HOUSTON — He’s back in his home state and Jordan Spieth certainly looks comfortable.
The three-time major champ went off early at Memorial Park Golf Course on Thursday and the final event before the Masters started with what has become a familiar pattern for Spieth: alternating amazing and horrific shots.
For example, at the 522-yard par-4 first hole, Spieth pushed his opening drive of the day wildly right. No problem, however, as the 11-time PGA Tour winner rebounded with a solid approach and then stuck a chip to three feet to save par.
Spieth hasn’t cracked the top 35 in the first four events of the new season, missing cuts at both the Safeway Open and U.S. Open. He finished T-38 at the CJ Cup and then T-41 at the Zozo Championship and has slipped to 75th in the Official World Golf Ranking and 99th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
But Spieth looked like the former World No. 1 as he crafted a beautiful iron into a tricky green, then dropped the putt.
Spieth followed with another birdie on No. 3 to take the early lead out of the gate. Of course, with Spieth’s recent track record, it’s difficult to know what will come next. Spieth entered the week as a 50-1 longshot to win the Vivint Houston Open, which is being played at Memorial Park for the first time since 1963.
