HORROR SHOW
Spieth nine off the pace after dismal final hole as Day shines
Jordan Spieth had hoped to make a statement at the players Championship yesterday in his first round since his Masters meltdown.
instead, he ended up with a scorecard that carried uncomfortable echoes of what happened to him on that dramatic final day at augusta national last month. the 22-year-old texan just cannot keep a seven off his card at the moment.
at the Masters, his seven at the par-three 12th changed the narrative of the entire tournament. this one came on his final hole and turned a useful day’s work into a mediocre 72 that has left him facing an uphill battle — along with rory Mcilroy, who carded the same score as the american — to make the cut.
it was another shocker from Spieth considering he struck two fine blows at the par-five ninth to leave himself with seemingly an orthodox bunker shot. But he left that one on the bank and the next barely made the putting surface, from where he three-putted from no distance.
there are some days when levelpar scores are prized, of course, but this certainly was not one of them. the morning wave was presented with soft greens, no wind and warm Florida sunshine. in other words, it was all there for the leading players to take advantage, and the best of all right now, playing alongside Spieth, showed what was possible with a superb course recordequalling 63.
how good was this effort from world no 1 Jason day? he was putting for birdie on every hole and the longest putt he had all day for par was inside two feet. in a word: stunning.
no wonder he said: ‘i can’t recall the last time i hit the ball so well, and putted so well. everything clicked.’ day might take some catching but Justin rose showed he is up for it with a fine 65 to lead the pursuit alongside irishman Shane Lowry, among others. rose became only the third player in the last 26 years of this event to hit all 18 greens in regulation, while Lowry became the first man ever to play the fabled back nine in fewer than 30 strokes.
Lowry posted six birdies and an eagle for a wondrous inward 29.
‘i had a bit of an emergency phone call with my coach this morning before i played,’ admitted the irishman. ‘i just wanted to get some feelings off my chest.
‘i started oK and then obviously got going on the back nine and it’s always nice to shoot 29 at some stage.’
rose missed three short putts to lose the Wells Fargo Championship last Sunday but stuck with a newly introduced ‘claw’ putting grip and got his reward. alongside him was Masters champion danny Willett, who shot 70 in his first round since that special Sunday.
there was not much giggling among the afternoon wave, as the greens dried out and the wind picked up.
there were 12 players who shot 66 or better in the morning and none at all after lunch.