Spieth takes another step with a 67 to lead

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jordan Spieth took on a bold tee shot and pulled it off perfectly to set up birdie. He hit a poor 3-wood that went off a tree and back into the fairway that led to another.

Whether it's good golf or good breaks, it's making him feel a lot better about his game at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He shot a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill on Friday for a one-shot lead over Daniel Berger going into the weekend.

“I like where things are at,” Spieth said, referring to more than his name atop the leaderboard on the weekend for the second straight week.

Winless since his British Open title in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, Spieth wasn't sure if he was taking baby steps or a giant leap. But one week after relying so much on his wizardry with the wedge and putter, this was a steady diet of keeping the ball inside the tree-lined fairways of Spyglass, reducing stress and making a few putts.

There was a 45- foot birdie putt he holed on the tough par-3 fifth hole. He also missed a few inside 10 feet, and his lone bogey was a three-putt from 7 feet on the par-5 first hole after he made the turn.

“A little bit improved off last week, which was the goal this week, to just try and feel like I'm getting better each day,” said Spieth, whose tie for fourth in Phoenix was his best result since May 2019. “I haven't made a ton of longer putts ... which is probably a really good sign that I'm keeping the ball in front of me and striking it really nicely.”