Jordan Spieth hopes to build on

“I think it’s a good lesson for Sunday that some guys are going to make runs and I’ve just got to stay really patient, recognise that setting a goal for myself and sticking to it is important because things can change quickly out here”

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Jordan Spieth reflects on lessons learned as he turns a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead over the last 30 minutes of the third round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, aided by a spectacular hole-out for eagle at the 16th.

Jordan Spieth insists he feels more confident than last week heading into the final round with the lead as he again put himself in position to end his long run without a victory on the PGA Tour.

Spieth was tied for the lead with Xander Schauffele after 54 holes at the Phoenix Open, but both were surpassed by a fast-finishing Brooks Koepka at TPC Scottsdale as Spieth’s closing 72 left him two behind the champion.

The former world No 1 trailed Daniel Berger by two with three holes to play on day three at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but a superb 160-yard hole-out for eagle at the 16th lifted him back into a share of the lead, which he would hole outright when Berger drove out of bounds at the last and finished with a double-bogey seven.

Spieth remains without a win since The Open in 2017

It was a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in tournament play, and Spieth was understandably upbeat over his chances of capturing his first win since hoisting aloft the Claret Jug following his memorable Open victory at Royal Birkdale in 2017 – a little over five months after he won at Pebble Beach.

“It’s a good lesson to learn for Sunday, how quickly things can change out here,” said Spieth, who was three over for the back nine until his hole-out at the 16th. “You make that turn on the 12th tee and you’re just trying to hold on for dear life, hitting into the wind with a lot of flighted shots after hitting a lot of lofted, spinny shots on the first 11 holes.

“So it’s almost two different golf courses when the wind blows out here with that kind of out and in. But I think it’s a good lesson for Sunday that some guys are going to make runs and I’ve just got to stay really patient, recognise that setting a goal for myself and sticking to it is important because things can change quickly out here.”

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Describing his second eagle from the fairway this week, following his brilliant two at the 10th in round one, Spieth added: “I hit eight-iron, with the wind in off the right and a little bit of mud on right side of the ball, so I knew I could throw it out to the right and let kind of the wind and the mud do most of the work.

“In the air I thought it was going to be really good, and as it landed it was just exactly where I was trying to hit it, certainly a bonus for it to drop.”

Spieth admitted he struggled on the greens on the final day in Phoenix as he did not come close to matching the heights of his outstanding third-round 61, and he was again dissatisfied with his putting at Pebble Beach despite hanging onto his overnight lead.

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Jordan Spieth jumped back into a share of the lead at Pebble Beach in some style at the 16th, where a big draw from 160 yards found the hole for an amazing eagle-two.

But having been close to dropping out of the world’s top 100 before his great showing in Arizona, Spieth is encouraged by the progress he has made and will enter the final round at Pebble Beach in a positive frame of mind.

“I would say definitely more,” he said when asked about his confidence levels compared to last Sunday. “I feel that I’ve left quite a few shots out on the course, not really on Thursday, but definitely Friday and today, and I’m in the position I want to be in.

“So with that being said, a lot of it was on the greens, I just didn’t get any putts to the hole today and I had some missed short ones, including a three-putt. And that was the problem on Sunday last week, I was just leaving them short and I didn’t adjust quick enough. They left the greens a little slower today with this wind and the same thing happened.

Spieth was tied for the lead after 54 holes in Phoenix last week but finished tied for fourth

“So I think I feel good about the progress being made day-to-day with my swing and then I’ve just got to be a little bit more aggressive on the greens.

“I think my nerves will be there the same as they were last Sunday, the same they were today. It’s not going to be the most comfortable feeling to start out, but it never is. I can’t speak about one time that I stood on the first tee on a Sunday with the lead and felt super, super comfortable.

“I don’t really care about the time frame stuff. I’m really just going to throw that out of my head because I’m finally consistently doing things over the last two weeks that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

“I think, obviously the more you continue to do that, the bounces go your way, like the hole-out did today on 16. Someone may do that to me tomorrow or come shoot a 64 or something. I mean, it’s golf and it’s Pebble Beach and you can go low and it can also be really challenging.”