Jordan Spieth came out red hot at the John Deere Classic on Saturday with his lowest score of the season, shooting an 8-under 63 to move to 14-under overall. Spieth worked his way up to 33rd place on a moving day and made the most of an early tee time.
The former University of Texas Longhorn finished in 6-under par 29 after eight holes. He added two more birdies on the 10th and 12th holes before his only fumble of the day.
Spieth bogeyed the par-4 13th hole but quickly recovered, then reeled off three straight pars and his ninth birdie of the day on the 17th hole, coming close to an eagle but falling just inches short.
“I felt a lot better than I did when I was 7 under going to the 16th hole, and even had a weird feeling of disappointment at that point,” Spieth said. “I hit two beautiful shots on the 17th hole and was just a half-stroke away from getting an eagle, which was really nice.”
“Overall, the pin at the end was tough. Luckily, I don’t think anybody in the field is going to finish with four birdies in a row. Most of the players have birdies a little earlier than that. It was a good day. A lot of things went right. I was better than yesterday. That was my goal.”
Spieth’s putter proved to be one of the most powerful clubs in his bag on Saturday, when he made a 100-foot putt on the 12th hole.
Saturday’s 63 was his best round of the week, but that’s what he’s always done in this tournament: Spieth starts slow but gets stronger as the week progresses.
“It’s a race. It’s the best scoring conditions,” he said. “There were quite a few forward pins in the bowl that you had to birdie. Sometimes the shots seem too easy because you’re not used to it, and that’s the hardest part.”
“Luckily, I was able to take advantage of those opportunities and make a couple of putts,” Spieth said. “All in all, it was a good, solid round. No chip-ins, nothing that really stood out, no crazy plays here and there. But if I can just play as solid tomorrow as I did today and get a couple more chances, I’d have to play too perfect to have a chance, but I’ll try to do what I did today.”
Spieth is currently tied for 14th on the leaderboard at 14 under par. TPC Deere Run is playing out in their favor, especially in the first nine holes. The last nine holes are a bit more difficult. Unless he lowers his score on Sunday, he won’t have a shot at winning his third John Deere Classic.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
