In his last start before the U.S. Open at the Memorial Tournament, Jordan Spieth found himself suddenly in contention on Sunday after spending most on the week on the outer fringes of relevance at Muirfield Village.
He didn’t win — David Lingmerth did in a playoff — but it was mission accomplished for the 21-year-old.
“I wanted to work into contention to feel the nerves, that’s the best way to get prepared for a major,” Spieth said after Memorial. He added, “It felt awesome. It was nice to be back in the hunt.”
Well, after Friday at the John Deere Classic, Spieth is again near the top of the leaderboard with a chance to win. Spieth made six birdies and an eagle in Round 2 at TPC Deere Run, carding a 7-under 64 that took him to the same score against par through 36 holes. Surging over 90 spots on a crowded leaderboard, Spieth is within striking distance of a second Deere win.
Spieth was happy to see his game coming around in time for the Open.
“I’m getting on-course reps and it’s making a difference,” he said afterward. “I’m working on some things coming off a little break there, and I was a little more aggressive with [the putter] today, and it paid off.”
There was a lot of talk going into the week about the wisdom of Spieth choosing to play his final British Open tune-up in the U.S. After all, the last five Open champions have played the Scottish Open, which precedes the year’s third major, and links golf isn’t exactly an easy leap to make from a fairly easy course like TPC Deere Run. The world No. 2 also doesn’t have much experience at St. Andrews, a course so subtle that it often takes years to truly appreciate its complexity.
Spieth defended his choice early in the week, saying he wouldn’t play in this event — one which gave him a sponsor exemption as a teenage amateur — if he didn’t think it would help him at the Old Course next week. He seems to be taking a less-is-more view toward links golf.
“[The Open is] going to be an exciting atmosphere, and it may be good for me to have a limited amount of time there just to get some feels,” he said Friday. “Feel like I got a good amount of practice in and I’ll be able to adjust to the speed and the conditions there. I feel like I’ll be able to do that in a couple days.”
Win or lose next week, it’ll never be clear whether or not Spieth made the right call. However, Spieth believed heading into Chambers Bay that feeling in contention was the best way to prepare for major pressure. It paid off with a second major this year. If this 64 helps him accomplish that mission again on Sunday, then it seems like everything is going to Spieth’s plan.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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