Jordan Spieth at Memorial Tournament 2016: Sunday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
Jordan Spieth's weekend at the 2016 Memorial Tournament came to a dispiriting close Sunday, as the world No. 2 carded a one-over score of 73 to finish well out of contention.
Spieth went into the clubhouse in a tie for 57th, sitting at three under overall. He posted consecutive over-par rounds after entering the weekend at six under and on the outskirts of contention.
This is by far the worst four-round finish of Spieth's year. His previous worst was at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament, where he tied for 21st. The last time Spieth finished outside the top 50 in an event where he participated through the weekend was in 2013—at this same event. This is only the fifth time in his whole career that Spieth has been 50th or worse.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Score | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 38 | 73 |
Coming off a win at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, which concluded last Sunday, Spieth seemed to be building momentum heading toward the U.S. Open starting June 16. Instead, he continued playing the erratic style that cost him the Masters Tournament and has left him chasing Jason Day for most of the year.
Spieth has now been cut, blown a victory opportunity, earned a win and been anonymous in the four events since his Masters Sunday collapse. One week it's been his putting, the next his approach and the next something different.
At the Memorial, it was all about Spieth's errant driver. He spent all week trying and failing to dig himself out of poor tee shots, keeping himself afloat when the putter was working and drowning when he suffered a slight mean regression.
Sunday was yet another in a series of frustrations with his driver. Spieth hit on only 57.1 percent of his fairways—more than 10 percent below the tournament average—and found himself unable to get things going on his approaches.
His first three holes were an apparent attempt to go on vacation, as Spieth hit the sand three different times. He nailed a greenside bunker on No. 10 and drove it into the sand on Nos. 11 and 12. The Texan was able to grind out pars on two of the three holes, bogeying No. 10, but it was just a sign of things to come.
A drive into the rough on No. 14 caused him to drop to two over on the day, though he immediately got a shot back on the par-five 15th. Even that hole required Spieth to nail a lengthy birdie putt after hitting his drive into the rough. Another trip to the bunker at No. 17—this time a greenside affair after a poor approach—led to Spieth dropping another shot and playing his first nine holes at two over.
Things didn't get better when Spieth made the turn. He hit his first and second shots into the rough before failing to get up and down on No. 1. Fairway drives on Nos. 2 and 3 were undone by bad approaches, as he left himself off the green on the second and 47 feet away on the third.
Spieth got himself back to two over for the day on the par-five fifth, hitting his third shot to about two feet away before tapping in. No. 7, another par-five hole, allowed Spieth to get another birdie, and he played one of his best holes of the day. He hit his first two shots long and on the fairway before nailing a 75-yard approach to just inside three feet.
Inclement weather then caused a lengthy delay as Spieth tried to finish his round after parring the par-three eighth. He managed to close things out with an uneventful par after waiting out the storm and got into the clubhouse.
This is about as disappointing as a tournament gets for Spieth at this point in his career. This was the fourth straight week he was playing in a competitive event. He should be feeling like he's rounding into form; this feels like he's barely scratching the surface.
The best-case scenario is that Spieth was feeling a little fatigue and that a week off will get him back into good form for Oakmont Country Club. For now, Spieth clearly has work to do if he wants to repeat as U.S. Open champion.
Post-Round Reaction
Spieth spoke after the round, per Jason Sobel of ESPN.com: "Just continued work on my ball striking," he explained. "I drove the ball well at periods of time this week, but for the most part, driving accuracy has got to really improve, especially going into Oakmont. I'll work hard this week."
He looked ahead toward his keys to the U.S. Open as well, particularly from a club standpoint: "This driving iron, I've had in place for a while now. I thought about taking it out around the Masters because a hybrid is useful at Augusta. Kept it in and felt comfortable with it. It's a club I think, if it's firm, which I think is what everyone wants at Oakmont, could really be a useful club off the tees and more useful than a hybrid."
And of his plans for the week: "I think I'll do what we did at Chambers Bay, which I'll get in Saturday, probably front load the work early on Saturday, Sunday, maybe a bit extra Monday, and then dial it back. Just hit all the checkpoints and nine holes Tuesday and Wednesday. That's what I did—I think I went 18, 18, 9, 9, 9, and I didn't feel worn out even at Chambers Bay. Oakmont is an easier walk.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
