VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 18, 2023

Jordan Spieth

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. I thought par would be a good score. You made seven pars in that round. That was an entertaining round around the course today.

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was a really nice start. I've kind of not really had my best stuff the last two days with my swing and today I managed it really well around here. And it was kind of lag putting and some chipping that hurt me. But really a great start to be at even par or 2-under through 4, sorry and 3-under through 5. From there the rest of the golf course was just trying to maybe try and get one more before you get in 18 fairway. I made a few too many mistakes but overall in these conditions I think I would have signed for 2-under.

Q. In a good position for tomorrow. When you look at this round four of the five bogeys, you didn't have a chance to bounce back after the one on 18, you immediately bounced back with a birdie out there. I don't think there were that many scorable opportunities out there, but you found some today?

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, a couple nice breaks. A couple kind of tee shots that were pretty good in divots and then a couple nice breaks and those were all those bogeys, birdies in the middle there where just a day like today you just, you've got to be pretty calm and be able to accept whatever and to be honest I was not that at all. It may have led to -- we got put on the clock on 10 and that set me off. I was a mess trying to rush and play the back nine. It's just so hard any ways when the wind's blowing out here. Then you can't step off because you're going to get a bad time. So that really stunk. But, and we didn't get off of it the whole rest of the round. So I think I need to handle those kind of situation as bit better tomorrow. I didn't do a very good job of that today. But was able to post 2-under 69 and stay in it.

Q. The positive thoughts from today that you think about tonight and meditate on going into tomorrow's final round?

JORDAN SPIETH: I stroked it really well, I made a lot of really nice par saves some early and then the 17th was a really nice par save. And I stroked it the way I did the first day, I was a little more aggressive on the greens. A few greens are like three feet faster than the rest and like the 10th the 12th and the 16th you got to take it pretty easy and the rest of 'em you got to putt pretty aggressively.

Q. This is a course and a tournament that not everybody puts on their calendar, but it's on yours. Curious what you use it for, what it preps you for?

JORDAN SPIETH: Just I played it because of the tournament that it is. I'm not, I mean, we're a few weeks away from the Masters so obviously you pick a schedule that you feel like you're going to be in form, but also rested enough for the Masters. But this was one that I meant to have on the schedule the last two years and I just I think it's a great golf course, it's a great test, I think it's good for my game. I played it well historically. So all in all I played it to play it.

Q. A wild ride like that, what's churning inside of you?

JORDAN SPIETH: Unfortunately, a lot. I've done a really good job trying to do a better job of just being more neutral once we got to Florida here. I felt like I had a lot of round like today on West Coast. I've been doing a pretty good job of it and I don't know what set me off today, but I was not myself for a lot of that round. I was I've been trying to not talk as much and just kind of hit and go and hit the next one. And I kind of reverted back. But luckily it was Saturday and so I gave myself an opportunity to change that for tomorrow.

Q. What do you think it says about you when you answer bogeys with birdies I think four times out there?

JORDAN SPIETH: Well, some easier holes, some par-5s. But it's always been I think a strength of my game statistically I think a bounce back stat's always been a strength of my game. I just maybe focus a little extra on the next saying I got to get one back there. I don't really know. But some of it had to do with them being easier holes off of really hard holes and some of it just some grit.