Jordan Spieth at BMW Championship 2015: Saturday Leaderboard Score and Reaction

For the first time at the 2015 BMW Championship, Jordan Spieth struggled to find a rhythm en route to a Saturday score of 72 that leaves his three-round total at 10 under. 

About the only positive to say from Spieth's round is Jason Day started the day so far ahead of everyone else—and continued to play well on Saturday—that it didn't impact his chances of winning. Here is what the scorecard looked like for the Texas native in the third round:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	5	4	35
Score	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	36
Total	-11	-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-11	-10	-10
Par	4	3	4	4	5	4	4	3	5	36
Score	4	4	4	3	6	4	3	3	5	36
Total	-10	-9	-9	-10	-9	-9	-10	-10	-10	-10

Expectations were raised so high for the 22-year-old, understandably so, earlier this year when he won two major titles and had four total wins from March through July. He did finish second at the PGA Championship, but hasn't kept up that early-season pace down the stretch. 

Here's how the leaderboard looks after Saturday's round:

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Spieth entered Saturday with a clear understanding of what he had to do coming off the first two rounds if he wanted a chance to win, telling Jeff Arnold of the New York Times he needed to be on point to give himself a shot. 

“Eleven under is pretty stout for two rounds,” Spieth said. “But the fact I could double that and probably not win, well—may as well just try and double it and see what happens.”

His round got off to a mediocre start with a bogey on No. 2, leaving him a hole to dig out of that he was never really able to do. Even when things seemed to be looking up, like after birdies on eight and 13, he followed them up with a bogey on the next hole. 

One problem Spieth has had during his late-season slide is putting up low numbers. He seemed to get past those issues in the first two rounds with a 65-66 to build momentum, but Saturday's 72 marks the fifth time in his last seven rounds that he's failed to break par. 

The year-end awards seemed tailor-made for Spieth to rack up many trophies. Now, his spot on the throne looks more tenuous than ever. 

However, Kyle Porter of CBS Sports wrote before the BMW Championship started that Spieth was still the heavy favorite to be named Player of the Year:

"

Any argument for Day (and there have been plenty) is simply a product of the recency bias. Spieth has missed his last two cuts. Day has won three of his last five events. And so on.

But Spieth was 19 strokes better than Day at the majors (even though Day posted one of the best aggregate scores ever at the majors). He's made more money, scored better and has more top-10 finishes.

"

All players want to be judged by what happens in majors, but it's not like Day has been chopped liver in those events. He finished ahead of Spieth at the PGA Championship, capturing his first career major title in the process, and was in the top 10 at the U.S. Open and British Open. 

There is also the historic performance Day has added to his resume through two rounds this weekend, which left Spieth searching for answers, even as Justin Ray of the Golf Channel noted how impressive his first two rounds were:

Saturday was back to the recent performance Spieth has put up. He's still among the sport's best players and will deserve whatever accolades are coming, but there are now five rounds of proof showing how much work still remains before becoming definitively the best player. 

At 22 years old, Spieth isn't exactly running out of time. He is entitled to rough stretches like every athlete. Things will get better for him, though at least now all he has to do is go out and play his game on Sunday with nothing to worry about. 

Being in a situation with nothing to lose and all eyes on another player can be a nice motivating factor to remind everyone why Spieth shouldn't be ignored at an event he can't win. Building momentum for next week's Tour Championship is also essential for the Masters and U.S. Open champion.