Charles Schwab Challenge
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Jordan Spieth
Quick Quotes
Q. Jordan, 2-under 68. If we can get you to talk about your round today, please.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it didn't feel like a tale of two nines, and the scorecard shows that. I felt like I actually hit it better on the back than the front but just didn't make anything. I didn't hit my wedges close on the back. I really didn't have a whole lot of good looks for birdie inside of 20 feet today. I was fortunate to make a couple from outside that range. But I liked it.
Today was a day where I look at the last couple years and potentially say that would have been a 2- or 3-over and taken me all the way out of the tournament, and I like the progression I've been able to make. I feel comfortable going into tomorrow that I can shoot a good score. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. But I learned a bit about what was going on when I really felt kind of the nerves kick in today, and hopefully compensate for that tomorrow and hit some better shots.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about what you're expecting Sunday being in contention but yet not having noise out on the golf course?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, that will be a bit odd. I think I was really trying to make sure I was at 13-under or better on the last couple holes to try and be in the last group where you really can control your own destiny. You know, it's a bunched leaderboard now with a lot of great players, so you know, you've got to expect someone is going to shoot a low one, so I think for me, I'm just going to kind of fire away. I think I'm going to go off a low round, obviously, picking where to do so. I don't think the horrible horseshoe allows you to go attack pins, but you get enough wedge opportunities that I think just firing right at them tomorrow and not kind of trying to play the safer route is the idea.
Q. Maybe it has already for you, but is it starting to feel like more like a regular tournament now?
JORDAN SPIETH: I think as the week has gone on it's felt weirder in my opinion. Going in, I thought that Monday to Friday would be somewhat normal and then Saturday and Sunday would be a bit odd. Today definitely felt a lot different for it being a Saturday afternoon in the last group, when you kind of think about the situation you're in, you just don't feel like you're actually out there doing that. I just felt like I was playing a normal round with Harold, certainly knowing where I was at.
You know, I like to feed off the crowds, and you certainly hope we can have them back, especially this week.
Q. Are you surprised the leaderboard includes so many top players, or is that what you were expecting with this field?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I just -- this is a very strong field, and you're likely to have -- I think statistics would say that you're going to have a large number that are up there in the World Ranking just given the pool of guys that you're picking from. No, I'm not surprised. Should be really fun tomorrow. Golf is kind of the only thing on TV tomorrow, and hopefully there can be a fun shootout with the number of guys, and hopefully I can be one of them.
Q. On Harold, it seemed like you guys had a lot of constant conversation from the first hole on. What was the pairing like today and how do you enjoy playing with him?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was awesome. We were talking the only time we've been paired before was one round in San Antonio. I see him a lot on the gym trailer throughout the weeks, and it's just a blast. I mean, he's a lot of fun to be around, very positive person, has a really solid game, great putting stroke, kind of stuff that you like to look at, real simple golf swing, stuff that you like to look at when you're watching players play in your group. You want to kind of simplify things like he's doing it. He's striping it. He didn't make anything today. I'd certainly watch out for him]] tomorrow making a move.
Q. What happened on the shot on 15, and how critical was it to escape the two wayward drives on the front dropping only one shot?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, 15 I was caught up in am I going to hit or am I not going to hit when the guys were teeing off on 16. I decided to wait, and I just kind of got in my own head. Instead of just hitting kind of a little punch wedge in there, I was trying to be cute with it, and then yeah, it was just like one of those 1 in 100 that just comes off really poorly. I should have just stepped in and hit it.
But yeah, on the front nine, 5 was a big bogey save. I don't know what the other -- 6 was the other wayward drive and that was a nasty up-and-down. So to get through 5 and 6 today at 1-over from the positions I was in was definitely nice, and then I started swinging the club a bit better after that.
Q. How much leaderboard watching do you typically do in this position, and does that change with no noise on the golf course?
JORDAN SPIETH: I've done less and less over the years from early on, and I don't really find it useful tomorrow. I think this golf course makes you play to a spot and play to the next spot. There is a bit of risk-reward, but it's less about trying to save strokes and more about what club is comfortable to get the ball in the fairway with a chance to have the best angle at the pin.
I don't expect myself to do any tomorrow, and it'll be easier, I think, for me to not do so without crowds. I won't know where anyone is at.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #166 at 2020-06-13 22:20:00 GMT
