Spieth could show there’s no place like home
If Jordan Spieth is going to end a victory drought that’s approaching two years, the three-time major winner picked a good place to give himself a chance.
Spieth opened with a 5-under 65 at Colonial on Thursday in his second Texas homecoming in three weeks coming off his best finish of the season at the PGA Championship and trailed Tony Finau by one shot. Roger Sloan joined Spieth in the tie for second.
Back when he was collecting trophies regularly three years ago, Spieth won on the cozy course made famous by Ben Hogan, and that was between a pair of second-place finishes in Fort Worth. So when it comes to feeling good about his game, Spieth’s in the right place, just a few miles from his hometown of Dallas.
But the former Texas Longhorn didn’t necessarily have to be here, a week after tying for third at the PGA for his first top 20 this season.
“I didn’t put it above or below any other week,” said Spieth, whose last victory was the 2017 British Open. “I know my game has been progressing. I’ve been saying that for the last month or six weeks or so. Results just end up coming when I actually start playing better golf. Simply put, that’s just what I’ve been doing.”
Defending champion Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3, shot 74 with four bogeys on the back nine. LAW SHARES LEAD IN LPGA PURE SILK » Bronte Law chipped in for eagle on the par-5 third hole and shot a 6-under 65 for a share of the lead in the Pure Silk Championship with Anna Nordqvist and Jennifer Song.
NHL
BRUINS’ BACKES TO SEE FAMILIAR FACES IN FINAL » David Backes waited his entire career to play for the Stanley Cup, and now he’s going to have to do it against some of his best friends in hockey.
The former St. Louis captain will face his old team with the NHL title on the line, starting Monday night when the Blues and Bruins open the final in Boston. It’s not the ideal situation for the 35-year- old Backes, but after waiting 13 seasons to get to this point, he’ll take it.
“It’s a binary decision now. It’s us or them. One of us is going to win the Cup,” he said this week after the Blues beat San Jose in the West final.
“That’s the position you’d want to be in at the beginning of the year,” Backes said. “I wish those guys well up until this point, but now it’s all about us and winning this thing. All our thoughts and all our efforts are in this room.”
The Blues will be trying hard keep him from the Cup.
“I don’t think anybody thinks about personalities,” St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko said. “Yeah, we spent a lot of time together, but on the ice there is no friends. We are not friends. It’s just going to be a hard final.”
• Boston’s leading scorer Brad Marchand returned without missing a shift after appearing to hurt his left hand when the team held an intrasquad scrimmage to tune up for the Stanley Cup Final.
The Bruins will have 10 days off between their sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference and the series against the Blues. To stay sharp, the team scheduled a public scrimmage.
Tickets were $20 and sold out the 17,565-seat TD Garden, with the proceeds going to the Boston Bruins Foundation. Fans chanted “We Want the Cup!” and “Let’s Go Bruins!”
Marchand skated off flexing his hand near the end of the first 25-minute half. He appeared to be in discomfort on the bench, but was back for his next shift. USA BOWS OUT OF WORLDS » Damon Severson and Mark Stone helped Canada escape to the world hockey championship semifinals while the United States and defending champion Sweden dropped out. Canada beat Switzerland 3-2 in overtime. The United States lost 4-3 to Russia. Finland beat Sweden 5- 4 in overtime.
Tennis
AMERICAN FRITZ PULLS OFF UPSET » American Taylor Fritz advanced to his first semifinal of the year, upsetting second-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6- 4 in Lyon, France.
Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, the No. 1 seed, posted a 6- 4, 6- 4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, reversing a result from the 2017 Lyon semifinals.