MCKINNEY, Texas — He may no longer be at the tip top of the leaderboard, but Jordan Spieth still finds himself in unfamiliar territory when it comes to his 10-year Byron Nelson career: in contention.
Spieth has never finished better than a tie for 16th in the Nelson, an event he’s played more than any other on Tour. That 16th-place finish came when he was a 16-year-old high school student. There are only three events on the PGA Tour calendar that Spieth has played more than two times and never finished in the top 10 — the Nelson, the WGC-Workday Championship (seven starts) and the Farmers Insurance Open (six).
Spieth entered Friday’s second round in a tie for first place, and got a chance to build on that lead bright and early in the morning. He was among one of the first groups of the day to tee off at 7:23.
It never really clicked for Spieth, though, who bogeyed the opening hole after a blemish-free opening round on Thursday. The opening-hole bogey ended up being his only bogey of Friday’s round. But birdies ended up being a rarity, too, thanks to some uncharacteristically poor putting. Spieth ended up posting a -2 round of 70 and trails leader Sam Burns by six shots entering the weekend.
“I had plenty of looks,” Spieth said. “I didn’t make many putts at all today.”
After making every putt inside of eight feet on Thursday, Spieth missed three separate putts inside of six feet during Friday’s front nine, including a 5-footer for par on the opening hole and birdie attempts at the par 5s on No. 12 (5 ft, 1 in) and No. 18 (4 ft, 7 in).
Spieth spent a considerable amount of time on the practice green following his round.
After playing the par 5s at -5 on Thursday, Spieth was only -1 on Friday, with the lone birdie coming on the final hole of the day.
Thursday’s opening round was the first time Spieth had walked 18 holes since the final round of the Masters, thanks to a COVID-19 diagnosis the week after the Masters. He said after Thursday that he could feel it in his legs, but he was quick to point out after Friday’s round that he wouldn’t be pointing to that as a reason for Friday’s trip down the leaderboard.
“I’m young enough there shouldn’t be any excuses,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”
Spieth is not only looking to earn his first career Nelson win (and third different title from the state of Texas, adding to his win at Colonial in 2016 and at the Valero Texas Open earlier this year). He’s also looking to be playing well heading into next week’s PGA Championship. A win next week wouldn’t just mean another major victory for Spieth, it would clinch him a career grand slam at age 27, making him just the sixth player in history to accomplish that feat.
“At this point, I’ve got an opportunity to contend here, and if I can get myself a chance on Sunday, that is the best prep for this tournament and also next week,” he said.
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— Course status: After a rain and storm-filled beginning of the week, conditions have made a positive turn for golfers and patrons alike.
On Wednesday, the tournament successfully held its first pro-am since 2018. While some lingering moisture on the course Thursday led to lift, clean and place conditions for the opening round, players have been very complimentary of how well the course has held up from the not-so-pleasant gift Mother Nature supplied earlier in the week.
“Somewhat surprised we had lift, clean, and place yesterday,” Matt Kuchar said following his second round on Friday. “This course drains amazingly well with the zoysia fairway grass.”
The biggest impact the improved weather has had isn’t seen on the fairways and greens, though. It’s in the galleries.
Fans have made their presence known in the first two rounds. The traveling gallery for the group including Spieth, Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler was well into the hundreds, and areas organizers hoped would be fan favorites, like the par-3 17th, have been lined with fans throughout the first few rounds.
Just how well have things been going?
Nelson organizers said that merchandise and concession sales on Thursday surpassed total sales from any other individual year’s Nelson over the past 10 years.
As for the back end of the tournament, on-site meteorologist Kyle Koval calls for possible showers and storms on Saturday evening, with a rain probability of 20%. On Sunday, he again calls for possible showers and storms in the morning, with that rain probability pegged at 60%. In his report, Koval says “the period between 6-11 a.m. Sunday would have the highest risk for T-storms,” with minimal storm activity in the afternoon.
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— Never too late: Lee Westwood waited almost 30 years to make his first career Nelson appearance. Not only was this week his first time playing the tournament — it was his first time in the Metroplex altogether.
“I’ve never been to Dallas,” Westwood admitted on Friday. “I’ve never played this tournament. I’ve never played at Colonial. So I thought maybe, you know, try a new experience still at the age of 48.”
After an opening-round 71 on a day with prime scoring conditions, it looked like his Nelson debut would be of the short-lived variety.
That certainly changed on Friday, though, as Westwood got off to a red-hot start and never slowed down. Thanks to birdies on five of the first six holes, Westwood vaulted more than 100 spots on the leaderboard, carding an 8-under round of 64. He’ll enter the weekend at -9, in position to make a run with another low round on Saturday. That’s quite a change from the tie for 116th he found himself in after play on Thursday.
“I didn’t really get off to a very good start yesterday and didn’t get any momentum going,” he said after his second round.
“Today I got off to a good start, got some momentum going.”
