Longtime friends play together through first three rounds for the first time in TOUR event since 2018

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – When Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth play together in a PGA TOUR round does it almost feel like a head-to-head competition?

“Not really,” Spieth said Saturday at the Valspar Championship.

But …

“I think both of us would probably be lying if we said no,” Thomas admitted.

Thomas and Spieth played together for the Valspar’s first three rounds, the first time they’ve played in the same group on a consecutive Thursday, Friday and Saturday on TOUR since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2018. They were greeted by a steady stream of fans for their 9:15 a.m. tee time at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, and they backed up the support with strong rounds (Thomas 65, Spieth 67) to move onto the precipice of contention into Sunday’s final round outside Tampa.

Thomas stood at 5-under 208 through 54 holes, with Spieth at 3-under 210. The duo competed their third round just before the final twosome of Jacob Bridgeman (6-under) and Viktor Hovland (5-under) got underway for the third round.

“Hopefully (U.S. Team Ryder Cup Captain) Keegan (Bradley) was watching," Thomas said. "I think we had a good best ball going today. We obviously enjoy each other's company and have played and are comfortable playing with each other and played a lot of golf together. But definitely makes it a lot better when you're out a little earlier than you would like on a Saturday morning, but you can kind of get the crowd into it. And we made a couple putts there on 4 and then he made a long one there on 7 and it seemed like that kind of got the crowd going and that's fun for us.”

“At the end I wanted to get to where I was tied with him so we could just play again tomorrow,” Spieth said. “But we always want to beat each other when we're playing with each other and that pushes us to play better. But the last couple times he's gotten the better of me, so … and he was going to be hard to beat at 6-under today. It was just that last like five, that last eight holes for me I felt like I left two, three (shots) out there and he capitalized.”

Thomas and Spieth are each chasing their first TOUR title in some time – Thomas last found the winner’s circle at the 2022 PGA Championship, a month after Spieth’s most recent title at the 2022 RBC Heritage. What better scenario than 54 holes together for the two longtime friends to push each other in breaking their respective droughts?

Both players finished at 1-over through two rounds, completing their second round in Friday’s morning wave and facing an uncertain afternoon near the cut line. “My phone did die at one point,” Thomas quipped of monitoring the cut line.

The cut eventually settled at 2-over, each player advancing to the weekend with one shot to spare, and they took advantage on Moving Day. Spieth started fast with three birdies in his first four holes, tailed off in the middle as his putter struggled to cooperate, but drained a 21-foot birdie at the par-3 17th to finish the day with good vibes. Thomas was just 1-under on the front nine but rapidly gained ground with a 27-foot eagle at the par-5 11th, followed by three consecutive birdies at Nos. 12-14. Thomas rebounded from a bogey at the 15th with a short iron to 3 feet for birdie at the par-4 16th, the first hole of the Copperhead Course’s famed Snake Pit, and he closed with two pars.

“Being at 5-under, like he is, you probably have a pretty good chance at this golf tournament, considering he could go shoot another 6-under tomorrow and then have a chance to win," said Spieth. "For me I'm a little bit further behind, I was trying to get to 4- or 5-(under) today, to really have a chance."

Thomas agrees he has a chance – but he believes that Spieth does as well.

“The course is getting, it's firming up a little bit,” Thomas said. “I'm excited to see how it's going to play tomorrow. It's going to be a true great test and a lot of people are probably going to have a chance.”

Perhaps they’ll meet again Sunday afternoon – in extra holes at the Snake Pit.