the roller-coaster thing, although the scorecard would indicate he got dizzy on another 18-hole ride, this one coming at Harbour Town Golf Links during Thursday’s first round of the RBC Heritage. No, it wasn’t one of those he’s back, he’s not back, he’s back, he’s not back days that have popped up since his most recent victory, that coming in the 2017 Open Championship.

In reality, the three-time major winner’s lone, ugly blemish on the card was more of a bump in the road that gave way to an extended joy ride by the sea. When he pulled into the scoring area, his signature verified a 5-under-par 66 that included a triple bogey offset by eight birdies, including six consecutive – the longest streak of his PGA Tour career.

“Today wasn’t really a roller coaster,” Spieth said. “That triple was a bogey at worst if it doesn’t ricochet 25 yards out of bounds. In the air, it was fine. It was just going to be in the trees, whether I could punch it to the green or punch out. I hit a tree, and it went about 20 yards to the right across the car path out of bounds. It wasn’t an out-of-bounds shot.

“It just got kind of a tough break. Then my three-putt was sloppy there. All of a sudden, I’m 3 over through three. It’s not a great feeling.”

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The OB-ball came on his third hole of the day – the par-4 12th. He immediately started feeling better with a birdie on the 13th, then lit up the front nine with seven birdies in his last eight holes, including six consecutive staring at the par-3 fourth.

If spectators were allowed, his birdie binge would have set off roars around this tight, tree-lined course as he scored from 12, 7, 2, 2, 5, 8, 12 and 3 feet.

“I’ve been making a lot of putts. I’ve been making a lot of birdies in my rounds,” Spieth said. “I told Michael (Greller, his caddie) on 13, I said, ‘All right, that’s over. Let’s get four today and shoot under par for the day, and that’s the new goal.’

“I ended up getting a few more than that.”

Spieth was two back of pace-setting Ian Poulter, who closed his bogey-free round of 64 with two birdies. Sebastian Munoz and Viktor Hovland stood second at 65 and Spieth was joined at 66 by Tony Finau and Matthew NeSmith.

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Last week, Spieth opened with a pair of 65s in the Charles Schwab Challenge and was one back with 18 to play. The golf world was saying he was back, especially after a lot of long, hard work on his game during the COVID-19 pandemic break.

But he closed with a 71 and finished in a tie for 10th. Last week was a roller-coaster – 22 birdies but four missed putts inside three feet, one OB ball and five bogeys in the final round. He there were far more positives than negatives last week.

“That was my first time in that position in right around two years, being anywhere near within three strokes of the lead starting a Sunday,” Spieth said. “So I expect that to be not quite sharp yet. You start to feel more comfortable the more experiences you get. Today had nothing to do with last Sunday.

“So if I work my way in over the next couple rounds on Sunday, I expect to feel a little more comfortable than I was last week. So I’m giving myself grace, but that’s not to say I’m not expecting to do better and better each week.”

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PGA proves that a return to action is more than doable

What I’m Hearing: Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio spoke with a number of golfers and event coordinators following the Charles Scwab Challenge and the shared feeling is that the PGA’s plan to return is being well executed, despite the awkwardness of no fans.

What I’m Hearing: Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio spoke with a number of golfers and event coordinators following the Charles Scwab Challenge and the shared feeling is that the PGA’s plan to return is being well executed, despite the awkwardness of no fans.

Xander Schauffele flies under the radar, so no crowd is no problem

The Schwab Challenge has Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Branden Grace and Collin Morikawa all within one.

FORT WORTH, Texas — The first event back after three months off was supposed to give PGA Tour players a chance to get their sea legs. A comfortable stretch. A quiet, but competitive few rounds of golf in the Texas heat after 91 days of quarantine.

Instead, the power-packed field at Colonial Country Club has turned the Charles Schwab Challenge into a free-for-all. Xander Schauffele’s 66 gave him a one-stroke lead at the conclusion of Saturday’s play, but names like Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Branden Grace and Collin Morikawa were all a single stroke back with a host of other top guns are looming close behind.

Tee times, TV info | Photos | Leaderboard | Updates

Colonial had been forgiving through most of the day but tightened up a little as the leaders came in through considerable heat. The forecast isn’t expected to let up on Sunday, with temperatures to rise near triple digits. It’s not unusual for the Schwab to have warm days, but since it was pushed back three weeks due to the pandemic, and with an early Texas summer hot spell, stamina could be an issue for the final round.

Schauffele was masterful again, following up rounds of 65 and 66 with another smooth 66 — this time posting a pair of bogeys on par-3s, but adding six birdies as his driver kept him in good position much of the day.

What’s most surprising is the way Schauffele has been playing Colonial like it’s one of his favorites. In reality, he’s failed to make the cut the last two years in Fort Worth and managed just a T-48 in his 2017 debut.

But he insisted familiarity breeds comfort.

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“Playing it more makes me more comfortable,” he said. “But I think in years prior it was much windier and I didn’t play the greens as great. Just a comfort factor. My caddie (Austin Kaiser) has gotten better, as well, in terms of picking lines and doing his job, so I think collectively we’ve done a better job preparing for this week.”

With a top field in place — the best the tournament had seen in decades — there’s an intense vibe that might not always be detectable at this event. Daniel Berger and 36-hole leader Harold Varner III are just two shots behind. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Corey Conners and Abraham Ancer are all sitting three back at 10-under.

This all sets up a surreal finish, but with no fans on site. Aside from a handful of external grandstands providing occasional pockets of applause, the event has been held like a major junior event, with just volunteers on site.

Schauffele said it doesn’t bother him, since he’s sort of an introvert anyway.

“I’m kind of a quiet guy, I guess, so I’m not — I don’t have like a huge effect on the crowd I’d say, so not having fans isn’t the craziest thing to me,” he said. “I think it’ll feel almost like amateur golf or junior golf where we all want to win. We all want to compete, and we’re all super competitive. When we were younger and playing in college or over the summer an amateur schedule, it was quiet. There weren’t any fans out, and we all were kind of going head-to-head, and everyone wanted it just as much as the next guy in line.

“I sort of feel like it might kind of feel like that tomorrow, where coming down the stretch if you’re in the hunt, everyone is going to be — at least leaderboards are up, that kind of helps — but it’ll be really quiet and everyone is going to be minding their own business.”

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Former Longhorn Jordan Spieth second in the Charles Schwab Classic

Former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth is closing in on a win at the Colonial during the Charles Schwab Classic. Currently one shot back.

It has been a long while since the words “Jordan Spieth is within striking distance” were uttered in a PGA event. In fact the former Texas Longhorn hasn’t won any event since he won the 2017 Open Championship on July 23rd of that year. It gave him his third win of the calendar year with the others being the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Travelers Championship. He has been in a drought ever since.

Spieth shot identical 65’s on the first two days of the challenge and following that up on Saturday with a 68. That put him at (-12) under par for the weekend, which is good enough for second behind leader Xander Schauffele. Spieth is currently tied with four other golfers. The number one ranked golfer in the world Rory McIlroy is currently two shots behind Spieth.

Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

If Jordan Spieth can overcome the one shot deficit he faces heading into the final day on the course, he will take home $7.5 million. Not only that but he could walk away with his first win in almost three full years. As of right now, he is looking like the Jordan Spieth of old. Once upon a time many thought would be the next top golfer in the world.

Currently he is the 56th ranked golfer in the world. A win in his home state of Texas in Fort Worth should only increase his ranking. Spieth is trying to find that magic again and now would be a great time to start for the former Longhorn.

Jordan Spieth looking like himself again despite Horrible Horseshoe hiccup

Jordan Spieth was cruising at Colonial, a place he knows well, until reaching the Horrible Horseshoe.

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Jordan Spieth is looking like Jordan Spieth again.

Well, except for the time when the Horrible Horseshoe rang his bell.

The three-time major winner, who is trying to shake a three-year funk that has dropped him to No. 56 in the world rankings, was making the game look easy Friday in the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.

Gleefully touring one of his favorite courses, Colonial Country Club, Spieth was posting red numbers with seeming ease. Starting on the 10th, he made a half-dozen birdies through 11 holes to get to 11 under, two shots clear of the field and in prime position to end a winless stretch going back to his victory in the 2017 British Open.

Tee times, TV info | Best photos | By the rankings | Leaderboard

All the work he did with his coach, Cameron McCormick, during the pandemic-induced pause on the PGA Tour looked to be taking hold as he split the tight fairways, attacked the small greens with superb iron play and turned to his magical ways on the greens with putter in hand.

Then he got to the third hole, the start of a three-hole stretch of struggle nicknamed the Horrible Horseshoe. All started fine as he found another fairway on the par 4 and knocked his approach to 30 feet. Twelve under and a three-shot lead was definitely in play.

Then Spieth got all sorts of out of sorts.

His first putt ran 3 feet by. His second putt ran 3 feet by. His third putt ran 3 feet by. His fourth putt finally found the bottom of the cup.

A four-jack from one of the best putters in the world is not something you see every day, and it certainly shook up the kid from Dallas.

Visibly dazed, Spieth followed his double-bogey six by missing the green on the par-3 fourth and made bogey. In less than 25 minutes, Spieth dropped three shots to par and dropped out of the lead.

“I did a really good job of staying very neutral where I’d been kind of getting really negative or down on myself for a little while in the past now. I felt that I gave myself some grace to say, look, I haven’t really been practicing a ton of those kind of short-range putts,” Spieth said. “Those are ones where you just have a ton of them when you’re playing in competition but you’re picking them up a lot of times when you’re playing regular rounds of golf at home.”

Spieth got back to being Spieth with birdies on the next two holes – including the tough, 472-yard par-4 fifth – and finished with a second consecutive 5-under 65 to stand at 10 under and one shot out of the lead set by Harold Varner III.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy shot 63 to move to 9 under along with No. 12 Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, who has yet to miss a cut in 21 starts since turning pro last year.

“There wasn’t a huge swing of emotions,” Spieth said. “I stayed calm. I was just trying to hit each shot where it needed to go to make the best score on that hole, and five was huge. Five was really big, to feel like I kind of salvaged the Horrible Horseshoe and came out of it with actually some momentum.”

Spieth always has the mojo going at Colonial, where he won in 2016 and finished runner-up in 2015 and 2017. His career average is a blistering 67.79. So it’s the ideal place for Spieth to turn 2020 around, which so far has included just one finish in the top 50 in six starts.

“When I got done yesterday, I thought I could just minorly improve in a couple areas of the game, stuff I’m working on, trying to trust it a little bit more with different shots and especially off the tee with the long clubs, and certainly it was improved today,” Spieth said. “I played a really, really solid round of golf with a kind of 20-minute hiccup for a couple holes, and with eight birdies around this place, it’s nothing to complain about.

“To me it’s about feels. I’m looking for the feels, and I was giving myself grace on the outcome, and as long as I stay focused on doing that this weekend, that keeps me progressing forward.”

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WATCH: Jordan Spieth takes the lead at Charles Schwab Challenge

Texas ex Jordan Spieth had an impressive Friday morning at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.

On Friday morning, Texas ex Jordan Spieth had two of the best rounds we’ve seen from him in a long time. Continue reading “WATCH: Jordan Spieth takes the lead at Charles Schwab Challenge”

Golf fans are pumped that Jordan Spieth is at the top of the leaderboard again

Jordan Spieth is back to playing excellent golf again.

Jordan Spieth was once hyped as a player destined to win double-digit majors over the course of his career, but after a remarkable start to his career, the 26-year-old has struggled mightily with his game. Spieth’s last tournament victory came in 2017 at the Open Championship, but since the start of the 2018 season he’s posted just 11 top 10 finishes in 54 starts and fallen to 56th in the world golf rankings.

Returning to one of his best courses this week as the PGA Tour season resumes, though, the three-time major champion is showing flashes of his old game. After posting an opening-round 65, Spieth charged to the top of the leaderboard on Friday with six birdies in his opening 11 holes.

If not for a disaster at the par-4 third hole, Spieth would have posted a phenomenal at Colonial. He had a routine three-foot putt for par – but three-putted from that position for a brutal double-bogey.

Spieth went on to bogey his next hole, but bounced back with back-to-back birdies.

It’s been tough to see Spieth struggle over the last few years, and many fans were overjoyed to see him in contention once again.

Charles Schwab Challenge free trivia game

USA TODAY has released a new, special trivia game around The Charles Schwab Challenge, which you can take part in absolutely free. It’s easy to participate.

The Charles Schwab Challenge: Trivia – How to play

  • Sign up for free at USA TODAY Trivia
  • Select The Charles Schwab Challenge box.
  • Answer each question with how you believe event will play out
  • Sit back and watch your “My Stats” results to see how you’re doing

Sign up now for USA TODAY’s The Charles Schwab Challenge trivia game.

Watch: Jordan Spieth four-putts at Charles Schwab Challenge, loses lead

Watch Jordan Spieth four-putt at the Charles Schwab Challenge to lose the lead on Friday.

Jordan Spieth was flying high and fast on Friday morning, soaring up the Charles Schwab Challenge leaderboard in search of his first win since the 2017 Open Championship.

Starting his round on the back nine, the 11-time PGA Tour winner made the turn to the front at 4-under on the day thanks to four birdies. Spieth made two more birdies on the first two holes to take the lead at 11-under.

Then he hit some turbulence.

Despite hitting the fairway off the tee and the green in regulation, Spieth went on to make double bogey on the par-4 third hole thanks to a disastrous four-putt effort from 29 feet (and three from three feet).

It was the ninth four-putt of Spieth’s PGA Tour career, the last coming at the 2019 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

A bogey on the next hole appeared to signal the wheels falling off the round for the three-time major champion. To quote the great Lee Corso, “not so fast, my friend.”

Consecutive birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 propelled Spieth back into a tie for first at 10 under with Harold Varner III, who then birdied his final hole to take the solo clubhouse lead at 11 under.

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What PGA Tour players are saying about vacant 8:46 tee time

In the wake of the death of George Floyd, 8:46 has become a symbol for the racial injustice and the PGA Tour says it wants to do its part.

In the wake of the death of George Floyd, 8:46 has become a symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community, and the PGA Tour says it wants to do its part to help move forward.

On the PGA Tour’s official website, it reads:

As part of ongoing efforts to amplify the voices and efforts underway to end racial and social injustice, the TOUR has set aside an 8:46 a.m. tee time that will feature no players. The time has been set aside at both Colonial Country Club (Charles Schwab Challenge) and TPC Sawgrass (Korn Ferry Tour Challenge), as 8:46 has become a universal symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community.

Here’s what various PGA Tour players have said about the idea, leading into Thursday’s opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge:

Rory McIlroy

Yeah, so I think what the PGA Tour has done with the moment of silence at 8:46 and not using that tee time is a wonderful gesture. And I think if you look at golf — look, I grew up — my hero growing up was Tiger Woods. Tiger doesn’t look the same as me, has had a very different upbringing to the one that I have had, but he was my hero growing up, and it didn’t matter what color his skin was, what his beliefs were. Tiger was my hero, and he’s been a lot of kids’ heroes over the years that have grown up playing golf. We have had him — we’ve been very lucky to have him in our game. I think that there should be more people like him in golf, and I think what the conversation that Jay and Harold Varner had about these issues I think really hit home with me. Harold said, it maybe just isn’t about the players, it’s about everyone in the game of golf. There’s so many people that are involved with the game, and as long as we continue to give people from different backgrounds opportunities to be in golf, that can only be a good thing.

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Harold Varner III

I think there will be discussion. I think some will forget about it. I think so many people will move on, but the conversation I had with Jay when we weren’t being recorded, I think this week won’t be the last week, because it’s getting to the point where everyone has a voice that if the PGA Tour was to forget it, they would get hounded every day. So it’s just kind of like yes, they’re pressured, but I also think that it’s the right thing to do, and I think Jay knows that, so I’m super behind him on that, and we got to talking about some things where I come from, what I think about it. I’m just super fortunate to be able to say something and it matter but also be a part of the change. Everyone in this society right now is going to be a part of that.

Brooks Koepka

First off, I think it’s awesome that the PGA Tour has stepped up. Being especially one of the first sports back, it’s important to set the tone going forward for other sports, for just people in general. And I think it’s important to set the tone. 8:46, I think it’s going to be special. It’ll be something — I don’t know that the PGA Tour has ever really done something like this, a moment of silence even during the rounds. Not while I’ve been playing. I think it’s special with what’s going on right now. There needs to be change, and I want to be part of the solution, and I think this is one way that the PGA Tour is stepping up and doing that.

Jordan Spieth

I think it’ll be something that hopefully we can kind of stick with however long we need to. But I think it’s certainly a really nice thing to do with the way things have been.

Ryan Palmer

I think it’s great. 8:46, everybody on the golf course, the driving range, everywhere will stop and have a moment of silence and say a quick prayer for all those affected through all this. It’s been crazy obviously watching what you see on TV, but I think it’s great to show our support just for America in general. It’s been a tough few weeks for a lot of people I know. I know I speak — I watched the episode with Jay Monahan and Harold Varner, which was unbelievable what they talked about, so all I can do is support them and support America coming together, and like I said, everybody just love one another and stay safe.

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