Jordan Spieth goes nuclear and vaults up leaderboard at John Deere Classic

Jordan Spieth delivered his finest round of the PGA Tour season on Saturday at the John Deere Classic, surging into contention after three rounds. After struggling to make the cut on Friday at TPC Deere Run and feeling he was too far behind to compete, Spieth’s eight-under 63 on Saturday dramatically shifted his position. The American golfer climbed over 40 places on the leaderboard, moving into the top-10.

Despite the possibility of dropping further as the leaders had yet to start their rounds when he finished, Spieth’s performance was a remarkable turnaround for a player who has been struggling with form and a persistent wrist injury in recent months.

Reflecting on his round, Spieth commented, “I thought it was a solid round,” as he reached 14-under with nine birdies and one bogey over 18 holes. He added, “It felt a lot better than being seven-under through 16, and I feel almost like a weird disappointment at that point. So it was nice to hit two beautiful shots into 17 and be just half a roll away from an eagle there.”

Spieth noted the challenging finishing holes, “Those finishing pins were tougher. Fortunately, I don’t think the field is going to make four birdies in a row to finish. Most of them are out there a little before that. It was a good day. Did a lot of things well. I improved on yesterday, and that was my goal.”

Spieth has a history of success at the John Deere Classic, having won the tournament twice—once in a playoff in 2013 and again in extra holes in 2015. “I’ve always started a little slow at this tournament, so it wasn’t the plan, but once it happened, I wanted to shoot one of these rounds yesterday and feel like you’re right in it,” he said.

Describing the conditions as “prime for scoring,” Spieth explained, “We had quite a few front pins in bowls that you really needed to make birdie on. Sometimes that’s the hardest part because the shot almost seems too easy since we’re not used to it. Luckily, I capitalized on those and made a couple putts. It was just a good solid round—no chip-ins, nothing spectacular, no crazy ones here or there.”

Looking ahead to the final round, Spieth stated, “Tomorrow, if I can be as solid as I was today and maybe catch a couple of extra breaks, it would take something extremely flawless to have a chance, but I’ll try and do what I did today.”