PGA Championship: Jordan Spieth makes a major second-round charge

Jordan Spieth has been struggling to find his best game for much of the last year, but a white hot putter has him in contention once again at the PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth took a little page out of Brooks Koepka’s book at the PGA Championship on Friday. No, it wasn’t his monstrous power or outspoken personality. It was actually a little bit of what Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee referred to as, essentially, a big bird to all his doubters.

Spieth was asked in his pre-tournament media sessions about the struggles in his game, and his answer was, as always, honest and direct, without being curt. And it made a lot of sense, too.

"“If not for my past success, I don’t think I’d get as many questions about being in a little bit of a slump,” Spieth said. “I think people would look at me and say, ‘He’s coming along nicely.’ But because of the success I’ve had, people don’t look at it that way.If not for that, I wouldn’t be in here right now.”"

Talk about a clear message. Spieth is too nice to tell every reporter that asks about his slump to stick it, but this is clearly a guy who has believed every time he’s said that his game is close to being back. And his round on Friday went a long way toward proving that to the rest of us.

Starting on the back nine at Bethpage Black, Spieth went out in even par 35, with two birdies and two bogeys. While he gained no ground, a bounceback birdie on the par-3 17th had to feel good. He stuck his tee shot to eight feet, and drained the putt to get some momentum back heading to the relatively easier front.

Spieth cut through the front nine in vintage form, going bogey-free with four birdies. The most iconic shot of his week – perhaps his year so far – came on the par-3 8th. Spieth and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson had been dueling it out, but this is where the man in the hunt for his career grand slam got the edge, even by the narrowest of margins.

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Spieth hit his tee shot on the 210-yard hole to about 40 feet. From that distance, most players are just trying to get it close, but Jordan was feeling it, and the ball dropped, center cut. The cheers from the New York crowd were as loud as they’ve been for anybody not named Tiger or Phil, and you could see it in his eyes.

If only for the moment, Jordan Spieth is back.

On Friday, with a chance to really get himself in contention for the PGA Championship, Spieth didn’t really look like he was working. He was playing his brand of golf, and making a whole bunch of clutch putts to go with it. He’s currently second in the field in strokes gained putting, and he’s only taken 53 putts through two rounds.

Things will certainly get harder over the weekend, and with guys like Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood playing in the afternoon session, we won’t truly know where Spieth stands until the end of the day, or even the end of tomorrow, really. This is a long journey, but it’s looking a whole lot better right now.

Maybe most of us didn’t truly appreciate just how good this guy can be until he wasn’t for a while. On the PGA Championship stage, we’re finally seeing a version of Jordan Spieth who looks like he can win anywhere – even a monster like Bethpage Black.