With patience back at Tour Championship, Jordan Spieth looks to maintain momentum
ATLANTA – For nearly two months, Jordan Spieth’s patience has been tested as he walked in step with Jason Day.
No matter what Spieth did, he couldn’t keep up with his playing mate. As Day exploded out of the gates with heaps of red numbers to put Spieth behind the proverbial 8 ball time and time again, with the Aussie going on to win three of his last four starts ahead of The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, Spieth became irritated and impatient playing in the same group, suddenly forcing matters as he faced large deficits.
“It can be tough to watch sometimes because you look up and there is only so much you can do,” said Spieth, who finished runner-up to Day in the PGA, then missed consecutive cuts for the first time in his pro career.
The beatings became so bad that finally, all Spieth could do was laugh. In last week’s BMW Championship, the winner of the year’s first two majors joked the only way he could win a hole against Day was to make a hole-in-one, which he did in the first round. Three days later, Day won with a score of 22 under, 11 clear of Spieth.
By the time Spieth arrived at East Lake Golf Club for The Tour Championship, he knew he had to get his patience in check.
He’s done just that despite unrelenting rain that’s dropped nearly 3 inches of precipitation since Thursday night, Bermuda rough that has players pulling the hair out of their heads and $10 million on the line. Staying patient also was a challenge for Spieth when he saw Day make birdies on his first three holes in the first round, which led Spieth to say he just wanted to see Day make a par occasionally. But Spieth hasn’t blown his stack once.
With a 2-under-par 68 Saturday he capped with a 20-footer for birdie on the last, Spieth finally caught and surpassed Henrik Stenson to grab the lead at 8 under through 54 holes at sodden East Lake.
Stenson, who started the week with a 63 and started the rainy day with a 3-stroke lead, fell back to 7 under with a 72. Rickie Fowler shot the day’s lowest round, a 67, to move with four shots of Spieth. He shares third with Paul Casey (71). Rory McIlroy (70) and Zach Johnson (71) and five back.
Day, the world No. 1, is in a tie for 10th, eight shots back.
Spieth, who was tested throughout but rose to the challenge with some magnificent up-and-downs to keep his momentum going, can return to No. 1 with a win on Sunday and if Day finishes worse than fifth. His fifth victory of the season would give Spieth the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus.
“It was a fantastic day,” Spieth said. “Two under in these conditions. I kept myself in the round at the beginning of the round. Up-and-down on 5 and 8 were the keys to the day. Those were both challenging, and I could have easily been 3 over through 8 holes. I would have taken even par when the day started and so to finish a couple under was fantastic, given what we were through eight holes. … I'm very pleased with where we stand going into (Sunday), and Henrik's going to come back very strong. This was his off day and so I'm going to have to play even better.”
Stenson, who led by four shots through his first eight holes, made just two birdies on a day he said was “wet, muddy, tough.” Stenson is still in line to join Tiger Woods as the only players to twice win the FedExCup.
“What is that race called, the Tough Mudder? Is that what it's called? That's what it felt like,” Stenson said. “Everyone's soaking wet and muddy and needs a good wash out for tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some better weather.
“ … It was a grind and I didn't have my best day tee to green, I felt. Battling the swing a little bit, but still kept it together fairly nicely and we're still at the races. I would have liked to have gone a few better, but we're still up there and yeah, it's all going to be decided tomorrow.”
Spieth said from the beginning of the playoffs that the FedExCup likely would come down to the back nine of Sunday. Heading home Saturday as the skies were still opening up, Spieth liked where he was after 54 holes.
“The thing I like about being in the lead on this course is that it's a tough course,” he said. “ … You can stay patient, it's just like a major championship. That's what it feels to me like out there. And we're in another position to do some fun stuff. … There's been a longer fuse this week. Tomorrow, heightened emotions, I'm going to have to really focus on my mental attitude to when mistakes do occur, I'll be able to bounce back easily.”