No doubt about it, even the best players struggle with self-belief

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Jordan Spieth felt like he was trying to win the Sony Open in Hawaii late Friday but in reality he was fighting to make the cut. He failed either way. But the 11-time PGA TOUR winner was cautiously optimistic going forward as he found some fight in his game and his putting turned around from a poor first day. After a scratchy opening 3-over 73 on Thursday, Spieth did his best to make a run to the weekend but his 66 would fall just a shot short. Three birdies in the final four holes just wasn’t enough and at one under total Spieth was sent home early. “I love the way we fought back there at the end. That was fun. I felt like I was trying to win a golf tournament just to make the cut, which is not really something I want to get used to, but early in the season when I started the day 17 shots back, it was something where I could actually feel some pressure and make adjustments, too,â€� Spieth explained. “I’ve missed cuts before and gone on and won my next event; I’ve finished runner-up my next event. It’s not like an all-tell. I knew coming in that the game was off and needed to kind of start to fine tune. So I’m in a good space given what happened. “It’s a learning experience, but I’m tired of learning experiences though.â€� In a week where his putting was put under the microscope Spieth rebounded from a -2.878 (ranked 136th) Strokes Gained: Putting Thursday with a +2.506 (ranked ninth) effort Friday. RELATED: Round 2, Sony Open in Hawaii It was much improved although he was left to rue a costly three-putt on the 12th hole and a tough 10-foot birdie try on 17 that curled away late. The former FedExCup champion believes it could have been even better had he trusted himself earlier.  “I put a really bad stroke on a par putt on six today. I had been thinking about my stroke on every putt I had hit from yesterday until that hole, and I just told myself, just point, aim, and shoot and stop thinking,â€� Spieth said. “Because I’ve been working on my stroke so much that I’m thinking about doing the path of the stroke and if you think about the stroke you’ve got no touch or feel. “From there on, just point, aim, shoot, and I just started making everything. Wish I had figured that out like the third hole in the tournament not 30-something holes in.â€� Spieth is still trying to get his long game in order also claiming he had “three or four different golf swingsâ€� during the week when he’s never played prior with “more than just one feel.â€� He is hopeful he’ll be better prepared when he tees it up at the Farmers Insurance Open on January 24. He started the week at 191st in the FedExCup and will not add to his tally in Hawaii as he looks to rebound from missing the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career last season. “I didn’t play well, but it was kind of trying to find what I need to work on to then dial it in,â€� he explained. “The move I’m trying to do with my swing, it’s most difficult and impossible to do on course. Just the timing of it is just not consistent yet. “I’m trying to just develop a way to make this downswing-feel work. Once it clicks, I’ll be right back where I need to be. Until then, it’s a little inconsistent in the long clubs. “For not playing well at all and being on the bad end of the draw, to miss the cut by one is reassuring.â€�

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One of the pleasures of the vast array of PGA TOUR LIVE’s free video options is the ability to travel back in time, and to destinations that are all but impossible to visit in the present moment. Also, it’s just fun to hear Pat Summerall open a show with, “Hilton Head Island – a nautical paradise.â€� Since this is RBC Heritage week, let’s allow the Harbour Town Lighthouse to be our beacon. Last year South Carolinian Dustin Johnson had the lead but struggled in the final round, and when C.T. Pan posted a 4-under 67 it was good enough to beat Matt Kuchar by one. It was Pan’s first win after two runner-up finishes the previous two years. (Click here to watch) Greg Norman was at the height of his powers but hadn’t won in a few years. Jamie Hutton, 17, had leukemia and needed a bone-marrow transplant. They met at the 1988 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, where Norman shot an emotional final-round 66 and dedicated the victory to Jamie. (Click here to watch) After several close calls in playoffs, Payne Stewart prevailed in a playoff at the 1990 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. “I just told myself,â€� Stewart said afterward, “‘Look, this is the ’90s. All those playoff losses were in the ’80s.’â€� (Click here to watch) At the end of a week in which David Frost shot a course-record 61, the ageless Hale Irwin, then 48, authored the last of his 20 PGA TOUR victories at the windless 1994 MCI Heritage Classic. (Click here to watch) Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf is great for way-back time travel – check out the 1969 exhibition from the El Conquistador Hotel & Club in Puerto Rico, featuring Gay Brewer, Chi-Chi Rodriguez and “golf’s all-time leading money-winnerâ€� Arnold Palmer. (Click here to watch) Before Greg Norman and Nick Faldo at the 1996 Masters, there was their 1994 Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match at Sunningdale Golf Club in England. (Click here to watch) This profile of Jordan Spieth starts with a 360-degree retrospective of his holed bunker shot to defeat Daniel Berger at the 2017 Travelers Championship. (Click here to watch)

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