Jordan Spieth has had a tough go of things so far in 2019.
The three-time major champion hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Open Championship, and despite glimpses of good play, hasn’t carded a top-20 finish going back to September of 2018.
Playing in his fourth consecutive tournament this past week at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, Spieth’s rollercoaster season continued with an opening-round even-par 71 was followed up by an encouraging 5-under par 66 in round two.
However, on the brink of contention, Spieth went backward on moving day, firing a 3-over par 74 to eliminate himself from the Sunday conversation. With one round standing between himself and a few weeks off, Spieth went searching again on Sunday, only to find more of the same.
Playing the par-4 13th hole, which is most famous for its railroad tie-guarded green, Spieth begged for his ball not to plug in the bunker as it veered offline. Naturally, it did and he was stymied as he tried to play an explosion shot off of the railroad ties.
It appeared his fourth shot was in a worse position than his third, even prompting the PGA Tour Live announcers to bemoan his predicament.
“What do you do now? What do you do?” the announcer asked. “You can’t get it on the green from here.”
Spieth did one better, however, nearly holing the shot for an unlikely par. He would tap in for bogey en route to a back-nine 3-over par 38 and final-round 4-over par 75.
Spieth would finish the event in a tie for 54th place, his worst finish in the four-event stretch that also included the WGC-Match Play, the Valero Texas Open and The Masters.
After playing 4 straight weeks and making every cut while showing intermittent signs of promise, Jordan Spieth…fell from 30th to 35th in the world rankings.
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) April 22, 2019
Spieth is committed to playing in the AT&T Byron Nelson in two weeks, and then the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black where he will attempt to complete the career Grand Slam.
