Late surge puts Spieth in control in FedEx opener
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Jordan Spieth needed only three holes to leave a strong cast of challengers wondering what it’s going to take to catch him in The Northern Trust.
Spieth ran off three straight birdies on the back nine at Glen Oaks Club and finished with a pair of pars for a 6-under 64, matching the low score of the tournament and building a three-shot lead over Dustin Johnson.
It was the second straight day that Spieth filled his card with birdies on the easier back nine at Glen Oaks — a 30 on Friday, a 31 on Saturday.
Johnson, his regular partner at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, failed to take advantage until he stuffed his approach into 4 feet on the 18th hole for a birdie and a 67 to narrow the gap and get into the final group with Spieth.
Spieth was at 12-under 198, and his reputation — even for a 24-year-old in his fifth year on the PGA Tour — is as daunting as the size of his lead. Spieth has a 9-5 record with at least a share of the 54-hole lead, including nine of his last 10.
“Ten except for one hole,” he said with a smile, referring to the quadruple bogey he made on the 12th hole at Augusta National that cost him the 2016 Masters.
Paul Casey, who seems to play his best golf this time of the year, and defending champion Patrick Reed each hat a 66 and were next in line at five shots back, along with Jon Rahm (67) and Matt Kuchar (68).
Missing from the mix are Jhonattan Vegas and Rickie Fowler, who started the third round as part of the four-way tie for the lead that included Spieth and Johnson. Vegas shot a 72 to fall eight shots behind. Fowler, playing with Spieth, opened with five bogeys in six shots and fell 10 shots behind after a 74.
“A five-shot lead requires two things — a really good round from whoever is coming from behind and the leader to stumble a little bit,” Rahm said. “And Spieth is not known for being one to stumble.”
That’s only partially correct.
Spieth lost a three-shot lead in four holes at the British Open last month, and he lost the lead with five holes to go until he answered with one of the strongest finishes in major championship history to win at Royal Birkdale. A month before that, he struggled badly with his putter in the final round at the Travelers Championship until he won in a playoff by holing a bunker shot.
What he would love on Sunday is the kind of boring round he put together at Pebble Beach — two birdies, no bogeys, no excitement, a four-shot victory.
OTTAWA, Ontario - Brooke Henderson made a big move Saturday in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. The 19year-old major champion shot an 8-under 63, leaving her three strokes behind third-round leaders Nicole Broch Larsen and Mo Martin.
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - Jerry Kelly shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the Boeing Classic, putting him in position for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Billy Mayfair (65) and Jerry Smith (66) were tied for second.
— Wire services