Jordan Spieth at Phoenix Open 2017: Sunday Score and Reaction

Jordan Spieth made a brief charge during the final round of the 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to push himself into contention, as his four-under 67 left him tied for ninth at 12 under for the week.

The sixth-ranked golfer in the world, who started the day eight strokes behind leader Byeong Hun An in a tie for 21st, looked ready to make a serious move up the leaderboard after posting three straight birdies starting on the fifth hole. His comeback bid stalled out from there, however.

Let's check out the star's scorecard from his fourth trip around TPC Scottsdale in Arizona:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN
Par	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4	35
Score	4	4	5	3	3	3	2	4	4	32
Total	-8	-8	-8	-8	-9	-10	-11	-11	-11	-
Par	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36
Score	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	3	4	35
Total	-11	-11	-10	-11	-11	-11	-11	-12	-12	-

And here's a look at the updated tournament leaderboard:

Spieth entered the final round knowing a low score was out there if he could put together a pure ball-striking day off the tee, per Dan Kilbridge of the Arizona Republic.

"If you're driving the ball on the fairway, you definitely can get close to these holes," he said. "Saw a low score with [John Peterson] just hitting it point A to point B and driving the ball well. That's what it takes."

He wasn't able to turn that knowledge into sustained Sunday success, though. He hit just 50 percent of the fairways in the final round and 54 percent throughout the week. That prevented him from competing for the title in an event where his iron play was terrific.

When the two-time major champion did find the short grass, he made it look easy. The fifth and sixth holes were almost carbon copies of each other: a 300-plus-yard drive into the fairway, a smooth iron shot setting up a mid-range birdie attempt and a nice roll with the putter to convert.

Spieth just couldn't string more holes like that together throughout the round.

All told, a better week off the tee would have given him a chance to walk out of TPC Scottsdale with the victory. He was within striking distance despite the mundane driving performance. The other aspects of his game were locked in for most of the way, though his putter cooled off Sunday.

While Spieth was out of the mix by the time he reached the famed 16th hole, Shane Dale of ABC Arizona highlighted the reception Spieth and his playing partners received:

Looking ahead, there are still plenty of reasons for optimism as the 23-year-old Texas native heads into the meat of the PGA Tour season. This was his fourth event of the campaign, and it goes down as his worst result after a sixth-place finish and two third-place finishes in his first three starts.

He's not playing his best golf, but he's contending on a weekly basis. That suggests Spieth could be in for a lucrative 2017 if he can find a groove with his driver and see a slight uptick in his putting consistency in the coming months.

His next scheduled tournament is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which starts Thursday.