FORT WORTH, Texas — Just a few days remain until this Texas city’s mayoral runoff election takes place, so many of the homes in the neighborhood between Texas Christian University and Colonial Country Club are adorned with political signs urging voters to cast their ballots for either Mattie Parker or Deborah People.
Both are looking to replace outgoing mayor Betsy Price, who is leaving after a decade at the helm.
But one home down Alton Road, a pristine stretch that backs up to TCU’s football stadium, has shunned both candidates and instead has a large photo of the 2016 champion of the nearby golf tournament accompanied by the words “Jordan Spieth for Mayor.”
Spieth might not be looking to get into office, but he’s certainly been ruling Texas golf with an iron fist of late.
In a stretch of four Texas PGA Tour events in nine weeks, Spieth has three top-10 finishes — including a victory at the Valero Texas Open — and now owns the 36-hole lead of the Charles Schwab Challenge after he followed Thursday’s opening-round 63 with a 66 on Friday to maintain a one-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Spieth saved one of his best magic tricks for last, botching a 100-yard approach on the final hole — in which he said aloud, “oh my goodness, I just hit the equator” immediately after his swing — but then buried a 16-foot putt from the fringe to save par and keep the solo lead.
“I told Michael even before that hole started I was starting to lose focus and was kind of just making swings, going through the motions and kind of not really as sharp the last three or four holes,” Spieth said after posting a 34 on the back. “And sure enough, right after that, I bladed a sand wedge, which I don’t think I’ve ever done in competition. And luckily that one went in to really not kind of hurt me there, and … dinner will taste a little better.”
Never a doubt.@JordanSpieth got up-and-down for par to remain bogey-free thru 36 holes.
He leads by 1 @CSChallengeFW. pic.twitter.com/JIic54G3if
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 29, 2021
Through 36 holes, Spieth has yet to bogey a hole at Colonial, and although he wasn’t spectacular on Friday, he put himself in great position to earn the tartan jacket for a second time. The Dallas native has six top-10 finishes at Colonial, including two runner-up showings.
Still, he wasn’t thrilled with his performance on Friday, certainly not as he was after Thursday’s 63. Spieth leads Jason Kokrak by one shot.
“I didn’t swing it as well. I wasn’t really completing it and it wasn’t feeling great. I knew I was going to kind of have to manage my way around the golf course a little bit, and fortunately did a really great job of that. It’s nice if you play a bogey-free round,” he said. “I’m in a good spot at a familiar place, and just going to have to go check on the weather and set a goal for the weekend.”
