From Tiger to Todd, why the fall season in golf mattered so much

MAMARONECK, N.Y. - Jordan Spieth sounded exhausted. Frustrated. Cooked. His 3-over 73 was far from the worst round at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, but it might have been the most eventful. He got his ball stuck in a tree (second hole, double-bogey), made three straight birdies (holes 4-6), hit just three fairways (Phil Mickelson style), and putted well (Jordan Spieth style). At least there, on the greens, the 27-year-old still looks like the 2015 FedExCup champion. "There’s a lot that’s off," he said. "I’m not really sure. If I knew, I’d fix it. So I’m kind of just - kind of working through it and looking forward to having a little more time off to figure it out. "I mean, yeah, I’m late behind it," he added. "The second I try to get back out in front of, it’s hooking." Spieth's record is beyond enviable. He's an 11-time PGA TOUR winner, three of those majors. But he has not won in over three years (The Open Championship). And while he was sputtering Thursday, playing partner Patrick Reed (66, including an ace), his old Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup colleague, was zooming up the leaderboard. What's more, by day's end Spieth was already eight shots behind another familiar contemporary, Justin Thomas (65). The whole experience left him sounding equal parts exasperated and bewildered. "Standing on a tee at the U.S. Open and not exactly knowing where the ball is going to go is not a great feeling," Spieth said. "I know you guys probably haven’t experienced that before, but it’s not incredibly enjoyable. But I’ll grind it out. I don’t ever give up. I have no reason to. I’m here. "I feel that, even with not having much tee to green, I can somehow still shoot an even or under par round on this course," he added, "and that’s incredible self-belief in the grind." Spieth's day began with a bogey followed by an escorted ride in a golf cart after he couldn't find his drive and had to go back to the second tee. While he rallied with three straight birdies to get back to even par, it didn't last. Things began to unravel with a bogey at the par-3 10th hole, where he couldn't save par from a greenside bunker. He was in the trees at 11, but hit a terrific second shot under one branch and over some others to inside 11 feet. Then he missed the birdie putt and double-bogeyed the par-5 12th. Needing another run of birdies, he couldn't find one, and wound up with the same score as fellow former U.S. Open champions Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and several others. It goes like that at Winged Foot. While Spieth told himself going into the round that he would just try to play a succession of draws off the tees, he said he unaccountably found himself hitting fades, and getting into trouble. "All in all, shooting 3 over at a U.S. Open, feeling like I had no control, it’s not bad," he said. "Really struggling ball-striking. Found a way to kind of grind it out on and around the greens." The grind continues Friday.

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Top 100 in the FedExCup standings Dustin Johnson Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas Hideki Matsuyama Jon Rahm Rickie Fowler Brooks Koepka Daniel Berger Charley Hoffman Jhonattan Vegas Kevin Kisner Paul Casey Brian Harman Pat Perez Matt Kuchar Webb Simpson Kevin Chappell Adam Hadwin Kyle Stanley Marc Leishman Jason Dufner Russell Henley Justin Rose Brendan Steele Louis Oosthuizen Xander Schauffele Charles Howell III Jason Day Sergio Garcia Billy Horschel Wesley Bryan Patrick Reed Gary Woodland Tony Finau Francesco Molinari Mackenzie Hughes Hudson Swafford Bill Haas Chez Reavie Si Woo Kim Ollie Schniederjans Rory McIlroy Cameron Smith Martin Laird Zach Johnson Keegan Bradley Bryson DeChambeau Charl Schwartzel Patrick Cantlay Robert Streb Luke List Sung Kang Jamie Lovemark Scott Brown Ian Poulter Lucas Glover Phil Mickelson Sean O’Hair James Hahn Ryan Moore Danny Lee Kevin Na Kelly Kraft Russell Knox Anirban Lahiri Bud Cauley Kevin Tway Grayson Murray Rod Pampling Bubba Watson Adam Scott Graham DeLaet Patrick Rodgers Chad Campbell Emiliano Grillo Chris Stroud Jason Kokrak Rafa Cabrera Bello Stewart Cink Whee Kim Morgan Hoffmann Jonas Blixt Cheng Tsung Pan Jim Herman David Lingmerth Camilo Villegas Kevin Streelman Harold Varner III Nick Taylor J.J. Spaun Chris Kirk William McGirt Patton Kizzire Cody Gribble Branden Grace Michael Kim

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OVERVIEW Note to Bubba fans: Circle Feb. 14-17 and June 20-23 on your calendars, the dates of the 2019 Genesis Open (L.A.) and Travelers Championship (Hartford, Connecticut), respectively. Watson, 40, has racked up half of his 12 PGA TOUR titles at those two tournaments, and will go for his fourth win at each next year. He is coming off his first three-win season — Genesis, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, Travelers — but got all those wins by June 24, when he came from six back to beat Paul Casey at TPC River Highlands, site of his first career win. If there was such an award as Player of the Half Year, or Two Thirds of a Year, it would have been Watson. Alas, he faded to finish 10th in the FedExCup, and went 1-2-0 in his fourth Ryder Cup.    In addition to Riviera and TPC River Highlands, look for possible Bubba breakouts at Club de Golf Chapultepec, home of the WGC-Mexico Championship (Watson was second at the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver’s thin air); Augusta National (two Masters titles and counting); and Bethpage Black, home of the PGA Championship in May (Watson contended at the 2009 U.S. Open before a 75 left him eight back of Lucas Glover). Biggest uphill climb of ’19: the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where Watson has finished no better than T35 in four starts at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: N/A Playoff appearances: 12 TOUR Championship appearances: 8 Best FedExCup result: 5th in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons SHOTLINK FUN FACT Bubba Watson has recorded 149 eagles since 2006, the most of any player on the PGA TOUR in that span. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Bubba Watson in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: When you turn 40, as Watson did in November, it’s natural to wonder what’s left. Even if he stopped now, he would likely be headed for the World Golf Hall of Fame, and would not lack for things to do. He’s a husband and father with either full or partial ownership of a candy store, a Chevy dealership and a minor-league baseball team. But assuming he want to build on his already impressive victory total (especially for a guy who didn’t win at Georgia or on the Web.com Tour), Watson’s Strokes Gained stats last season — 108th in Putting and 174th in Around-the-Green — leave no doubt as to how he can improve in 2019. — By Cameron Morfit     FANTASY INSIDER: The lefty is the highest in our Top 30 who didn’t appear in last year’s series, but that’s what happens when he went from one of the worst seasons of his career (that included challenges with health and adapting to a new golf ball) to one of the best. In switching back to his trusted Titleist, he prevailed three times and paid salary gamers who kept the faith with little evidence in tow. Now as a 40-year-old with multiple interests outside the ropes commanding his attention, not to mention his first priority as a family man, we should expect a rollback to something in between the last two seasons, but he plies his craft with power and a panache that will transcend his age for years to come. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Bubba’s golf clubs match his personality and style of golf perfectly; they’re unique. The big-swinging lefty uses a pink G400 LST driver (7.6 degrees) with a ping Bi-Matrix X prototype shaft. He also has 15 wraps of tape on the grip underneath his left hand, and 13 wraps of tape underneath right hand. He also still uses Ping S55 irons, with pink paintfill, that have custom lies and lofts and an “extreme heel grind,â€� according to Ping. His Glide 2.0 wedges also have pink paintfill on them, and they’re stamped with “Bubba’s Sweetpotâ€� on the back cavities. As for the flatstick, he uses a Ping PLD Anser prototype with, you guessed it, pink paintfill. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Bubba continues to be one of the more colorful players on TOUR. His colored gloves and bespoke high-tops are a perfect match for his personal style. When it comes to apparel, he often seems to be swimming in his shirts. In 2019, slimmer fits will help Bubba to produce cleaner looks. — By Greg Monteforte

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