Spieth was 5-over for the tournament after a shocking 8-over 79 in the first round.
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“Just seemed to be anywhere you really shouldn’t go, I went”, he said.
Throw in the NCAA title that Texas won at Riviera in 2012, and Spieth figures he has played Riviera as much as any PGA Tour course outside the state of Texas.
The Masters, which Spieth is defending champion, is less than two months away, which doesn’t leave much time for ruminating. He will get a few extra days to rest, before getting off these bumpy poa annua greens as the TOUR starts its Florida Swing.
“I’m definitely happy with my position”, said the nine-times PGA Tour victor.
World number one Jordan Spieth crashed out of the Northern Trust Open on Friday with fellow American Jason Kokrak leading by a single shot and Rory McIlroy firmly in the mix after the second round.
He opened the year with an eight-shot win at Kapalua and fell into the trap of thinking it would be like every week. “We’ll be fine.” Last season, Spieth followed his first two missed cuts on the USA circuit with a tie for seventh and a runner-up spot. “When you have that many opportunities, you’re going to do well”. McIlroy managed to hold at 10 under for the week thanks to an impressive par putt from 19 feet on the final green.
He is playing a limited schedule this year, wanting to play 10 or 12 events.
Watson will be going for his second victory in three years at Riviera, except there is no shortage of stars trying to catch him. “This is a golf course where it’s not easy to shoot eight-under”.
Making his tournament debut at iconic Riviera after being tempted here by the recommendations of many of his peers, McIlroy has produced solid golf with three straight rounds in the 60s.
Their a slew of big names sitting at 6-under-par.
There are plenty of other players standing in the way of McIlroy and glory in his maiden outing at the tournament, not least two-times Masters champion Watson. Round 1 he was able to make his fair share of putts on these tricky surfaces. “He just holed a long putt there on 14”. When McIlroy gets hot with the putter he is nearly unbeatable because he is nearly always on ball striking wise.
Meanwhile, last week’s winners Charl Schwartzel and Hideki Matsuyama also in the group at six under, while Justin Rose is a further stroke adrift after he birdied the final three holes to salvage a 68.
“Overall, knowing that I’ve won here and knowing that I can play around here, obviously I have a little bit of an advantage on the guy that probably hasn’t won here”, said the left-hander. It’s just a good, tough golf course. He showed he won’t be intimidated when the pressure is on. Another five players, including Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, are just two shots behind with 18 holes left to play. Scott has begun to take strides in his putting.
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Thomas tapped in for par on the 18th and looked over to Fred Couples to make sure he didn’t step in his line.
