Spieth roars to the front

By Tim Cronin

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Jordan Spieth is chasing more than the Grand Slam.

To this loyal 21-year-old who remains grateful for receiving an exemption into the tournament three years ago, there’s the not inconsiderable matter of capturing a second John Deere Classic in three years.

And beating last week’s winner in the process.

And moving ever closer to the No. 1 ranking.

That’s world No. 2 Spieth’s goal on Sunday, when he tees off in the final twosome after a 10-under-par 61 that featured more fireworks than a Fourth of July grand finale to barge into the lead at TPC Deere Run.

He’ll be paired with 24-year-old Danny Lee, the winner of last week’s Greenbrier Classic. All Lee did on Saturday after a pair of rain delays on Twinkie-soft Deere Run was fire a 9-under 62 – and get passed by the guy playing supersonic golf in the following group.

“It would be really cool to grab a win at a place that’s special to me and take down a guy that’s as hot as anybody in golf,” said Spieth, who has never seen a challenge he didn’t relish.

Thanks in part to a pair of eagles, Spieth stands at 17-under-par 196 through 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Lee and three ahead of Shawn Stefani, Justin Thomas and Johnson Wagner.

How he arrived at that lofty position – not a record at the low-scoring, but sufficient for the nonce – was remarkable. Spieth’s second shot on the par-5 second stopped 30 inches from the cup for a kick-in eagle 3. He saved par with a difficult 8-foot putt on the par-4 fourth, then hit the flagstick with his approach on the par-4 eighth, and the ball ricocheted back 25 feet. That’s bad luck, but Spieth didn’t pout.

“It came back right on the fall line, and I saw I had a straight putt,” he said.

He hammered it home. A birdie on the ninth followed and he was out in 5-under 30, 12-under, and tied for the lead with Kevin Chappell, who woke up tied for 42nd, shot a 64 in the early going thanks to an eagle-birdie finish and then was lapped by the field. He’s tied for ninth at 12-under 201.

Then, after Spieth birdied the 13th and 16th, it got crazy. Spieth pulled his tee shot on the 560-yard par 5 17th, with a fairway as wide as the Mississippi, into a copse of trees on the left.

Caddie Michael Greller thought he had no shot to advance the ball deep down the fairway and recommended a pitchout. Spieth thought the opening he spied for a big second shot was no worse than the pitchout option, and grabbed a 5-iron.

“One of the biggest advantages of my game is trouble-shooting,” Spieth said. “I had 170 yards to carry the bunker. The 5-iron was the right trajectory. It carried over one tree and split the other two.”

The crowd was impressed by that, but however many in the gallery of approximately 22,000 were around the 17th at the moment were absolutely floored by the next shot.

Spieth, 105 yards out, holed his pitching wedge, a shot that at the instant he hit it thought was mis-hit. He took his right hand off the club, and, after it landed some six feet past the cup and spun back into the hole, threw his hands up as if to say, “You have got to be kidding me.”

At 6:14 p.m., it gave Spieth the lead. The gallery erupted. Over on the 16th green, Zach Johnson turned and bowed to the crowd in mock tribute. He was in the process of firing a 66 to climb into a tie for sixth place.

Spieth was now 16-under and floating on air, but still cognizant of his position, and a possible achievement. He knew a birdie at the last would equal 61 and set a personal mark for low score on the PGA Tour.

First came the tee shot – pulled into the right rough.

But he had a clear shot to the green and left himself an 18-foot putt.

Bingo.

Sixty-one.

Imagine what his score would have been had he not scored even-par 71 on Thursday, and even worried about missing the cut until the birdie barrage began five holes into in his second round. He’s 17-under in his last 32 holes, and has three eagles on par 5s but no birdies.

All of that impressed Lee, but not so much that the New Zealander would wave the surrender flag in advance of the final round. Not after a 62. No sir.

“This definitely gives me momentum,” Lee said. “A lot of people will be watching us tomorrow. I hope some people will pull for me, just to make it fair.”

Lee posted matching 31s, scattering nine birdies across his card, to finish the day at 15-under 198. He had the clubhouse lead for a good eight minutes until Spieth signed his scorecard.

“It was a little bit ridiculous,” Lee said of Spieth’s birdie-eagle-birdie finish. “Tomorrow? My best answer is just to go out there and play and see what happens. I love playing in a crowd.”

The last player to capture his first two wins in back-to-back starts is Camilo Villegas, in the Western Open / BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in 2008. Lee’s amateur career finished with a flourish, when he scored victories in the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in 2008. A bright future was predicted. It may finally have arrived.

“The difference between the amateurs and the pros, that’s a huge mountain in front of you,” Lee said. “It took me a long time to go up that hill. It was fun but not fun. I was hard on myself, but not too hard on myself.”

Lee credited improved ball-striking as the biggest improvement in his game. But this week, while he’s hit 31 of 42 fairways, his scrambling has been even better. He’s gotten up-and-down for par on 10 of 11 occasions, including seven straight the last two rounds.

Messrs. Stefani, Wagner and Thomas, the trio at 14-under 199, scored 64, 68 and 69 respectively. Stefani likely spoke for them, and the rest of the field, in saying, “I’m going to go out there and play aggressive.”

It’s either that, or watch Spieth and Lee run away from you like Affirmed and Alydar.

Around Deere Run

Spieth and Lee go out in the final twosome at 12:40 p.m. Amateur Lee McCoy is first, going as a single at 7:10 a.m. ... Defending champion Brian Harman scored even-par 71 and plays at 9:48 a.m. ... The two weather delays – a 57-minute pause for lightning at mid-morning, and one of 1:51 for a downpour and puddling at the lunch hour – helped soften an already soft course. The rain totaled .79 inches. Yet, pillow-soft or not, the scoring average of 70.357 was the highest for the third round since 2003 (71.015).