Jordan Spieth's debut at Bay Hill proved memorable
3 Min Read
Jordan Spieth's bunker play leads to birdie at Arnold Palmer
ORLANDO, Fla. – The way Jordan Spieth finished a memorable week at Bay Hill Club and Lodge – three bogeys in his last four holes – surely will stick in his craw as he drives north to THE PLAYERS Championship. But overall, Spieth’s initial visit to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard had to be deemed a success, across several levels.
Spieth hung in there on a rugged Sunday, and gave himself a chance at winning for the first time since the 2017 Open Championship as he made his way to the back nine just two shots off the lead. He trusted what he was doing. He felt he was hitting his lines on his putts, though few fell. (Spieth made only 40 feet of putts on Sunday after making 140-plus in his first and third rounds.) And though his final number (3-over 75) and result did not meet his high standards, it was another step forward. His tie for fourth marked his third top-5 finish in his last four starts.
“I’m very happy with the way that I played the round today, knowing going out it was going to be really challenging, and it just wasn't my day,” Spieth said. “I mean, I hit right lip, left lip, high lip, low lip. (The) greens got super crusty and it was just, I mean, the couple that I made I thought I missed, and the ones I thought I made I missed. It was weird.”
It was the first time in Spieth’s nine years on the PGA TOUR that he was able to put Bay Hill on his schedule. On Wednesday, he spent time in Arnold Palmer’s office on the second floor of the clubhouse, looking at Palmer’s collection of memorabilia and photos. He does feel a connection with Palmer. In April of 2016, Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, was host to the last Masters’ Tuesday Champions dinner that Palmer attended (Palmer died five months later). That night, veteran players and young champions alike stood up in their green jackets and shared a story about Palmer. The King couldn’t help but fight back tears. Spieth never will forget the evening.
Spieth said he enjoyed getting to study Bay Hill and work up a game plan to play it this week. He welcomed the freshness of learning a new golf course. Suffice to say, not until Sunday did he see it at its fiercest. His final-round 75 still bettered the day’s scoring average. It was just that poor finish – 5-5-4-5 – that left him feeling as if he wanted “to go break something.” Only three players in the field broke par, and nobody shot better than 1-under 71.
Said Spieth, “I wouldn't have changed anything that I did. I mean, I made the right decisions, made the right swings, hit the putts where I wanted to, and again, typically when I do that it turns out well. It was just one of those days where I'm not going to look back on this Sunday versus any of the previous three on the West Coast.
“I played a lot better golf today, even though the score doesn't show that.”