Spieth’s 10under 61 rocks the house at Phoenix Open

A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth shot a 10underpar 61 on Saturday for a share of the lead in the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The threetime major winner, who is winless since the 2017 British Open, is tied with Xander Schauffele (65) at 18under 196.

“I built some freedom now seeing these results the first few days here to where I feel really good about the path I’m on,” Spieth said. “I feel good about what the long term ahead looks like for me. And sometimes that’s been in question. To myself.”

Spieth raised the volume on the back nine at mostly empty TPC Scottsdale, drawing the biggest roar of the week from the limited crowd on the par3 16th when he curled in a 36footer for birdie and the outright lead.

Instead of the usual Saturday crowd that has topped 200,000 in recent years, attendance is capped at 5,000 a day — the most for a tour event during the COVID19 pandemic.

Scottie Scheffler and KyoungHoon Lee each shot 66 to get to 15 under. Thirdranked Justin Thomas, third the previous two years in the event, had a 64 to join Louis Oosthuizen (63) at 14 under.

Steve Stricker, the 53yearold U.S. Ryder Cup captain trying to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, had a 69 to drop into a tie for seventh at 13 under with Brooks Koepka (66) and Cal alum James Hahn (66). Dustin Johnson is in sight of another victory at the Saudi International, a European Tour event the topranked American has virtually made his own.

Johnson shot 4under 66 and take a twostroke lead on 13 under overall as he looks to win the tournament for the second time, after the inaugural edition in 2019.