World number five Jordan Spieth is ready to go the distance on a golf course that suits his eye, as the world’s best assemble to compete for The Players Championship.
The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass has undergone renovations, with many of the players approving the changes to the Pete Dye’s designed layout. Spieth is one of those.
‘I love it. They went to TifEagle and the grass is very full. Chipping areas are actually quite a bit easier, I think, than they have been in past years, and you can actually putt out of them. The greens are spectacular. They’re in phenomenal shape,’ said Spieth, whose best finish is a share of fourth spot.
The major change undertaken by the renovations team was making the par-4 12th hole reachable off the tee, something that Spieth is quite keen to test, provided the pin is in the right place.
‘The visual changes on 6 and 7 I think are pretty cool, and then the 12th hole being totally different, opens up some options, but for us, I’ll probably go for it when it’s a back left pin and I’ll probably lay up every other day.’
Spieth’s recent form at the event is questionable after two MC’s since his run at the 2014 title.
‘I love this course and I think it fits my game well. I want to think that it’s just been kind of a fluke couple times in a successful career at this event going forward, where those two years could have been spread out over 15 and everything else is solid.
‘So I made no bogeys the first 54 holes I ever played in this tournament, I guess somewhere around 60 holes I ever played in this tournament, on this golf course. That’s awesome.’
Perhaps inspired by his all-round form and his love for the track have weighed too heavily on his shot selection and in-game decision making, but Spieth is ready to put the lessons learnt into practise this week.
‘So 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. Pete Dye’s pretty good at if you try and take some chances and if you’re not quite on, that’s where you get in trouble and you can make some numbers.’
Spieth tees off in round one alongside Hideki Matsuyama and Phil Mickelson at 2.27pm (SA time). For the rest of the tee-times click HERE!
