Spieth lamented the crosswinds that ravaged the course again on Friday, depositing what he thought were good shots well off his intended target. If I go out tomorrow and shoot two or three under I am going to be very tough to beat so it is in my hands.
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Spieth’s fired a three-under par round of 68 to be three-under overall and four shots off the lead of Matt Jones in Sydney.
The highlight was his eagle two at the par-four 17th where his 180-yard 8-iron shot bounced twice on the putting surface before rolling into the hole.
“To go up against the number one in the world is going to be a lot of fun”, Jones said.
“If I can shoot a couple of mid-60s, it is really doable if you play well”, he said. A gee up from his caddy Michael and an up and down for birdie at the 5th however saw the tide turn. “It’s me sticking to a game plan, managing the course and just giving myself opportunities”, Jones said. He bogeyed three of his first four holes and appeared totally befuddled.
Gibson, who recently secured his PGA TOUR card after finishing 20th in the Web.com Tour rankings, dropped just one shot on his way to a three-under-par 68.
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before; it’s just typically you don’t see this much crosswind on golf courses”.
The European Ryder Cup captain is joined on one under by Australian Adam Scott, who recovered from a 73 on Friday to shoot 68, including an eagle on the 18th.
Spieth said: “We played a lot of those holes in side winds”. Today it started at east-south-east and then it worked its way to east-north-east and you’re trying to figure out when that’s actually happening.
Scott also enjoyed the increased speed of the greens today. It appeared thsat the top would be more closely bunched, but Jones birdied the last two holes, likely crushing the dreams of those at 1 under, including Aussie icon Scott.
On the eighth hole – his second-last of the day – he left a birdie attempt about a foot short, the fifth or sixth time he failed to get the pace right.
Matthew Jones of Australia chips out of a bunker at the 13th green during the Australian Open Golf T …
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“Matt Jones has played the best golf for three rounds, he’s played better golf than I have and I have to somehow not only play better golf, but play better golf by multiple shots”.
