NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Jordan Spieth’s bid to complete the career Grand Slam with a victory at the PGA Championship got off to a mixed start Thursday.
After making the turn at 1 under, Spieth birdied three of the first six holes on the front nine, his back, and was tied with the early leaders at 3 under before consecutive bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8 slowed his charge. He settled for a 1-under 69 and was still in contention with three rounds left.
“I struck the ball well,” said Spieth, who is making his 10th try at completing the Slam. ”I was in a good position on a lot of holes. If I drive it like that, I’d expect to shoot what I did or better. Just didn’t quite finish the way I wanted to the last three holes, but under-par was a good score.”
Spieth said the morning chill and wind had Aronimink Golf Club playing difficult. As the day warmed up, so did the three-time major winner.
He rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th, made the turn and drained a 10 footer at the first, and then made putts of just over 3 feet and a touch under 7 feet at Nos. 4-5, respectively.
Is this the week? 👀🏆
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 14, 2026
Jordan Spieth pulls level at the top of the leaderboard in his pursuit of the career Grand Slam.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/VKmMbWL2bx
“It’s one of those rounds where I feel like I played better than I scored, which is frustrating because you want to get the most out of your round,” said Spieth, who has 16 career wins. “It’s also a good thing, which means things are in a good spot.”
Spieth’s last major victory came in the 2017 Open Championship. His only top-10 finish in a PGA was in 2019 at Bethpage Black.
