Jordan Spieth at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2016: Saturday Leaderboard, Reaction
Jordan Spieth has been unable to find the right touch at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, struggling in Saturday's third round with a 74 that pushed his 54-hole total to one under par as he finished just inside the cut line.
It seemed as though Spieth had built some momentum during the second round with a 69, but he came out of the gate in the third round with a bogey on the first hole and never recovered.
Here's a look at Spieth's scorecard from Saturday and the full leaderboard from Pebble Beach:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 37 |
| Total | -2 | -2 | -2 | -3 | -3 | -3 | -2 | -2 | -2 | - |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 37 |
| Total | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | - |
Following Spieth's round Friday, he told reporters that his confidence heading into Saturday was high, per Jason Sobel of ESPN.com:
While he may have said a part of that in jest, Spieth had no reason to think he would post a high score Saturday. The third round has been kind to him this year, as he posted a 68 at Abu Dhabi two weeks ago and a 65 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions last month.
The nail in Spieth's coffin came on the 14th hole. He hadn't bogeyed a par five on the PGA Tour since the Hero World Challenge's second round Dec. 4, but his streak came to an end when he carded a six on hole No. 14 on Saturday.
That dropped Spieth into a tie for 57th place, though other players' struggles would eventually bump him up three spots. He wasn't going to compete for a victory this weekend with Phil Mickelson rolling at 16 under, but this is shaping up to be his worst tournament since he missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship in September.
According to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, Spieth's final round will not be taking place on the main course:
The sum was not what Spieth wanted, though there were moments of levity with his playing partner, Dustin Johnson, courtesy of Back9Network's Chris Chaney:
This was not the return Spieth wanted after taking a five-week break from the PGA Tour. Yet there's also no reason for panic to set in, as he has still finished in the top 10 in four events this season.
Golf is an unusual game, with the best players often stumbling, but the ability to respond against adversity is what separates the greats from everyone else. Spieth has never had an issue with putting bad performances in his rearview mirror.
By the time 2016 comes to an end, this will be a blip on the radar for Spieth. It's just a surprise because of how well he was playing before coming to Pebble Beach.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
