Valero Texas Open: Can Jordan Spieth Seal Deal on Sunday?

Jordan Spieth has had more than his share of struggles over the last four years. But he could put the majority of the bad memories in the past if he can win on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open.

Spieth won 11 times in his first five years on the PGA Tour. That haul included three major victories. Spieth won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2015 and won the Open Championship in 2017.

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However, since winning the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale nearly four years ago, Spieth has gone winless. He has battled a swing change and an injury and has been unable to get back into the winner’s circle.

In fact, Spieth has not finished higher than third in any PGA Tour event over the last four years. That’s a total of 76 starts with no wins or runners-up for a player who was once considered the best in the world.

This season, Spieth has turned things around quite a bit, especially since the calendar turned to 2021. In the first three months of this year, Spieth has finished in the top five three times. He tied for fourth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, followed immediately by a tie for third at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Three weeks later, Spieth tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Spieth appears much closer to being the player he once was. However, he still hasn’t won.

This week, he’s trying to change that. Spieth opened with a 67 on Thursday and was able to follow that with a 70 on Friday. He was tied for second through 36 holes.

On Saturday, Spieth’s round started very quietly. He had pars on the first three holes before a bogey on the fourth. He would then par four in a row before a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole. It all added up to an even-par 36 on the front nine.

But on the back nine, Spieth caught fire. After parring the 10th and 11th holes, he birdied the 12th. He then parred the 13th hole to remain at 1-under on his round.

But the last five holes were among the best Spieth has played in recent memory. He birdied the par-5 14th hole. Then he birdied the par-4 15th, moving to 3-under par on his round.

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After a par on the 16th hole, Spieth closed his round with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. It added up to a round of 67 and a 12-under total through 54 holes.

Spieth will start Sunday’s round tied with Matt Wallace. There’s no doubt that the crowd in San Antonio will have his back. And perhaps that, combined with his solid play, can be enough to end his winless streak.

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