In the Hero World Challenge’s opening round, Jordan Spieth made the fewest pars of any player in the tournament with 5.
But he’s only one shot behind the lead.
Spieth’s scorecard showed a broad range of results, from 2 to 7, and from eagle to double-bogey. In addition, he was the only player in the field to hit multiple eagles on Thursday, and his six birdies also ranked third.
Even though Spieth is known for having highs and lows when playing, he signed for a 4-under 68, which leaves him one stroke behind co-leaders Tony Finau and Brian Harman.
“It was undoubtedly an electric effect out there. There were a few toe balls, some rusty putters, and then a tonne of very, really fantastic shots. Overall, I didn’t believe I would get there this way; when I was warming up today, I would have definitely signed for 4 under.” After his round, Spieth stated.
Spieth rarely made pars, but he did it three times in his opening four holes on Thursday. In his last 11 holes, he had only one par and only two more over the last 14 holes. On the back 9, he only made 1 par, on No. 18.
Six birdies, two eagles, four bogeys, five pars, and one double were totaled at the end.
Spieth’s game began in silence. After striking a hybrid a foot from the hole and tapping in for a three, he made an eagle on the third par-5 after parring the first two.
Spieth reached 3 under for the day after parring the following hole and making a birdie at the fifth par-3. That’s when everything started to go haywire. On the par-5 sixth, he hooked his second shot into a native area and made a double bogey.
A bogey at the par-3 eighth hole and a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole came before another par at No. 7. He turned in a 1-under-35. After making a bogey at No. 10, Spieth was back to even par. But then there were consecutive birdies. At the par-5 15th hole, where he holed a 60-footer, he made another eagle after bogeying the 13th hole. After that, he made bogey-birdie and par on the last hole.
This marks Spieth’s first competitive round since the Ryder Cup and his first stroke-play event since the TOUR Championship in October. After the Ryder Cup, Spieth claimed earlier this week that he had re-injured his wrist. But he claimed to have been in “full practice” for weeks.
“With the development I’ve made over the previous month and a half, I have no doubts about my ability to do what I need to do in the future,” Spieth said.
Despite having seen a little bit of everything on Thursday, he still has a chance to win a second Hero World Challenge.
