Jordan Spieth at Phoenix Open 2017: Saturday Score and Reaction
Jordan Spieth made progress in Saturday's third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open by carding a four-under 67, but he remains well off the pace at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona with an overall mark of eight under par.
He will enter Sunday on the strength of a round that saw him register six birdies and two bogeys:
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Round 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 33 |
| Overall | -3 | -3 | -4 | -5 | -5 | -5 | -5 | -5 | -6 | -6 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
| Overall | -6 | -5 | -5 | -6 | -6 | -7 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -8 |
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When the 23-year-old Texan entered the clubhouse, he found himself in a tie for 20th place, seven strokes behind leader Byeong Hun An:
Spieth has made steady progress over the course of the tournament, posting a 70, 68 and 67 in succession.
The two-time major champion appeared poised to enter the third round on a high note, but a double bogey on No. 18 to close his second round Friday burdened him with the difficult task of regaining momentum.
Early indications weren't good in that regard, as Spieth bogeyed the par-four first and dropped further down the leaderboard Saturday.
He bounced back quickly, however, with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to move to five under for the event.
Spieth then made the turn with another birdie on No. 9 and put himself in position to potentially get in contention on the back nine.
His second bogey of the day halted his progress on No. 11, but Spieth played clean golf from that point forward.
The 2015 Masters winner carded birdies on the 13th, 15th and 17th holes, although his biggest challenge came on No. 18.
Spieth essentially ruined a great second round with a double bogey on No. 18 a day earlier, but he avoided disaster Saturday and ended his round with a solid par.
While Spieth is unlikely to score his first win of 2017 this weekend, he has a chance to end up in the top 10 with a strong performance Sunday.
Spieth entered the Phoenix Open on the heels of two third-place results in January, and based on his showing in the third round, he seems to be trending toward winning a tournament sooner rather than later.
Post-Round Reaction
Spieth is usually the main focus every time he is on the course, but he was outperformed by playing partner John Peterson on Saturday.
Peterson carded an eight-under 63 to move into a tie for third place entering Sunday, and he tweeted about his enjoyable experience playing alongside Spieth:
Spieth trails Peterson by four shots with one round left to play, but the fact that they started the third round tied suggests there is hope for Spieth to shoot up the leaderboard with a strong close to the tournament.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
