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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

July 2, 2016

Jordan Spieth

Akron, Ohio

Q. Talk us through the 8th if you could, please.
JORDAN SPIETH: Sure, thank you. Fantastic.

Q. I'm sorry.
JORDAN SPIETH: I think it's a poor hole from where we play the tee box. It doesn't need to be there. It can actually be a really good par-5 from 50 yards up, which is still on the same tee box. But I did the hard work which was hitting two good shots to a really good number, 86 yards which is a go-to number for me. A little down breeze with the firm green makes you want to get a little cute with it because I'm aware of what can happen, which is happened on my second wedge, which is ricocheting over the green.

I thought I actually put a good shot on it when I struck it. I maybe struck it a groove low, which would make it fly a couple yards shorter. I thought I still had enough velocity down breeze to fly it far enough and obviously by the crowd reaction in mid air I thought it had to get up.

When it went in the water, I'm not going to hit another one in the water, so I actually dropped it a few yards back on an upslope so I could maybe loft it up in the air more, and I guess that one caught more wind because I didn't think I hit that one much harder, just hit it solid.

Tough lie. Hit a good shot below the hole, hit a great putt. Somehow I made an 8 without really missing a shot. But if you're going to name a hole this year where you can make an 8 without really missing a shot, I'd name the 16th hole here.

Only regret, I had about 277 front edge, and if I mash a 3-wood downwind I can carry it that far off the ground. I could have maybe hit it long left of the green and had a pretty simple up-and-down the length of the green, but it was pushing it, and I was dialed in with my wedges today, so it was a smart decision to lay it to a go-to number, it was just one in a blue moon of just mis-hitting it and it falling short.

Q. Did you give 3-wood serious consideration there?
JORDAN SPIETH: I did, Michael didn't. Still, that's asking a lot. It's 280 in line with the hole, 281 to carry it in line with the hole, 277 on the left side. I would have been aiming left. The ball, it's almost like a baseball stance, which is hard enough. You never really practice that, but it would help hook the ball if I wanted it to go left. A lot of bad -- what I said was, hey, Mike, I think the chances of making birdie hitting 3-wood, chip shot -- hitting a 3-wood here versus laying up are pretty similar, but I agree with you that the big number only comes into play with a 3-wood is what I said to him. Sure enough, if I hit 3-wood in the water, I make a 7, and instead I make an 8 with laying up.

Yeah, I mean, at that point, though, what am I, two back, I can get myself 86 yards with a lob wedge, I'm making putts, or if I'm not making it, it's scaring the hole. So it really was the right decision. It's just funny how we talked about it like that and it worked out.

If you're going to make one of them this year, well, I say one of them this year. I've had a different big number that cost me a tournament. But this one is what it is. I kind of got over it, obviously birdied the next hole, made a nice putt. I'll go into tomorrow trying to get some momentum out of the round to carry into the majors.

Q. Are you a different mindset tomorrow on that first tee?
JORDAN SPIETH: No. There's no reason to be. I was still trying to birdie each hole and the only way to do that is hitting the fairways, and hitting the fairways is really hard. Your percentages are down here, we're scrambling extremely well. Minus the one swing there, say I just accidentally pull it, what am I at, I'm at 3-, 4-under for the tournament and one or two back with scrambling my butt off this week.

Trying to hit greens in regulation, get that putter hot. That's the goal.

Q. Your solution for 16 would be to make it up 50 yards and make it a true risk-reward?
JORDAN SPIETH: Well, you guys can tell me, but there's not a chance anybody has held that green in two, and even from 30, 40 yards up, which we have played before, you can get down onto the upslope, but you're hitting 6-iron into that green. It's still probably not going to hold the green, but if you hit a great shot, you can put it in an easier location to make birdie. If you hit two perfect shots from the up tee.

From the back tee, guys that are going for it, maybe they send it over into a bunker and it makes it easier, but you're hitting the shot like this, and it wasn't designed to be played from 670. I was in the dead center of the fairway and I landed it in the right first cut carrying 295. In my opinion, it's just a -- with how firm the course is, it would be a better hole if it were moved up a good 50 yards and guys could potentially go for it, and if you hit a good drive, you have a decision to make.

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