ORLANDO, Fla. – Jordan Spieth can’t recall the last time he struck it this poorly.
After ranking second and sixth, respectively, in strokes gained: tee-to-green the first two rounds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Spieth lost nearly a full shot in Saturday’s third round (-0.885), good for just 48th out of 72 players who made the cut.
Full-field scores from the Arnold Palmer Invitational
“A random off day ball-striking…,” Spieth said. “I mean, I missed the cut at Riviera and struck it way better than I did today.”
Spieth mostly blamed the driver. The stats showed he hit seven fairways, though it felt like way fewer. He missed birdie opportunities on both back-nine par-5s, Nos. 12 and 16, after badly yanked tee balls.
“I just regressed a little today,” Spieth explained further. “I just wasn’t turning really well off the ball. I think I got into some bad habits on the range the last two days with the wind pumping off our backs. So hopefully tomorrow, when it shifts, I can get into a good range session and carry that to the golf course.”
Somehow, he does have a little momentum.
Even if the scorecard shows a par on Bay Hill’s par-4 closing hole, Spieth hit a perfect drive 319 yards to set up a 140-yard shot into the green, which he stuck inside 6 feet.
“I gave Michael [Greller, his caddie] a sarcastic high five afterward,” Spieth said. “That’s probably the most improved two shots I’ve hit my entire career, back-to-back.”
He just missed the putt, and after a 2-over 74, he’ll begin Sunday five shots off Kurt Kitayama’s lead after trailing by just a couple entering the weekend.
Now, if he’s to have any chance, Spieth can’t afford a repeat ball-striking performance.
“Got to shoot a number,” Spieth said. “Given tomorrow’s forecast, I was really looking to try to be within a couple of the lead, because I feel like today you can make up a lot of ground, but when that wind dies down, it’s a little bit harder out here.”