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THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 25, 2017

Jordan Spieth

Old Westbury, New York

Q. Five birdies in a row.
JORDAN SPIETH: That helps. Putter has been streaky for me this summer, which is better than just kind of not so great, which it was from before that.

So I've been able to kind of mentally use one or two good putts to make me feel like I'm putting awesome. That's what I did. I mean, on 9, I had just a standard, as-easy-a-putt as it gets. And I was so tentative to start the round today, left it short.

Finally on 10, one you need to be tentative with, I hit it with perfect speed and it just dived in the center of the hole. Once that lid came off, made one on 11. I got to 12 and all of a sudden I'm looking at it like if I start this here, as long as it rolls true, it's going in, which is a totally different mind-set from what I normally feel.

It's just been a bit streaky, and I got on the good side of the streak on the back nine today.

Q. You were out here about three hours before your round on the practice green. Is that a byproduct of working on the putting before the round?
JORDAN SPIETH: It's typical when I have an afternoon tee time. I've done that going back three, four years. I'm either sitting around or I'm going to be productive and try to get some putting in. I'll do the same tomorrow.

But yeah, I've been a little more diligent with it on these early sessions over this summer.

Q. When you have five birdies in a row, then when you make a bogey, does it feel almost like an affront, or is it like, oh, I'm back down-to-earth here.
JORDAN SPIETH: No, it's difficult to obviously go on runs because golf courses present you with easier holes than harder holes. You know, 15 was just a sucker pin that I unfortunately just tried to do too much to; shocker. I knew I wasn't going to play that one safe. I couldn't if I tried to play it to the middle of the green.

I actually thought -- I actually thought I got a way with a four with it not going into the water. 16 got it back. My last, going 15 through 18 in 1-under with the positions I was in, was a steal. That was more important than the five birdies that came before in my mind.

You know, I was in -- I was out of position on 16, somehow made a birdie. 17 I'm in a bunker and 18 when I struck the tee shot, I thought it went in the water.

So I mean, it was way off the line I wanted to hit it on. So I felt like I stole some strokes and got some good breaks coming in.

Q. Can you describe 16? Not many people get birdies out of the rough here. How did you do it?
JORDAN SPIETH: I just made a long putt. There was a lot of people in the position I was in. I had a putt, it was kind of a valley putt that I saw Hideki's come down the line, so I knew it was around left edge and just needed to put the right speed on it and that's all I was trying to do. And the fact it dropped was, like I said, a bonus. You don't expect those to go in.

Q. Does making that run of birdies does that help you not be tentative on the front tomorrow?
JORDAN SPIETH: You know, I don't think it -- no, you still have to be careful out here. The front nine is the meat of the golf course, too. Hitting longer clubs into holes.

I've had good chances on the front. I'm actually scoring really poorly on the front compared to where I've been. But it's a new animal now tomorrow. It's a 36-hole event and I'm in pole position with three other guys looking for -- trying to double up on the score that I just had. Just play the golf course for what it gives you. You've got to play it tentatively, and then it will give you -- you get five wedge holes on the back to start, six including 16; you get one on 3. You have your opportunities. So when these hard holes present themselves, play to the middle of the greens.

Q. Is it the biggest obstacle, just getting in the right frame of mind?
JORDAN SPIETH: No, I don't think it's an obstacle at all. I can get into the right frame of mind. What I was saying was on the greens, it's been kind of a back-and-forth with myself for a confidence-type thing. But I felt good in my setup today, a lot better in my setup today and it allowed me to not have to work -- it allowed me to worry about one less thing.

Q. Is it easier to get your alignment right or your speed right?
JORDAN SPIETH: Well, you want to be able to look down, look up, look back down and be comfortable at where everything is, and that's been my struggle. I set the putter down, look up, get in my stance, and when I look back down, I feel like things are turned. And so then, it's tough to stroke it to that if you're not as comfortable.

Alignment for me has been the thing for me that's been more important. My speed's still been pretty good this year.

Q. With you, Rickie and Dustin, how fun is that going into the weekend with all the big names up top?
JORDAN SPIETH: That's what tends to happen in the Playoffs. As less guys make the next tournaments, you start to get players that are playing very well, and to no surprise, those guys are towards the top. Rickie ha been playing awesome. DJ has been trying to get his groove back but for him it wasn't far off. It just needed to click. He seemed to be kind of using a couple different putters. Found one that's working well for him.

I mean, it's not a surprise at all. Jhonny Vegas has been extremely hot this summer. Should be an exciting weekend.

Q. Do you feel comfortable playing with Justin Thomas out on the course?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I think I smiled, laughed more, it was lighter than it usually is. And I've got Rick tomorrow which will be a lot of fun. We've played a lot of golf together, too.

Q. You've been on a roll -- when you realize it's three in a row, four in a row, it's got to be easy to get caught up in it.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yes, that's the toughest part about going on runs. That's why you don't -- why you see runs stop or stop with a bogey or something like that, is you start to kind of realize, okay, can I really make another one in a row.

It's kind of a -- but as you get to three in a row and I'm standing on the tee on 13, I made a long putt on 12 and I'm like, okay, I've got two birdie holes here, if I stay focused on my exact target. That's what I did; I stayed focused on the target, missed it in the right location, hit a good bunker shot and made an awesome putt on 14.

Q. Does it just sort of happen --
JORDAN SPIETH: No, it's the same plan we would go through any ways. It's just another hole. What happened in the past, whether I went on three bogeys or three birdies, certainly can shape kind of the way you're feeling about your game but shouldn't shape the way you walk into a shot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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