Spieth continues claw back up leaderboard, six back at Valspar
Reports of Jordan Spieth’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
After an opening 76 in his title defense at the Valspar Championship, the world No. 1 first a second consecutive under-par round to get back on the right side of par and within six shots of Bill Haas’ lead heading into the final round at Innisbrook.
Following up a Friday 3-under 68 at the Copperhead Course, Spieth went out on Saturday and shot a 67 that has him at 2-under 211. His round was only one of two (Ryan Moore) bogey-free rounds on the day.
The secret? Hitting putts harder. The Copperhead Course was reseeded since Spieth won this event in a playoff last year, and the surfaces have slowed dramatically, not only compared to prior years but the week-to-week PGA Tour standard. Spieth needed some time to acclimate.
“I was leaving everything short, which you’ll see a lot this week here but started to be a little more aggressive today on the greens, hitting my longer putts harder and it was stress-free pars for the majority of the round,” Spieth said.
The big moment in Spieth’s round came on the 590-yard par-5 14th. The 22-year-old got home in two from 258 yards, then sank a 52-foot putt — the longest of his short PGA Tour career — to make an eagle and jump into red figures for the week.
Spieth was also impressed with his lag putting after finding 16 greens in regulation.
“It’s a round you want to have around here,” he said. “I didn’t take too many chances.”
If Spieth is to win on Sunday, and he’s still quite a long shot to do it, he’ll have to take a few chances. He needs his lowest round of the week to catch Bill Haas and move beyond the seven other players in front of him. With his confidence rising each round, Spieth seems to believe he has that kind of round in him.
“On this golf course, something like 7 under tomorrow which is feasible,” he said. “So, to think after the first round that I go Saturday night and be able to sleep with a chance to win the golf course, I’m very pleased with that.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
LISTEN TO OUR WEEKLY GOLF PODCAST! This week: Why does Jordan Spieth respond to social media trolls?
