After two laps, Jordan Spieth shows no signs of rust

FORT WORTH – Perhaps the three-month layoff of the PGA Tour was a blessing in disguise for Jordan Spieth.

It's been almost three years since he last won a PGA Tour event and nearly as long since he led or shared after 36 holes, but Spieth ran the Colonial Country Club course on Friday finished with a tie for first place under 10 under par. His score kept him in second place behind Harold Varner III at the end of the day.

Some players were rusty after being fired. The strongest field in colonial history took a hit because those who missed the cut were the No. 2 world golfer, Jon Rahm; the fifth-ranked Dustin Johnson; the 17th ranked Matt Kuchar; the 31st-ranked Kevin Na, the defending champion; and two-time colonial winner Phil Mickelson.

Once considered the "next big step" of the sport, Spieth, 26, placed two laps of five under par 65 to enter the weekend during the Charles Schwab Challenge challenge on one of his favorite courses, which is just a 30 minute drive from his Dallas home.

"I love this place," said Spieth. "It's just a golf course where it forces you to go to certain areas and play from there, and each pin location has a kind of place you can miss and a place you can't miss. So it's just learning and miss in the right places when you are out of position. ”

Spieth, who won two major titles in 2015 and reached No. 1 in the world, had since turned down mainly due to frustrations of not regaining from his form, to his current rank of 56. But his knowledge of the local track put him in position for this big return this weekend, as he made up for ball strike errors with creative scrambling around the greens Starting on the ninth Friday on Friday, he six under to eleven holes, but then four-putted for double bogey at No. 3 and bogeyed No. 4.

The four-putt at No. 3 could have sank Spieth's resurrection before someone notices to. But he's been getting on the nerves since the three-month layoff.

“I did my very best to remain very neutral where I became more or less very negative or made myself a bit depressed. while in the past now, & # 39; said Spieth. "I felt I was giving myself grace to say, look, I haven't really practiced a lot of short-range putts like that."

"There was not a huge wave of emotions," he added. "I remained calm."

Spieth missed a par putt on the fourth green, but bounced the rest of the way back, birdying the fifth and sixth holes, then managed to make two spectacular par saves. After his ride nestled behind a large oak tree on the seventh hole, Spieth cut his bunt around the tree, broke to five feet, and made the putt.

On the par-3 eighth hole, his ball sailed to the right of the green in a wooded area along the banks of the Trinity River. From that bare spot, reaching the well surface would be a celebration.

But Spieth hit a low pitch to avoid trees in the bank of the green, and missed the bunker on the left. His ball stalled 4 feet past the hole. He smiled sheepishly as he walked up the hill to the green to join his grinning playing partners, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. Since there were no fans, Fowler delivered a gentle blow to his friend.

Spieth said he told his caddy, Michael Greller, that "it was a top 10 up-and-down I've ever had, but for me it may have been a top five in the PGA Tour.

"I thought if I hit the green it would have been phenomenal. After taking the picture I just looked and Rickie and Justin both stared at me and made their backs to the camera & # As if it were pretty ridiculous. ”

During the three-month layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic, Spieth had plenty of time to work on his swing without the usual pressures and distractions of tournament golf. admitted that pondering had been his greatest enemy of the past two years and said he enjoyed using the break from the tour to relieve his mind of swing mechanics.

“I tried to approach it as a low season, knowing we're going to do it this fall being quite busy all fall, & # 39; said Spieth. "I tried to take a little grinding time for the first month, have some fun, and when things started to open up again I could come back and work on different shots."

Regardless of the state of his game, Spieth usually finds a way to fight at Colonial. Spieth & # 39; s record in & # 39; Hogan's Alley & # 39; took a win in 2016 and finished second twice in five top eight finishes. He only finished twice outside the top 10 in seven starts – a tie for 14th in 2014 and a tie for 32nd in 2018. His scoring average of 67.79 is the best in tournament history.

Spieth was last in the battle year, entering the final round two shots behind Na. But Spieth shot 72. He hopes to find himself in a similar scenario on Sunday. After all, that's what he's been training for the past three months.