Spieth happy with putting, ties for 12th
ST. LOUIS – He leaves the Midwest, on paper at least, in the same spot he entered a week ago:
No major victories in 2018, no wins at all in over a year, still in pursuit of the career Grand Slam.
But Jordan Spieth saw the progress, felt it, too, and thinks his game after the final round of the PGA Championship is “in the best shape it’s been in this entire year.”
An excellent fourth-round 66, not to mention an 8 under tally for the week and tie for 12th place, proved it.
Spieth didn’t capture the only major he’s yet to win in his still-young career, but in a gritty round outside of the spotlight dominated by the likes of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods on Sunday afternoon at Bellerive Country Club, Spieth started to reap the benefits of the swing work he’s been trying to hone in on the last few weeks.
There were moments of frustration, sure, but Spieth’s disposition as he left the 18th green told the story. Heading into the FedExCup Playoffs and Ryder Cup, this is a golfer who feels as encouraged as he has in a good long while.
“I made up probably 75 percent of what I wanted to make up (with my swing this week), which is great,” he said. “Normally, that’d take a week and a couple of golf tournaments. Throughout the swing, I know where it’s at and where it needs to be.”
Perhaps most significant: Spieth believes he’s putting better than he has in years.
And that can be a scary development for the rest of the PGA Tour. At Spieth’s
“The putting was phenomenal. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.”
Jordan Spieth On what he liked about his game during the PGA Championship
best, namely the 2015 season, no one in the world was better with the flat stick.
Through four rounds at Bellerive, Spieth finished first in the field in strokes gained on the greens.
“The putting was phenomenal,” Spieth said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.”
By any measure, it was an eventful week for the world No. 8.
He sprayed tee shots on No. 16 on consecutive days and was forced to take drops — so frustrated on Friday, Spieth grabbed his ball from the weeds and flung it into the water.
Then, a sizzling Saturday in which he was shooting up the leaderboard soured quickly. At one point, Spieth was dropping putts right and left: Four birdies on the front Saturday pushed him to seven under, at that point just three shots off the lead.
Then came the 12th hole. A wayward drive right landed him in the woods. Spieth settled for a triple bogey and watched any chance he had at storming back to win this tournament disappear. His takeaway?
“Minus a couple tee shots, I had a chance to win this thing with what I felt like was not my A game,” Spieth said, an obvious nod to the 12th-hole disaster on Saturday.
“So it was just really, really close to being precise enough to win this week,” he said. “Good news is I’ve got a week off now to nail it in.”