Jordan Spieth Steals The Thunder At Hero Challenge

Aug 22, 2014; Paramus, NJ, USA; Jordan Spieth walks across the green on the fourth hole during the second round of The Barclays golf tournament at Ridgewood Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Most of the conversation at the 2014 Hero Challenge centered around the return of Tiger Woods to competitive golf, but 21 year-old Jordan Spieth made the brutal flight from Australia, and looked as sharp as he did when he ran away from the field at the Aussie Open on Sunday. Spieth opened up with a six under par 66 at the Isleworth Country Club and leads by one stroke over the star-studded field in Windemere, Florida.

It looked early on, like the young Texan might run away from the field from the outset, but after getting to five under par on the front nine, cooled down on the backside, and needed to make a lengthy putt at 18 to keep the one-shot advantage.

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Spieth birdied the first hole, and went on a run as he birdied out the front nine from the sixth hole. It was reminiscent of last Sunday when he ran away from the field in Sydney. He made his only bogey of the day at the par three 11th hole and held on down the stretch.

"“I’m excited about how last week went and I’m kind of riding the momentum,” Spieth said. “I’m going to give it my all these last few days.”"

Unlike the Aussie Open last week, Jordan Spieth is facing 17 of the best golfers on the PGA Tour this week in Florida, and if he is to pocket the $1 Million Dollar first prize, he will need to keep his foot on the gas for the entire 72 holes.

One shot back, at five under par is a group of stars who also played well on Thursday at Isleworth. The conditions were pristine, and tournament organizers had most of the tees on the Arnold Palmer designed golf course up, to shorten the length, but the greens were extremely fast.

The huge greens were running at around 13 on the Stimpmeter at the start of the day, and pushing 16 by the time the last group played 18.

A group of four players at five under par, one back include Henrik Stenson, who won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in his last outing, Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, and the 2013 Hero Challenge(Northwestern Mutual) champ, Zach Johnson.

Many of the 18-man field looked rusty as they got their rounds started, and many had an up and down day, but all except for the tournament host got their scores back to respectful before they finished on Thursday. Everyone but Tiger is within seven shots of the leader, Jordan Spieth.

Tiger Woods had a horrible day around the greens, and finished at five over par. In his press conference, he sounded like the old Tiger, saying he would need a good round on Friday to get back in contention.

Tiger is the ultimate grinder, and never gives up until he is finished. Although his round started poorly, he continued to hit the ball better as the day progressed. He was able to play without pain, and hit some nice tee-shots down the stretch.

I don’t think Tiger Woods can make up the ground needed to get back in this thing, but I would never count him out. If he can keep the ball in the fairway, and coax a few putts in the hole today, you never know. He’s put a charge on the field, and the electricity in the crowds before after seeming to shoot himself out of contention in the first round.

Source: PGATour.com

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