Jordan Spieth honest about state of his game in chat with Amanda Balionis
Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champion, has been struggling for form in 2024. However, he managed to turn things around this weekend at the TPC Deere Run, making a notable comeback at the John Deere Classic. After being tied for 57th place following the first 36 holes, Spieth delivered an exceptional performance on Saturday, recording…
Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champion, has been struggling for form in 2024. However, he managed to turn things around this weekend at the TPC Deere Run, making a notable comeback at the John Deere Classic.
After being tied for 57th place following the first 36 holes, Spieth delivered an exceptional performance on Saturday, recording his lowest round of the year with an eight-under-par 63. This impressive round allowed him to climb 35 places ahead of the final round on Sunday. Despite a one-under-par 70 on Sunday that did not quite match his Saturday exploits, Spieth can take solace in his significant progress over the weekend.
Davis Thompson emerged as the winner of the tournament, finishing with an outstanding 28-under-par, continuing his momentum from a tied-ninth finish at the US Open.
In a post-round interview with CBS golf reporter Amanda Balionis on Saturday, Spieth reflected on his performance: “Setting a goal, sticking to it,” he said. “I kind of had one lapse in concentration; it was my only bogey of the day. But other than that, if I didn’t have a great number, I played it to where I could make a putt. And then when I had a good number, I went after the pin. It’s interesting—we’ve been playing so many hard golf courses that I think it took me a little while to change the way I was playing here. I saw a couple of putts go in, and my goal was to putt more aggressively today. I left a lot of putts on the front lip the last two days.”
Despite recording three top-ten finishes earlier in the year, Spieth has struggled recently and hasn’t finished better than T29 since missing the cut at the Masters in April. His recent slump has also caused him to fall out of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Spieth’s friend and NBC commentator, Smylie Kaufman, commented on the golfer’s recent struggles: “It’s funny, right? Because if you go and look at the stats, you get confused because if you would have supplanted his driving ability this year, in any other year, he’s winning.” Kaufman noted that Spieth has always relied on his wedge game, short game, and iron game. “His putting was good to start the year, but his putting lately has really tailed off and now he’s got an iron and wedge game that’s just mediocre by his standards.”
Kaufman added: “I keep wanting to believe that one week it’s all just going to come together. But when you have so many things that are just slightly off, it seems like he pushes a little bit too much on some days to try to make something happen, instead of just letting the tournament come to him and letting his game come to him.”
Spieth’s performance at the John Deere Classic indicates that he might be on the path to reclaiming his top form, showing glimpses of the skill and determination that have defined his career.