Jordan Spieth Struggles with Consistency in Round 1 of 2017 Players Championship
Jordan Spieth endured an up-and-down performance during Thursday's first round of the 2017 Players Championship en route to a one-over 73 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The two-time major champion looked primed for a strong start to the marquee tournament with two birdies over his first three holes. He failed to capitalize on the early success, however, finishing the opening round with four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Let's check out Spieth's complete scorecard from Round 1:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 |
| Total | E | -1 | -2 | -2 | -1 | E | -1 | -1 | -1 | - |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Score | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 38 |
| Total | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | - |
And here's a look at the updated tournament leaderboard:
Spieth, who's missed the Players' cut each of the past two years, once again failed to find a rhythm during the first 18 holes.
His ability to recover from a poor driving day is the silver lining. He only hit 28.6 percent of fairways in the first round, but still found the green 66.7 percent of the time. There weren't a ton of great birdie looks, but he avoided what could have been a disastrous round with lesser iron play.
One of a few poor iron shots led to his first bogey of the day. He found the fairway with a picture-perfect drive on No. 14, but his approach came up short of the green. The resulting chip left a mid-range par putt he couldn't convert.
Otherwise, his play from the rough helped him at least remain within shouting distance of the leaders after the first round. Whether he can produce a more well-rounded Friday is the key question.
Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press noted Spieth said coming into the tournament he hadn't lost his confidence at TPC Sawgrass despite his early exits the last two years.
"I want to think that it's just kind of a fluke," he said. "Those two years could have been spread out over 15 and everything else is solid. I know I can play it really well if I play it smart, and I think I've just been trying to do a little too much the last couple years. If you try and take some chances, and you're not quite on, that's where you get in trouble."
Spieth didn't even put himself in a position to take many chances Thursday. Finding the fairway with more regularity is the most important factor heading into Round 2 and beyond.
Meanwhile, it would also help if the 23-year-old Texas native can get his putter to heat up. His play on the greens wasn't a massive problem throughout the first day, but in order to start climbing the leaderboard he'll likely need to knock in a handful of long putts to create a spark.
Spieth, along with playing partners Phil Mickelson and Hideki Matsuyama, are scheduled to tee off at 1:52 p.m. ET on Friday for the second round.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
