Jordan Spieth Tied for 9th After Shooting 69 in PGA Championship 2019 Round 1

Looking to turn around what has been a disappointing 2019 season, Jordan Spieth carded a one-under 69 in the first round of the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York on Thursday. 

Spieth, who has yet to register a top-10 finish this year, sits in a tie for ninth place, six shots back of Brooks Koepka.

Spieth salvaged what looked to be a forgettable opening round with two birdies over his final three holes. His last birdie, in particular, was impressive as he recovered from a tee shot that landed in a bunker to the right of the fairway. He got on the green in two shots and sunk a tricky 20-foot putt to move to one under.

He discussed his performance after heading to the clubhouse:

Spieth had an encouraging start to his round. With birdies on the fourth and sixth holes, he made the turn to the back nine at two under. On the par-three sixth, he put his tee shot just under nine feet from the cup and then made his birdie putt look easy.

Things quickly took a turn for the worse for the three-time major winner. His tee shot on the par-four 10th hole sailed well left of the fairway, which was only the start of his problems. He remained stuck in the rough when his second shot traveled only 20 yards.

Spieth didn't reach the green until his fifth shot, so he was somewhat fortunate to earn a double-bogey.

A wayward drive set him back to begin No. 12 as well. He got out of the rough on his second shot and onto the green with his third-shot approach, but he needed to sink a 53-foot putt to save par. Instead, he two-putted and fell back to one over.

The two late birdies drastically changed the narrative or Spieth's round. He can take some solace from the fact he was far from the only star to have a hard time with the difficult course.

Entering the PGA Championship, Spieth's struggles weren't limited to any one area. According to PGATour.com, he ranked 202nd in strokes gained: off the tee, 122nd in strokes gained: approach the green and 95th in strokes gained: around the green.

Inconsistency continued to be a problem Thursday, as evidenced by the fact Spieth's putting—one of his more dependable skills—took a step backward. He reached 15 of 18 greens in regulation but averaged 1.733 putts per GIR, which ranks 36th so far, per PGATour.com.

The PGA Championship is the only major Spieth has yet to win. Still only 25, it seems likely he'll hold the Wanamaker Trophy at least once in his career. That breakthrough is unlikely to come at Bethpage Black, given the massive gap already between him and Koepka.

Spieth will get his second round underway at 7:51 a.m. ET on the 10th tee alongside Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.