Start of FedEx Cup play-offs at Edison, New Jersey
Russell Knox tied fifth, one off lead, with a 66
CBSSports.com wire reports
Bubba Watson shoots a 5-under 65 in the opening round at The Barclays. (USATSI)EDISON, New Jersey. -- The start of the FedEx Cup playoffs brought out the worst score from Jordan Spieth in three months.
In his first tournament as No. 1 in the world, Spieth had a pair
of three-putt bogeys, hit a tee shot in the water, shot 40 on his
back nine and wound up with a 4-over 74 in the opening round of
The Barclays. It was his highest score since a 75 in The Players
Championship, the last time he missed a cut.
"Just lost a little bit of focus," Spieth said. "All in all, I'm
just going to take today as a fluke round. I still believe I'm
playing well. It just happened to be an off day on a day where it
counted." Bubba Watson and Tony Finau
powered their way around Plainfield Country Club and each had a
5-under 65. They were in a four-way tie for the lead that included
Spencer Levin and Camilo Villegas, players who are in dire need of a good week. Russell Knox from Inverness is tied fifth, a shot off the lead with a 66.
Villegas only got into the top 125 to qualify for the play-offs
last week at the Wyndham Championship, with two shots to spare.
That was pressure. Now he feels as though he has nothing to lose
as he tries to get into the top 100 who advance to the second
event next week at the TPC Boston. "Last week was an
important week," said Villegas, who is No. 123. "It hasn't been
the best of years, and just to be able to sneak in here and give
myself a chance ... I get off to a good start, and three more
rounds to go and keep it going." Levin secured his
spot in the playoffs with a 63 in the final round at the Wyndham,
moving up seven spots to No. 115. Much like Villegas, he felt
relieved to have made it to The Barclays, and everything else is
gravy. He rolled in three early birdies and dropped only one shot on a
mild, blustery day. "This is a nice stress to
have," he said. "I'm happy with where I am right now and who
knows? Maybe I can keep it going." Spieth has nothing to lose except the No. 1 ranking he has held for all of two weeks.
With two majors among his four wins, and nine top-three finishes
this year, he is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup and virtually assured of
getting to the finale at East Lake with a clear shot at the $10
million bonus. He can afford an off week or three. He just didn't
like it. Playing alongside Watson and Jason Day
-- the top three in the FedEx Cup -- Spieth didn't miss a fairway
on the back nine and was 2 under at the turn, three shots behind
Watson. From the fairway on No. 1 to a back pin, he got too
aggressive and went over the green, leading to bogey. Facing a
20-foot birdie putt on the next hole, he left it woefully short
and backed off the par putt twice before missing it. And then he
put his next shot in the water. The round ended with another three-putt bogey. Spieth could lose the No. 1 ranking to Rory McIlroy, who is not playing this week as a precaution coming off an ankle injury. The next step for Spieth?
"Do what I've done best -- bounce back," he said. "I come back
strong tomorrow. I'm not a big fan of the course. It doesn't fit
me very well particularly, but I've also won on courses that I
didn't think fit me very well. So I know I can still shoot a low
round if I hit the shots that I need to hit, that I'm trying to
hit. "Typically when I hit the fairways, I'm not over par. And that's what was weird about the round." Watson wasn't hitting all the fairways, but at times that was to
his advantage. The greens are pitched in such a way that some
shots have to carry to the hole, allowing for spin to make sure it
stays below the hole. That's what caused Spieth problems.
From the rough, Watson was able to land short of the flag and have
it roll up toward the hole. That set up ample birdies. Ditto for Finau, the power Utah rookie.
"So No. 9 today with that pin just on top of the ridge, if you
draw a decent lie in the rough, it's almost easier to just run
something up instead of worrying about the spin if you're hitting
from the fairway," Finau said. He had the
wildest round. Finau opened with three straight birdies, followed
with three straight bogeys, made one par and then ran off three
more birdies. Paul Casey and Jason Dufner were in the large group at 66. Day joined Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the group at 68.
Day pulled out of the pro-am Wednesday after tweaking his back.
Oddly enough, he had wanted an MRI on his back before the playoffs
to make sure everything was in order. He felt the twinge removing
a light box from under his motor home, and decided to have the
MRI on Wednesday. It showed everything in good order, and while
the PGA champion rubbed his back after a few hooked tee shots, he
felt good enough. Defending champion Hunter Mahan birdied his opening hole and went on to shoot 78. Justin Rose had a 77, while defending FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel had a 76.
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