Spieth’s summer chills
Back after Travelers hole-out win
CROMWELL, Conn. – Jordan Spieth enjoyed his first trip to TPC River Highlands so much, he joked about buying a house in the area afterward.
A magnificent hole-out from the greenside bunker allowed Spieth to defeat Daniel Berger in a one-hole playoff to capture last year’s Travelers Championship.
It’s a shot that neither Spieth nor the sea of fans who were gathered around the amphitheater-like finishing green will soon forget.
“I don’t even know if I’ve ever even heard something like that, including a game-winning shot in an NBA arena,” Spieth said. “That’s as loud as it kind of gets. I felt the ground shake there on the 18th hole.
“I’ve watched the shot, I don’t know how many times, a thousand times, and just on replay, especially the next week or so, and then it kind of pops up here or there and brings some amazing memories. I get chills every time I see it.”
Spieth has been left shaking his head through some rounds this season on the PGA Tour, but perhaps a return to a happy place can springboard the 24-yearold’s season.
Spieth, who ranks fifth in the world, has yet to record a win this season and has missed the cut in his last two events, the Memorial and U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open cut was the first he failed to make at a major since the 2014 PGA Championship.
Even though the Travelers is again following the U.S. Open on the schedule, the field is deep, including two-time, back-to-back U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, Masters champion Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day.
The Travelers Championship might not be for the same stakes as a major, but the galleries of people who come out make it almost feel like one.
“It’s on a different level than most of the PGA Tour events in the sense that the fans are just absolutely incredible out there,” Spieth said. “Obviously, we’re treated like kings out there with the golf course. It’s just amazing.
“But then the difference-maker I think is the people that come out.”
Since finishing third in the Masters, Spieth’s best finish was a tie for 21st in the AT&T Byron Nelson.
He was the second-youngest player to win three legs of a career Grand Slam when he captured the 2017 British Open right before his 24th birthday. Despite owning 11 career victories, Spieth has not won since that day at Royal Birkdale.
“Do I feel anxious because my peers are winning and I haven’t this calendar year? Sure, absolutely,” he said. “I would really like to get in the winner’s circle and feel like I can take a deep exhale, take a deep breath and kind of feel like you’re playing with house money, and I don’t necessarily feel that way right now, but I’m not going to force it. I’m going to be patient with it.”
Spieth has said one of the keys going into majors was to play well leading up to them. His history reflects that, too.
Spieth missed the cut before last week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock. However, on the other side, he won the 2017 Travelers and followed it with his first victory at the British Open.
“If I can give myself a chance to win (at non-majors),” he said, “then that is the best practice I can get for a major.”