Firefighter never extinguished his Masters dream

MCKINNEY, Texas — Jordan Spieth woke up Friday at 4:30 a.m. He felt tight on the range at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He bogeyed his first hole. Spieth found little to like early in the second round, starting his morning slowly on the back nine and playing holes 10 through 13 at TPC Craig Ranch at 1 over. “Losing a couple to the field there got me a little frustrated,” he said. “If you kind of tap the brakes a little when the scores are going to be low you feel like you have to play catchup.” Except that didn’t happen either. Spieth made just three birdies Friday. He lost his share of the lead and finished with a 2-under 70, three behind K.H. Lee. There was little wind when he and longtime friends Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris started play. Spieth hoped for a score around 5 under. That, the Dallas native and resident thought, would keep him at the top of the leaderboard for the weekend at the tournament where he made his first PGA TOUR start when he was 16 years old. But after a birdie on his fifth hole, Spieth stalled. He fought with his patience as he made par after par after par. The putter didn’t cooperate, either. The longest putt he holed was from 11 feet 2 inches on No. 1, his 10th hole. It was for par. “I just had plenty of looks,” Spieth said. “I didn’t make many putts at all today.” It was nothing like Thursday, when he made seven birdies and an exhilarating eagle on the par-5 18th. A substantial share of the 12,500 spectators on the course committed to following the group of three old rivals from the North Texas PGA section junior tour, many of them cheering robustly when Spieth made another putt or saved another stroke or tested the odds, as he did in spectacular fashion on No. 12. After a blocked drive finished in a patch of mud behind a clump of crabgrass, Spieth and his caddie discussed their many options. His ball sat about 245 yards from the hole at the reachable par-5, but tree limbs dangled to his right, forcing him to shape a shot just so to clear a creek that runs through the property. A prudent punch seemed the logical play. But Spieth never wavered. He slammed a soaring hybrid to 10 feet from the hole. The galleries howled, and Spieth seemed invincible. Even that pure joy of playing seemed elusive Friday, he said. “I think yesterday, even when I wasn’t playing a good hole, I was kind of laughing at the miss or chunked it and laughed,” he said. “Today I had a shorter fuse.” After two consecutive birdies Thursday to go to minus 7, Spieth drove short of the green on the par-4 14th. He hit his pitch too heavy and scrambled for par, but chuckled at the mistake. On the tee of the 15th, a long par-3 over water, Spieth thinned his iron and begged for it to find the ground. When it did, he leaned on his club and smiled. That Jordan Spieth never quite made it to the course the next day. The Spieth who did wasn’t nearly as loose, sharp or forgiving. “I’ll just get some better rest tonight and then, like I said tomorrow, will be kind of a fun test,” he said. “There is no reason for me not to trust everything I’m doing. At this point, I’ve got an opportunity to contend here, and if I can get myself a chance on Sunday, that is the best prep for this tournament and also next week.”

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has been the host since the creation of the event in 2003 and plays 7,544 yards to a Par-71. The 2017 WFC was played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, NC. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: What a difference a day makes. Quail Hollow Club played over 220 yards shorter on Saturday and obviously easier than the first two rounds. The top four players listed above turned in an aggregate score of 19 under par and all worked themselves back into contention. The No. 8 player on the list above is sitting pretty. Final Paring Jason Day is looking to match Lucas Glover as the only winner to place all four rounds in the 60’s, as he’ll tee it last with Nick Watney in Round 4. The Aussie matched Friday’s 67 with another in Round 3 to post 10 under par and lead by two. Day hasn’t played this event since 2012 when he collected T9 cash. His win at Torrey Pines earlier this season combined with his three opening rounds (69-67-67) suggests he’ll be ready tomorrow regardless of course setup. Watney has now cashed in 11 consecutive weekends with the best of the bunch T20 his last time out on his own ball at the Valero Texas Open. It will be interesting to see how the once “young, up-and-comer” handles the spotlight in the final group with a major champion. Record Course Racking up seven birdies and an eagle against zero bogeys, Peter Uihlein threw down the gauntlet from the morning group that started at +2. He sent the message to the field that scores were out there and the course was ripe for scoring. I’m calling his 62 the new course record as nobody has posted a lower score since the redesign of the opening holes. The toughest thing to do after posting a low round is backing it up with another one. It’s even tougher on Sundays. He made three birdies in the first two rounds. Caution. Back in the Saddle After breaking a streak of cuts made too long to count at the RBC Heritage, Paul Casey has jumped right back into form this week. He also has posted his first three rounds in the 60’s, but a deeper dive shows his hot club this week is the putter. A ball-striking stud that I’ll be watching to see if the flat stick can keep up the pace as he’ll start Sunday three shots back. Lurking Before the week started, it was near impossible to fade Phil Mickelson as he has collected the second-most cash in this event over the years. It’s almost comical that he hasn’t found a way to finally get his hands on the trophy. He’ll begin Sunday five shots behind but his putter and irons finally fired in Round 3. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and was second in proximity on a day where he signed for a bogey-free 64. Big Boy Golf Most gamers have eyes on Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy each week they’re in the field and this week isn’t any different. McIlroy said after the round he’s not comfortable with his game at the moment. If seven birdies and two bogeys is the downside, I’m riding him all the way to finish line tomorrow. As I wrote yesterday, when he came from behind to win in 2010 he posted 66-62 on the weekend to raise the trophy. His 66 on Saturday is the first part of that exacta. … Woods FINALLY threw up a pair of streaks that looked like he’s making birdies again. He circled three in four holes on the front (Nos. 5 thru 8) before seizing momentum with a turkey on Nos. 13-15 on the inward nine. Of course a three-putt bogey on the final hole brought us all back to reality. He’s T31 and nine shots back and will need something special in Round 4 to justify his selection. Moving Day Canadian Adam Hadwin hasn’t MC in 12 tries this season but gamers haven’t seen him since his last top 25 (T24) at Augusta National. His 65 moved him to T11 as he looks to carry his streak of T24 or better to six consecutive events. … Chesson Hadley will cash for the sixth time in as many events tomorrow evening and will look to extend his streak of T20 or better to five in a row. His 66 moved him up 32 spots to T16. Moving Day: Wrong Way Peter Malnati opened Round 3 in the final group but his 75 dropped him to T16. His best finish in the last two years on TOUR is T18, so he’ll be looking to keep it together for one more round. … Sam Burns needs 80 FedExCup points to gain Special Temporary Status. On the best scoring day of the event he joined Malnati as the only two players inside the top 39 who posted scores in the black on Saturday. He dropped 24 spots to T31 and the pressure on the 21-year-old must be something. He’s been in this column enough to take notice for future endeavors. Study Hall With 87 players making the 36-hole cut, MDF took place after Round 3. The big-name victims included Adam Scott (sigh), Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley … Round 3 played the easiest of the week at 70.368, down from 72.500 in Round 2. Yet, there were only four, bogey-free rounds, the same amount as Round 2. Talor Gooch (66) and Luke List (67) joined Mickelson and Uihlein in a very elite club. … The winner tomorrow, if not already qualified, will take the final spot in the field of THE PLAYERS Championship next week. … Justin Thomas will become World No. 1 if he can finish T11 or better. He’s T31 after using Rickie Fowler’s putter the last two rounds.  

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NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho became the first woman to win at Augusta National with a charge on the back nine so often seen at the home of the Masters.

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