Jordan Spieth finds himself in a position at the PGA Championship that’s been unfamiliar to him for the past year: in contention going to the weekend
Where has this Jordan Spieth been?
The three-time major champion showed flashes of his old self on Friday at Bethpage Black, making six birdies in a four-under round of 66 to get near the top of the leaderboard following the second round of the PGA Championship.
After a 69 yesterday, Spieth was even par making the turn with two birdies offset by back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16. On the first hole, his 10th, he holed a 20-foot birdie putt to get back to under-par for the round. He got up-and-down from the greenside rough at the par-five fourth hole for another birdie, then at the seventh hit his approach to within five feet to set up his third birdie on the back-nine.
Spieth finished strong on the last two holes, making a 39-foot birdie putt at the par-three eighth then saving par from a greenside bunker on the closing ninth hole. He ended the round at five-under, in third place and five shots behind leader Brooks Koepka.
This quality of play has been noticeably absent from the former No. 1 player in the world this year. Spieth has made 13 starts so far in 2019 and has yet to post a top 20 finish, his best showing a tie for 21st at the Masters. He ranks 205th out of 214 players in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour. On the greens, usually the strength of his game, he’s 151st on tour in putting from within 10 feet.
Spieth hasn’t won in nearly two years, since capturing his third major at the Open Championship in 2017. He hasn’t had a top 10 finish since the Open at Carnoustie last July. But throughout this long slump, Spieth has insisted he’s close to regaining his form. Even after a tie for 29th last week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, he still said he was close. Through two rounds at Bethpage, he’s showing he was right all along.
Spieth has more than the Wanamaker Trophy at stake this weekend. He also has his place in history. A win at the PGA Championship and Spieth will become the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam. The list of players who’ve done it reads like an honor roll of the legends of the game: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.
Spieth is two rounds away from joining that exclusive club, but it’s a thought that he says hasn’t crossed his mind. “It certainly hasn’t,” he said after his round on Friday. “I can’t imagine it will because I haven’t been in contention on a Sunday since the Open last year. And if I’m able to put some good work in tomorrow then I’ll be in contention on Sunday.”
“At that point, it will be more of trying to win a golf tournament. It won’t matter to me what tournament it is. I’ll be pleased to be in contention knowing all the work that I’ve put in from being pretty far off has come back nicely.”
Spieth’s biggest challenge on the weekend may not be the state of his own game. He and the rest of the field have to hope that defending champion Koepka doesn’t run away with the trophy.