Travelers Championship: Jordan Spieth still looking for a break

The Travelers Championship started off on a high note for Jordan Spieth on Thursday. Unfortunately, his second round took a turn for the worse early, forcing him to battle into the weekend.

The Travelers Championship was shaping up to be another fantastic week for Jordan Spieth. In his first trip to TPC River Highlands last year, he held at least a share of the lead after each round. His magnificent bunker hole-out to defeat Daniel Berger in a playoff will live forever. The wedge flip, Michael Greller’s rake toss, and the “flying” chest bump reflected the gallery’s energy perfectly.

Just look, there must have been a solid eight or ten inches of ground clearance here.

Image result for jordan spieth chest bump gif /

Okay, so maybe that was just an excuse to post that GIF. However, when this week in Cromwell picked up right where Spieth left off – on top of the leaderboard – it was easy to go right back to that moment. Unfortunately, Spieth came back down to earth in a big way on Friday, tumbling six shots out of the lead heading into the weekend.

However, there is a bit of a silver lining here. The round wasn’t a complete loss, and really, it was a bad day defined entirely by two holes.

The first – and worst – of the misses came on the par-5 13th, Spieth’s fourth hole of the day. His drive was pulled far left, winding up out of bounds. Back at the tee and lying three, he found the right edge of the fairway, but his fourth shot found the water hazard short and left of the green.

While it would have been easy for a lesser player to completely implode, Spieth persevered. He got to the green in six, but his two putt still put a snowman on the card.

Two holes later, Spieth put it in the drink yet again. This time, though, he mitigated the damage. Knocking his approach to 28 feet, Spieth narrowly missed his par putt, settling for a bogey.

Spieth still working to “figure out the golf swing”, says he’s not far off

Thankfully, Spieth had a few good things to take away from his second round. He came back into the clubhouse with a one-under 34 on the front nine. The highlight of the day was a near-albatross on the par-5 6th; Spieth’s approach from 276 yards settled inside two feet of the cup, leaving just a tap-in for eagle.

Still, the former world No. 1 understands there’s plenty of work to do to return to the top of his game. While his putting this year has been atrocious (Spieth ranks just 188th on TOUR in strokes gained putting), he seemed to finally be figuring things out on Thursday. It still wasn’t quite right, though, and Spieth’s feel for the game is as good as anybody’s.

More from Pro Golf Now

"“I don’t go to the range after 63s very often, and I was there for an hour yesterday trying to figure out the golf swing,” he said. “So it’s not like things are on. Sometimes it can get disguised by rounds, but it’s not far off. It really is close.”"

That’s actually one of the most brutally honest self-critiques I’ve heard in a long time. Spieth hit 12 of 14 fairways on Thursday, along with 15 greens in regulation. He gained almost 1.5-strokes on the field, but something still didn’t feel right to him.

That brings me to wonder one thing, though: is it possible Spieth is just too deep in his own head right now to get out of this funk? This isn’t Tiger Woods “win four majors with four different swings” territory yet, but it is a little bit concerning.

The thing that has always separated Spieth from his competition is how naturally the whole game has come to him. From day one, Spieth made it look almost easy, and now that he’s struggling a bit, it’s a bit of a shock to the system.

Next: 3M Open brings long-overdue PGA TOUR stop back to Minnesota

I’m a silver lining type of guy, and while it’s tough to find one right now, I think Spieth finds his way out of this funk sooner, rather than later. The Travelers Championship is far from over, and there’s a lot of big-time golf left to be played this summer, too.

Plus, most golfers would kill to go five years between slumps like this, so there’s that. One of these days, Spieth is going to wake up with his game back in line, and when he does, things are going to get a lot more fun.

Maybe he’s even got another chest bump saved up.

Home/Jordan Spieth