AUSTIN, Texas — Jordan Spieth made it through.
Given his unexpectedly erratic wedge play, a more than worthy first-round opponent, and some Titanic-level rust the former Texas Longhorn had to scrape away, that’s about as well as he could have hoped for on Wednesday.
However, in this WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play style, survival is key.
And despite missing a number of fairways, coming up short on a number of putts, and not gaining the lead in the match until the 16th hole, Austin’s favorite son gratefully accepted a 2-up victory over former PGA Champion Keegan Bradley on the first day of the event at Austin Country Club. Spieth was in desperate need of it after losing a three-and-two decision to Justin Rose on Thursday.
He was, nonetheless, in the 64-player bracket.
As an on-course broadcaster for PGA Tour Live, Dylan Frittelli, a former Spieth teammate on Texas’ 2012 national championship team, was relegated to remarking on his pal’s play. He accompanied Spieth throughout the day, and Spieth later told his friend, “I probably would have lost to you today on this golf course, like I have many times.”
So, why isn’t Frittelli out there?
“I’m approximately 50 positions away from qualifying,” he quipped, despite the fact that his world ranking of No. 116 put him well outside the top 64. “I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’ve done commentary in the booth in South Africa.”
“How did I land this job?” I made an offer. I was hoping someone would drop out because they needed someone quickly, but I believe they had three or four people on standby.”
With the gusty wind out of the north, Spieth had to put his A-game on hold for the most of a crisp, windy Wednesday. He was at his best late in the round, holing critical putts of six to eight feet on Nos. 15, 16, and 17 to gain and maintain the lead over the tenacious Bradley. Finally, on 18, both players went into a greenside bunker, and Bradley conceded when his 8-foot putt rolled beyond the pin.
Spieth is simply happy to have made it to the weekend for the third time in his six appearances here.
“If you lose your first match, you have no control over anything,” he remarked. “It wasn’t a particularly attractive contest.”
When Spieth began out tight, Bradley won two of the opening three holes. The Dallas native came up short on a 25-foot putt on the first hole and missed the green, as well as a short 8-footer on the third hole. Bradley, on the other hand, gave one back on 2 when his approach shot ricocheted over a boulder and into the ravine, then another on 4 when his 3-foot putt lipped out.
This allowed Spieth to stay in the game until he could iron out the wrinkles.
“In a way, it felt like the start of the season,” Spieth said. “I was anxious and felt like I needed to shake off some rust.”
It’s no surprise, because after nine top-10 finishes in 2021, Spieth has struggled thus far in 2022. He finished second at Pebble Beach’s AT&T Pro Am, but that was his only top 10 finish of the year. In fact, he has failed to make the cut in two of his last five starts, including the Players Championship, and he tied for 60th in Phoenix.
This allowed Spieth to stay in the game until he could iron out the wrinkles.
His game didn’t come together until the back nine on Wednesday, beginning with a fantastic saving on the long par-5 12th hole, when he had to play his second shot off a steep ridge to the right of the fairway. He scrambled for one of his four birdies on the day, while Bradley birdied No. 1 and eagled No. 6, but was unable to cash in on the rest of the holes.
For a while, Spieth might have surrendered his clubs to flag bearer Kaden Frierson, a Hyde Park eighth-grader and diehard Longhorn fan. The bushy-haired 14-year-old claims to have a 3.8 handicap and has been playing golf since he was eight years old. He’s gone through the First Tee program and dreams of one day playing for the Longhorns.
Who is his favorite athlete?
Frierson said, “Jordan Spieth.”
Spieth and Scheffler both add a lot of burnt-orange flavor to the tournament, and a half-dozen or so supporters serenaded Spieth with a rollicking performance of “The Eyes of Texas” from their fifth-fairway balcony.
Spieth hasn’t had the best of seasons so far, despite being in the top 11 in the world golf rankings.
The 28-year-personal old’s life has changed dramatically after marrying his high-school girlfriend Annie and having a kid, Sammy. Such life events create a variety of obstacles, including time management issues of many kinds.
He uses Vokey and Scotty Cameron clubs, and they’ve already made a putter and a wedge for Sammy, which are sitting in his nursery, ready for the 4-month-old.
“I’m sure he’ll be swinging it around as soon as he’s able to,” Spieth said. “It’s been incredible.” It’s definitely something to figure out time management on the road – trying to be the best I can be here, there. It’s also another aspect of something at which you want to be the greatest you can be.”
It can be difficult to balance those time and energy commitments, especially for a goal-oriented player like Spieth, who can be a bit of a perfectionist as well as the game’s biggest in-round talker. He constantly talks to himself and his caddie, as when he misread the 14th green, missed a 9-footer, and murmured, “Just amazing.” “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“And it’s even more tough when you want to be the top golfer,” he added. “As a result, figuring out that balance is something I’m pretty patient with.”
He has to remind himself of the virtue of patience.
Despite a good year in 2021, which included a runner-up performance at The Open Championship and a berth on the victorious US Ryder Cup team, he took some time off to focus on his family and the kid, who was born in November.
“I think being able to feel patient with it right now helped a lot last year,” he remarked. “I feel like my game is in a better spot than last year, but I don’t have the consistent results to show for it, with a handful of outlier rounds here and there in crazy conditions.” But I’m pretty happy with my game, and it’s improved from week to week, month to month, since this time last year.
“So I believe I’m doing a decent job.” But it’s a delicate balancing act in which your priorities move a little, but my desire to be the best golfer in the world has never been stronger.”
The match on Wednesday could be just the beginning.
He claimed he’ll take a lot of energy from the win, minus his A game, because he had very little practice time on the course after it was closed early Monday due to heavy weather and gusty wind on Tuesday.
He might be back on his game in no time if his final four holes are any clue.
“I’m just hoping to get momentum this week,” Spieth said. “I get sharper the more rounds I can play.” In this event, you have to keep winning matches in order to advance to the next round, so it was just an edgy, edgy battle, and you have to grind things out occasionally.”
It’s beneficial to grind it out.
What happened to those diapers?
