Pebble Beach: Why Jordan Spieth Must Win This Week

Last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Jordan Spieth got himself into contention in a PGA Tournament for the first time in a while. Now, at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Spieth finds himself there again.

After shooting 65 at Pebble Beach on Thursday to sit three shots behind leader Patrick Cantlay, Spieth was back at it on Friday.

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Playing Spyglass Hill and starting on the back nine, Spieth got off to a bit of a slow start. He parred the first four holes of his round and while he wasn’t losing any ground, he was not moving forward either.

That changed when he got to the par-5 14th hole. His tee shot was just off the fairway but he had a good angle to the green for his second shot. That approach came to rest on the fringe and Spieth was able to get down in two for his first birdie of the day.

He would par the 15th and 16th holes to stay at 1-under on his Friday round. But on the par-4 16th hole, Spieth struck again. He missed the fairway, much like he did on 14, but his second shot found the green. He was able to make the putt to get to 2-under par. That’s where he would finish his first nine.

The only blemish on his card came on the first hole, where he made a bogey. Spieth bounced back with pars on the second and third holes to stay at 1-under par.

Then, he got things rolling, much like he did last week in Phoenix.

Spieth birdied the fourth hole. Then the fifth. He parred the sixth but followed that with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to get to 5-under on his round. And that’s where he finished, shooting 67 on Friday.

Now, Spieth finds himself in the lead heading to the weekend. Last week, he shared the 54-hole lead in Phoenix with Xander Schauffele but was unable to finish the job on Sunday.

This week, it’s imperative that Spieth get the job done. This is a player who was, at one point in his career, the best in the world. He has fallen on hard times in recent years, however. Spieth has not won since the 2017 Open Championship. That was three and a half years ago.

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Spieth has proven, both last week and this week, that he can get in the hunt on the PGA Tour again. However, for a player of his caliber, it’s not about being in the hunt, it’s about winning. For Spieth to get back to where he wants to be, he needs to finish the deal this week in California and show the world that he can, once again, win on the PGA Tour.

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