Jordan Spieth overcomes ’20-minute hiccup’ and is in contention at loaded Colonial
Jordan Spieth called it a 20-minute hiccup.
Anybody who’s played Colonial Country Club can relate when it comes to the famed ”Horrible Horseshoe.” Spieth’s brilliant round with six birdies on the first 11 holes suddenly flew off track during Day 2 of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday.
Spieth, who started off No. 10, four-putted for a double-bogey on No. 3. He missed two putts from less than 3 feet. He then bogeyed the par-3 fourth, hitting it wide right and failing to get up-and-down.
But Spieth salvaged that stretch by draining a 17-footer for birdie on No. 5, typically the hardest hole on the course. He had another birdie on No. 6 and posted his second straight 5-under 65.
Spieth sits at 10 under for the tournament, one shot back of leader Harold Varner III (11-under) going into the weekend. Varner and Spieth will be the final pairing on Saturday.
Spieth and fellow Dallas resident Bryson DeChambeau are tied for second followed by three players at 9 under, including top-ranked Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.
“I played a really, really solid round of golf with a 20-minute hiccup for a couple holes,” Spieth said. “With eight birdies around this place, it’s nothing to complain about. I’m obviously very pleased with the position I’m in after two rounds.”
Spieth was happy with himself on how he stayed “very neutral” during his meltdown on Nos. 3 and 4. He didn’t beat himself up too much over the four-putt — his first four-putt during the Colonial and the ninth of his PGA Tour career.
And No. 4 has been playing as the most difficult hole early on this week.
“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.
“That’s really all it was. No. 4 is a hard hole. I just hit a not-so-great 240-yard shot, so that bogey I didn’t think much of.”
Salvaging a birdie on No. 5 to end the difficult three-hole stretch is something Spieth will take into the weekend. He hopes to capitalize and win his first tournament since the 2017 British Open.
“I don’t know what the lead is going to be at the end of the day, but I’m happy with where I’m sitting and looking forward to the battle with some of the greatest players in the game for the next two days,” Spieth said.
Other big-time names near the top of the leader board are Justin Thomas, the fourth-best player in the world who is tied for seventh at 8 under. Also tied for seventh are first-round leader and 2018 Colonial champ Justin Rose and reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland.
As expected, this is the type of leader board the golf world was hoping for with 16 of the top 20 players in the field. There’s a nice mix of established stars such as Spieth and McIlroy and rising stars such as Varner and Morikawa.
“From watching from afar, this is a golf course that’s always let the best players rise to the top,” McIlroy said. “You have to be in complete control of your game, hit fairways, hit greens, convert some putts. Yeah, the leader board is a who’s-who of golf right now. I’m just happy to be in the mix.”
Added Thomas: “The leader board speaks for itself. A lot of big names up there, not that everybody playing isn’t a big name, but some of the top players in the world. That’s a testimony to a good course and a good setup, so hopefully we’ll give them some fireworks this weekend to watch at home.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Jordan Spieth overcomes ’20-minute hiccup’ and is in contention at loaded Colonial."
