Jordan Spieth frustrated by his Sunday Nelson struggles
Jordan Spieth still hasn’t topped the finish he posted in the AT&T Byron Nelson when he was a 16-year-old amateur.
Spieth, now 22, made his PGA Tour debut in the event in 2010, was featured on the weekend and contended before winding up in a tie for 16th place. The two-time major winner looked in great shape to finally improve on that finish on Sunday at TPC Four Seasons. He came into the final round in Irving, Texas, in second places, two shots behind 54-hole leader Brooks Koepka.
However, Spieth had gotten to that point with smoke and mirrors, flexing his short-game muscle to repeatedly salvage pars and make birdies with his penchant for mid-range putting. That magic didn’t work on Sunday, and Spieth tumbled down the leaderboard as a result. He shot 4-over 74 to fall five shots out of a playoff eventually won by Sergio Garcia and into a tie for 18th place, just worse than that 2010 finish.
Ultimately, it was his overreliance on his putter that cost him.
“For the week it was ball-striking but, you know, you can’t necessarily rely on your putter the way I relied on it for three rounds,” said Spieth, who had 11 one-putt greens on both Friday and Saturday. “You normally can rely on it normally for one. I got three out of them.”
Spieth said Saturday that he didn’t feel confident over the ball, the product, in part, of working on some swing changes with teacher Cameron McCormick. It has led to a two-way miss for Spieth, leaving him sometimes with an unexpected pull miss to the left. However, the two-time major winner said he felt good hitting shots on Sunday.
“I actually felt very comfortable over the ball today,” he said. “Funny how it works. Yesterday it was about as uncomfortable as I’ve ever felt and shot 3 under. Today I felt like I kind of fixed it a little on the range. I felt really good about it on the golf course today. I just didn’t score well.”
At least Spieth finished strongly, making a birdie on the closing hole to send the hometown crowd away with a good memory.
“I mean, you don’t go from the final group in second place alone and finish in 18th,” he said, “and there’s not many positives you’ll be able to take out of that other than the last hole I played I made birdie. That’s nice.”
Spieth admits to struggling on this golf course, which will host the championship for two more years before moving to a new venue. However, in his Sunday struggles, Spieth said he found something that should help him this week at Colonial, which favors his eye more.
“I felt like I found something today that I can fine-tune with my ball-striking and my putting is there,” he said. “I feel very confident about next week.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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