Tag: Shawn Spieth

Jordan Spieth wants his dad to ‘swing like Nelly’ at the PNC, as Petr and Nelly Korda are grouped with Team Spieth

Jordan Spieth has a swing thought this weekend for his dad: Swing like Nelly.

ORLANDO — Jordan Spieth has a swing thought this weekend for his dad: Swing like Nelly.

“It’s like playing with Adam Scott,” gushed Spieth. “She swings it so sweet. It will be nice to watch that tempo, and hopefully dad will watch that tempo and take that tempo.”

Saturday at the PNC Championship offers Korda her first chance to watch Spieth in person. Korda, currently No. 2 in the world, said her big takeaway last week at the QBE Shootout was the friendly vibes on the men’s tour.

She’s looking forward to more of that this week as she plays alongside her father, Petr, for a second year in a row. Last year, Nelly met Tiger Woods, her childhood idol at the PNC and called it a dream.

“Every year I get a nice, sweet treat from this event,” she said.

Adding to that sweetness will be the fact that her entire family (mom, dad and Nelly, Jessica and Sebastian) will be together on Sunday for the first time in a long time. They spent 40 hours together watching Sebastian compete in the U.S. Open. Prior to that, they were all together for Jessica’s wedding last December.

“Out of that 40 hours, I probably saw him for like two or three,” said Nelly. “So he’ll come Sunday, and then we’ll all get to spend time together next week before he leaves to Australia.”

Petr and Nelly had only played together three holes coming into this week. Petr spends a lot of time outside the ropes watching Nelly and on the courts working with Sebastian.

Dad notes that neither Jessica nor Nelly give him shots when they play, and that something is always on the line.

“He’s good,” said Nelly. “He shoots around even par. He is still like – he almost beat me a year ago, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ ”

Petr said he has played less than six or seven times this year. Even so, Nelly said he takes every opportunity to get in their heads.

“I can a little bit compete with them on the golf course,” he said, “but when we get on the tennis court, I feel good.”

After a trying year in which Nelly had surgery for a blood clot and missed several months of competition, she’s going into the new year feeling good after a victory at the penultimate LPGA event and couple of feel-good events.

“It was so special to be here last year,” said Nelly. “Made some really great memories. When we got invited this year, we were over the moon we could come back and play this event and make some more memories together.”

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Jordan Spieth’s dad tells stories of Jordan dusting kids at age 12, and wants to win in rookie appearance at PNC Championship

“First time he (beat me) was a lower score than I had ever posted” — Shawn Spieth

ORLANDO – Jordan Spieth and his father Shawn are rookies at the PNC Championship, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have great expectations.

“Dad wants to win,” he said on Thursday during a pre-tournament press conference. “I’ll do my best to try and help put us in a position to do so.”

A member of each team must have won at least one major or the Players Championship and Spieth became eligible by winning the Masters in 2015 for the two-day 36-hole team event that uses a two-person Scramble format.

“Anyone who I’ve talked to about it says, you’ve got to play it,” Spieth said.

It was Jordan’s dad who helped get him in the game at a young age and it wasn’t long before “the Golden Child” was whipping up on his old man.

“First time he (beat me) was a lower score than I had ever posted,” Shawn Spieth said.

Jordan, 29, figures he was nine at the time and won by six or eight.

“It was probably nine holes back then, too,” Jordan said. “That’s a beat down.”

“No, it wasn’t nine holes,” Shawn said. “You wouldn’t stop after nine.”

Jordan hasn’t stopped going low, winning three majors in all, reaching world No. 1 for a stretch and becoming a stalwart of U.S. teams in international competition.

When asked to pinpoint when he realized that his son possessed a special talent for the game, Shawn told a great story of watching his son compete at age 12 in a regional tournament in Waco, Texas. Jordan torched the last eight holes with six birdies and an eagle to open up a five- or six-stroke lead.

“Maybe he’s pretty good,” Shawn said.

Jordan Spieth poses on the 18th green with his mom Chris, father Shawn, sister Ellie and wife Annie after winning the 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

But to hear Shawn tell it, Jordan didn’t pick up his golf skills from him.

“I’m not a great golfer. I practiced for the last six weeks and I’m maybe twice as good as I was six weeks ago,” he said. “I’ve still got a long way to go.”

Jordan, who has a critical eye for every shot he hits, described his dad’s game with the love and care of someone trying to build his partner’s confidence for the upcoming competition.

“He has a really good short game. Pretty good iron play and the worst part is when he wants to hit a drive really far, which is most every drive,” Jordan said. “When he swings smooth, he drives it really nice.”

“Swing like Nelly,” he added of Nelly Korda, who the Spieths will play alongside in Saturday’s opening round. “That’s going to be your goal on Saturday.”

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