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ROSSBURG, Ohio – A pair of ThorSport Racing teammates will lead the field to green for the seventh annual Eldora Dirt Derby feature on Thursday night at Eldora Speedway.
By virtue of winning the first two 10-lap heat races at the half-mile dirt oval, Chase Briscoe and Matt Crafton – the victors of the last two Eldora Dirt Derbys – will share the front row for the 150-lapper.
Briscoe jumped to the lead from the pole in heat one and never looked back, escaping to victory by nearly two seconds over Johnny Sauter, Harrison Burton, Colt Gilliam and Jeffrey Abbey.
“I don’t know what we’ve got for tonight, to be honest,” said Briscoe, who also won his heat race a year ago before moving on to also win the feature. “We weren’t very good right there, I don’t think, even though we won the thing. The track is definitely a little bit different than it was last night. At the end of practice last night, we were really, really good, but now the track’s just getting slicker and slicker.
“It was more narrow than I thought it would be, but we have to get better if we’re going to win tonight.”
Likewise, Crafton dominated his heat from the pole in a caution-free rout. He led all 10 laps of the second heat and beat former big-block modified standout Tyler Dippel to the checkered flag.
Ross Chastain, Christian Eckes and Landon Huffman completed the top five in heat two.
Brett Moffitt wired heat three from the pole over Todd Gilliland, Carson Hocevar, Jake Griffin and Mike Marlar, while Stewart Friesen put on a similar performance in the fourth heat and held off a hard-charging Ben Rhodes down the stretch.
Justin Shipley, Austin Hill and Mark Smith completed the rest of the top five in heat four.
The fifth and final heat was decided by a slider-fest between Kyle Strickler and Sheldon Creed, with Strickler taking command off the initial start and ultimately leading all 10 laps for the victory.
Creed finished second, followed by Grant Enfinger, Gus Dean and Tim Ward.
Behind Briscoe and Crafton, Moffitt and Friesen will share the second row of the grid, with Strickler completing the top five ahead of Sauter, Dippel, Gilliland, Rhodes and Creed.
Enfinger, the regular-season points leader entering the night, will roll off from the 15th starting spot.
Kentucky winner Tyler Ankrum cruised to the 15-lap Last Chance Showdown victory, dominating by 6.898 seconds ahead of a fierce battle for second between fan-favorite Norm Benning and Georgia young gun Mason Massey.
Benning prevailed in the end and earned the 27th spot on the grid for the feature.
The 150-lap Eldora Dirt Derby is scheduled to begin just after 9 p.m., with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series; Eldora Speedway; Aug. 1, 2019
Heat One (10 laps, top five transfer): 1. Chase Briscoe, 2. Johnny Sauter, 3. Harrison Burton, 4. Colt Gilliam, 5. Jeffrey Abbey / 6. Austin Wayne Self, 7. Jennifer Jo Cobb.
Heat Two (10 laps, top five transfer): 1. Matt Crafton, 2. Tyler Dippel, 3. Ross Chastain, 4. Christian Eckes, 5. Landon Huffman / 6. Tyler Ankrum, 7. Darwin Peters Jr.
Heat Three (10 laps, top five transfer): 1. Brett Moffitt, 2. Todd Gilliland, 3. Carson Hocevar, 4. Jake Griffin, 5. Mike Marlar / 6. Devin Dodson.
Heat Four (10 laps, top five transfer): 1. Stewart Friesen, 2. Ben Rhodes, 3. Justin Shipley, 4. Austin Hill, 5. Mark Smith / 6. Norm Benning.
Heat Five (10 laps, top five transfer): 1. Kyle Strickler, 2. Sheldon Creed, 3. Grant Enfinger, 4. Gus Dean, 5. Tim Ward / 6. Mason Massey IV.
Last Chance Showdown (15 laps, top two transfer): 1. Tyler Ankrum, 2. Norm Benning / 3. Mason Massey, 4. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 5. Darwin Peters Jr., 6. Devin Dodson, 7. Austin Wayne Self.
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ROSSBURG, Ohio – Thursday’s Super DIRTcar Series All-Star Invitational at Eldora Speedway may have been thinner on top talent than in years past, but it was in no way short on star power in victory lane.
Home-state favorite Dave Blaney, a past World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and USAC Silver Crown Series titlist and former NASCAR regular, dominated the night at the half-mile Ohio dirt track.
Blaney led all 20 laps of the non-points event from the outside pole, surging past pacesetter and Heinke-Baldwin Racing teammate Jimmy Phelps on the initial start and never looking back en route to victory.
The Hartford, Ohio native pulled away on two separate restarts – one at lap two after a Jeremiah Shingledecker spin and another at lap nine after the Chris Grbac machine slowed – and beat Phelps to the checkered flag by two seconds in the end with his No. 10h modified.
Though he had won sprint car races in the mid-1990s at Eldora, Thursday night’s rout marked Blaney’s first big-block modified victory of any kind at the Tony Stewart-owned facility.
“It’s cool to win any time at this place; it doesn’t matter what you’re driving,” Blaney said in victory lane. “We had some good days way back in the 90s in the sprint car, but it’s fun to come race here in the modified and fun to come and win one in front of my home fans here tonight.
“We had a good car all race long and proved it down the stretch.”
Phelps had nothing for his teammate and settled for second, with Josh Hohenforst completing the podium. Ryan Godown finished fourth and Chris Hile was fifth.
Demetrios Drellos, Danny Johnson, Matt Farnham, Ryan Watt and Rick Regalski made up the balance of the top 10.
Eight-time Super DIRTcar Series champion Brett Hearn had an engine expire in hot laps and did not start the Thursday feature.
The finish:
Dave Blaney, Jimmy Phelps, Josh Hohenforst, Ryan Godown, Chris Hile, Demetrios Drellos, Danny Johnson, Matt Farnham, Ryan Watt, Rick Regalski, Jack Lehner, Paul St. Sauveur, Marcus Dinkins, Chris Grbac, Rusty Smith, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Brett Hearn.
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ROSSBURG, Ohio – While Stewart Friesen was celebrating in victory lane Thursday night at Eldora Speedway, tempers were flaring further down pit road at the half-mile dirt track.
Tyler Dippel and Ben Rhodes ended up in a heated exchange after a late-race skirmish during the seventh annual Eldora Dirt Derby, which left Rhodes with a poor result while Dippel came home eighth.
Rhodes and Dippel were racing for position on the final restart when Dippel tried to put a slide job on Rhodes, washing up into the No. 99 Havoline Ford F-150 and sending Rhodes into the outside wall.
In the aftermath of that contact, Rhodes backslid to 14th in the final rundown, but Dippel wasn’t done yet. He chased Rhodes down during the cool-down lap and rammed into the back of Rhodes’ truck twice coming into the pit lane, causing a spark that led to even more post-race fireworks.
Before Dippel could fully climb from his truck, Rhodes was on the scene and tried to drag Dippel out of the driver’s side window, with the two briefly trading blows before being separated by their crews and NASCAR officials.
After collecting their thoughts, neither Rhodes nor Dippel was willing to see eye to eye with the other.
“It wasn’t just (Dippel), in fairness, it was multiple folks,” said a frustrated Rhodes. “It’s just sad, because no one races with any respect anymore. I didn’t touch a soul all night, unless they were wrecking around me, and I had to somehow touch them to get away from the wreck … but other than that I didn’t touch anyone all race long. I raced everyone the way I wanted to be raced.
“We’re racing for a championship, and there’s guys that just come in here and will clean you out,” Rhodes added. “The 2 (Sheldon Creed) didn’t even try to make the corner; he just put me straight into the fence and hit me so hard that my inside mirror was pointed straight up at the sky … and the 02 (Dippel) did the same exact thing. It put us from fighting for sixth back to wherever we finished.
“It’s just bad racing. I don’t know how to fix that, because no one seems to show any respect.”
For his part, Dippel refused to back down or apologize for how hard he raced in the final laps.
“It was a green-white-checkered; it was time to go,” Dippel said. “That’s all it was. (Rhodes) came up after me before I could even get out of the truck, and that’s probably the only way he could do anything, because he probably only weighs 140 pounds soaking wet.
“I don’t know. He’s a (expletive). He complains about everyone, every week,” continued Dippel. “It’s probably going to be cool to see someone like him miss the playoffs in really good equipment. Other than that, my guys worked hard on our truck and we just didn’t have what we needed tonight.”
Thursday night’s misfortune continued a stunning season of bad luck for Rhodes, who left Eldora in a must-win situation heading to Michigan Int’l Speedway in order to make the Truck Series postseason.
“I hate this for my guys. They’ve worked their butts off all year long,” Rhodes said. “Daytona we got wrecked, here we got wrecked, our engine blew at Chicago, we had a transmission issue at Texas. … I could go on and on about things out of our control that are taking us out of the playoffs this year.
“It’s sad for me, because I know how much Duke and Rhonda Thorson put into this series and how much they believe in all the people on this team,” he noted. “It’s been building for a few years and it’s just gotten worse and worse and the cup is running over now.
“I don’t know what else to say. I got cleaned out.”
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Finally! Stewart Friesen Is A Truck Series Winner
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Racing
Thursday, 01 August 2019 21:00
ROSSBURG, Ohio – The question heading into the final stage of Thursday night’s seventh annual Eldora Dirt Derby was whether tires or track position would be the key to unlocking victory lane.
Stewart Friesen answered that question in convincing fashion, staying out at the end of the second stage and taking a lead he wouldn’t relinquish en route to his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series win.
Friesen was out front for the final 57 laps after making the decisive strategy call, turning back every advance that the rest of the field could muster and holding off Sheldon Creed on a two-lap sprint to the checkered flag.
The win erased a long series of heartaches for Friesen, the likable Canadian who set the Truck Series record of six runner-up finishes without a victory before finally triumphing in his 63rd start.
“Man, I don’t even know what to say,” said Friesen. “Thank you to everyone, all the race fans and sponsors who stuck with us for all this time. Today is the day. This is the week. Right here is the moment. This was meant to be. We needed to get it done here, on the dirt, at Eldora … and we did.
“What a special event this is,” he added. “We came here four years ago just wanting to have fun, but this was the goal and tonight, we finally checked that box at last.”
Though Friesen was the dominant truck when it counted, for most of the night it appeared that NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Chase Briscoe was poised to become the first repeat winner of the Dirt Derby.
Briscoe led the first 93 laps in succession, won the first two stages and had a truck so dominant that no one could really get close to his ThorSport Racing-prepared No. 27 DiaEdge Ford F-150.
However, Briscoe ducked to pit road during the second stage break, hoping to replicate the same call and late-race charge that he used to wrest victory away from Logan Seavey a year ago at Eldora.
Unfortunately for Briscoe, he couldn’t capture lightning in a bottle twice.
Mired back in 12th when the final stage went green, the Mitchell, Ind., native saw his race unravel. He was caught in an accordion-style melee when Ross Chastain spun in front of the field from fourth, getting damage to the front and rear of his truck, and then got pinned down low on several restarts.
Briscoe finally began making some moves late in the going, marching up to eighth with 33 laps left on the bottom and fighting up to as high as third with 19 laps left, but another caution put the pressure on – and Briscoe finally cracked on the next restart.
When the green lights clicked on with 12 to go, Briscoe was caught on the bottom and shuffled back to fifth, then overdrove the entry into turn one with 10 laps left and was finished off by Ben Rhodes.
That knocked Briscoe out of contention, while Friesen stayed true out front and Grant Enfinger was elevated onto the front row for what turned into a green-white-checkered finish.
Enfinger slid back quickly on the bottom, while Creed found a hole on the outside and forced his way up to second in a half lap, though the Californian could get no further after the white flag was displayed.
That left Creed .728 seconds shy of victory, while Friesen celebrated with the iconic Golden Shovel.
Grant Enfinger, reigning World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Mike Marlar and Todd Gilliland completed the top five, while Briscoe fought back from the tail of the lead lap to finish seventh.
The race was marred by a 14-truck pileup in turn one on the 64th lap, though only Austin Hill was officially eliminated due to damage sustained in the accident.
Friesen, however, kept his truck clean – and his focus on the joy of the night after taking the checkered flag.
“This is what it’s all about,” he said. “This is why we kept fighting all this time. I’m so proud of this team.”
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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Alex Meruelo's specialty as a businessman has been to resurrect struggling companies. His billion-dollar portfolio includes casinos, TV and radio stations, food services, real estate, hospitality, construction and engineering.
Meruelo's latest acquisition could be one of his most challenging: turning the Arizona Coyotes into consistent winners while making the franchise profitable.
"Hockey is a sport, but it's also a business," Meruelo said Thursday during his introductory news conference. "I've had a lot of experience building businesses and turning them around. For 40 years I've been doing this. I've had a lot of success and I have a great team."
Meruelo officially took over as Arizona's majority owner this week after completing the transaction with Andrew Barroway, who will still hold a minority stake in the team.
The son of Cuban immigrants, the 55-year-old Meruelo founded the California-based Meruelo Group in 1986 after learning the business ropes in his father's tuxedo business. He will serve as the Coyotes' chairman and governor after becoming the first Hispanic majority owner of an NHL team. Meruelo made part of his opening remarks in Spanish and answered a question from a Spanish-speaking reporter in Spanish during his news conference.
The Coyotes have not made the playoffs the past seven seasons, but have a young, talented roster and just missed the postseason last year.
"It's very clear Alex is different, he's very unique," Coyotes general manager John Chayka said. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with him. He's an elite business mind and I've been extremely impressed with not only his business acumen, but how he goes about building businesses. For us here, it allows us to take this to the next level."
Meruelo's task will be to turn around a franchise that's struggled to find a consistent footing since former owner Jerry Moyes took the team into bankruptcy in 2009.
The NHL ran the franchise for four years before a new ownership group, led by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc, took over in 2013. They sold a majority stake to Barroway, a Philadelphia-based hedge fund manager, and he became the team's sole owner after buying out his partners in 2017.
The Coyotes have struggled on the ice and at the gate, missing the playoffs every year since reaching the 2012 Western Conference Finals while ranking among the NHL's worst teams in attendance.
The franchise also needs to find a permanent home after the City of Glendale voted to terminate a 15-year, $225 million lease agreement with the Coyotes for Gila River Arena in 2015. A deal with Arizona State for a shared new arena in Tempe fell through when the university backed out in 2017 and the team signed a one-year lease to play at Gila River Arena through the 2019-20 season.
The uncertainty has consistently put the Coyotes at the center of relocation rumors, which Meruelo's hopes to squash.
"I'm very committed to this state, to the Valley, to the fans of Arizona, to the team of Arizona and residents of Arizona," Meruelo said. "I'm committed to staying here and will do everything in my heart and hard work to make sure to make it viable."
Meruelo's bid to become a sports owner began as a young kid in Brooklyn. As he built his portfolio, the dream came closer to becoming a financial reality.
Meruelo made an attempt to buy the NBA's Atlanta Hawks in 2011, but a potential deal fell through. The opportunity to buy the Coyotes came when Barroway began seeking suitors last year.
"Every kid wants to grow up and play for a sports team or own a sports team," Meruelo said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was six, eight years old -- knowing it would be very difficult -- that I would succeed and here I am. I want to tell everybody: a Hispanic kid from Brooklyn, New York, so if I can do it, anyone can do it."
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TORONTO -- While Toronto's Maple Leafs and Raptors gear up for next season, Scotiabank Arena is getting a multimillion-dollar face-lift.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Michael Friisdahl calls it a "reimagination" of the venue that opened in February 1999.
"We've got to keep getting better, we've got to keep improving the experience," Friisdahl said. "We won a championship -- we've won four championships in the last three years. That, if anything, motivates us to do even more."
Friisdahl, who took up his position at MLSE in December 2015, declined to put a price tag on the improvements other than to say it's "multi, multimillion dollars."
"Eventually when it's all said and done, you will notice that everything will have be touched in one way or another to improve the overall [fan] experience," he added.
MLSE is coming off a major high thanks to the Raptors' NBA championship in June. That followed titles by Toronto FC (MLS) and Raptors 905 (G League) in 2017 and the Marlies (American Hockey League) in 2018.
The Argos also won the Grey Cup in 2017, with MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum a part-owner. But MLSE didn't take over full ownership until just after the team won the CFL title.
Friisdahl said MLSE's investment is to ensure the arena is both a "gathering place" for fans but also a destination in the city, going hand-in-hand with the money that has gone into renovating nearby Union Station.
A pedestrian bridge is being built over Bay Street from CIBC Square, currently under construction. It will connect with a new second floor to the galleria on the north side of the arena, as well as the city's underground Path network.
The bridge should help ease the postgame flow of fans, some of whom dodge traffic to get to the other side on their way to a transit hub located to the east. Via the galleria, it also will allow daily access to the arena's Hot Stove Lounge and other special dining areas now just open during events.
The galleria improvements should be completed in the next 12 months, part of a larger plan that will take four to five years. The goal is to make the changes with the least amount of interruption to the facility.
On the west side of the arena, a new video board is going up at Jurassic Park. The new screen is 40% bigger.
Friisdahl notes proudly that the Raptors' playoff run sparked close to 60 Jurassic Parks across the country. "So it's really taken on a real life of its own with our fans," he said.
Hence the new, improved video screen. There also will be smaller video screens near the west entrance of the galleria, to help on nights with multiple games. Plus, the arena is getting new digital Scotiabank signage that can light up in different colors, replacing the temporary arena signs.
Across the street, Real Sports Bar & Grill is being gutted. Since its opening in 2010, the cavernous restaurant and bar has been a man cave on steroids. It's getting a makeover.
"We're going to step that up another notch ... There isn't a stitch that isn't being retouched in here," Friisdahl said.
Inside the arena, the Chairman's Suite -- a restaurant and premium bar/lounge area on the south side -- is being renovated. Outside, extra entrances for premium guests are being added to ease getting in.
While the arena footprint cannot be changed, Friisdahl said MLSE will spend the money needed to keep the building "best in class."
That includes using technology to further connect with fans. You can already order food and merchandise from your seat via the team apps, but Friisdahl said more in that vein is coming.
"We want to be able to communicate with our fans one-on-one as opposed to one-to-many," he said.
That will include being able to consult your app to determine concession areas and washrooms with the smallest lineups -- and to preorder food and drink to pick up en route to your seat.
"That also requires tuning up our infrastructure within the arena because that requires a different level of support. And that's part of the reimagination," said the MLSE boss.
Scotiabank Arena is one of the "top-10 busiest buildings in the world," according to Friisdahl. It staged a record number of events in 2018, with more than 110 live shows over and above NHL and NBA games.
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Morikawa (66), Wolff (65) continue rookie success at Wyndham Championship
Published in
Golf
Thursday, 01 August 2019 11:27
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The last time Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa drew a tee time together, they collectively stole the show at the 3M Open. While the opening round of the Wyndham Championship didn’t quite offer the same theatrics as Wolff’s 72nd-hole win in Minnesota, the theme of the two rookies torching another PGA Tour venue continued.
Both Wolff and Morikawa now have victories to their credit less than two months after turning pro, the latter snagging his maiden win Sunday at the Barracuda Championship. They were grouped together Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club, where Wolff again edged his budding rival, shooting a 5-under 65 to Morikawa’s 66.
“It’s always a lot of fun playing with Collin,” Wolff said. “There’s a level of comfort out there, and I think when we play together it kind of comes out. Obviously he’s been really hot, and we’ve both got a win now, so it’s kind of just awesome battling back and forth.”
Wolff’s 5-under total came despite a tee shot out of bounds on No. 11, as the former Oklahoma State standout circled six birdies in addition to an eagle on the par-5 15th. While he was low man of the group in the opening round, it’s actually Morikawa who occupies the better position in the points race with the playoffs on deck (46th to 72nd), thanks to a run of three top-5 finishes in his first six starts as a pro.
“I’ve said it since day one, we believe in ourselves and that’s where it’s going to start. We believe that we can do it,” Morikawa said. “We’re still learning. We’re only six, seven events in, so it’s a great experience out here.”
Not to be outdone by the more decorated members of the Class of 2019, reigning U.S. Amateur champ Viktor Hovland matched Morikawa with a 4-under 66. Hovland will likely head to Korn Ferry Tour Finals from here in an effort to earn a PGA Tour card for 2020, needing a top-2 finish this week to guarantee full status for next season.
But all three of them are looking up at 21-year-old Sungjae Im, who grabbed a share of the lead with an 8-under 62 as he looks to bolster his Rookie of the Year candidacy. Im started the week 25th in the points race and could crack the top 10 to snag a piece of the Wyndham Rewards bonus pool with a victory this week.
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Caddie details inconvenient quest for Lexi's passport
Published in
Golf
Thursday, 01 August 2019 12:40
On Wednesday at the Women's British Open, Lexi Thompson said she "can’t apologize enough" for costing several players valuable practice time at the year's final major.
But if it wasn't for her very determined caddie, Lexi may have been stranded in France.
On Sunday after the Evian Championship, the 11-time LPGA winner accidentally misplaced her passport, sending it in a bag – along with the golf bags of 37 other players – on a truck to Woburn Golf Club.
Thompson was able to convince the transport driver to stop and wait – delaying the arrival of everyone's equipment by five to six hours – while she sent her caddie, Benji Thompson (no relation), in a taxi to meet him.
In an email to The Caddie Network, Thompson (the caddie) detailed his journey to retrieve the passport, and it's safe to say Thompson is earning every penny Lexi is paying him, and then some.
My flight was at 7:20 a.m. on Monday, and the 5:15 a.m. shuttle bus was picking me and my caddie buddies up. After speaking with the front desk and a cab driver, and making sure they took American Express, I was on my way around 10:45 p.m. Sunday night. I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep and my only thought as a caddie was, “my player needs me and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
I had my GPS going as well as the cab driver’s. The driver was driving fast for me to get there and return quickly. He was doing great until about 3 miles away from our destination. I told him we needed to go to the right, and he insisted we go to the left. He got aggravated with me (trying to give him directions) and in another language, he yelled at me! I figured at that time it was best to just sit back and let him do his job. I could absolutely tell we were going in the wrong direction and had to sit back and just let it happen. After 20 minutes of him going the wrong way, looking at my phone texting with my wife (her thinking I’m getting kidnapped), Lexi and Scott helping with location of driver and van, curving roads and about to puke, he decided to ask for my help! We got turned around and finally made it to the gas station where Ian, the van driver, was parked. Our 28-mile drive had turned into about an hour and a half after we left the hotel.
After sifting through all of the bags, Thompson helped re-pack the van and sent the driver on his way, a task that sounds easier than it was ... a lot easier.
Once I got about 30-40 bags out, I saw Lexi’s on the bottom, and cha-ching! I knew where the passports were and was able to dig down and get them out. I made sure I had both of them and put them in my pocket.
Now is when the fun started… Every one of those heavy bags I removed I had to put back. They had to be packed very tight and there is a certain way for all this to fit. Somehow, I got all of the bags back in the van, and I still don’t know how I did it. Looking at all of it out on the ground I was telling myself there is a way and just kept plugging. When I finished, it took the cab driver and Ian holding the bags and me sliding the door to make it close.
Finally, I’ve got the passports, all packed up and headed back with the cab driver. We made it back to my hotel in about 45 minutes and it was now 1 a.m., and I couldn’t thank him enough for taking me and waiting while I did it. The cab fare cost $300 Swiss francs, which is pretty much the same as the dollar right now. I’m not worried… Lexi is getting that bill!
There's no telling what Lexi's week could've ended up looking like, but thanks to her caddie's persistence, she opened the Women's British Open on Thursday with a 1-under 71.
Click here for more of Thompson's mad dash to help out his boss from The Caddie Network.
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Spieth (65) leans on hot putter to save first round at Wyndham
Published in
Golf
Thursday, 01 August 2019 12:01
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After closing out a more-than-respectable 65 to open the Wyndham Championship, Paul Casey flashed a wide grin while reflecting on the effort of his playing partner.
“I needed Jordan to putt for me, didn’t I?” Casey said. “He might have shot 57 or something.”
Jordan would be Jordan Spieth, who ended a six-year hiatus at Sedgefield Country Club by picking up right where he left off during a memorable playoff loss to Patrick Reed in 2013. Spieth leaned on a red-hot putter en route to a 6-under 64, an effort that left him two shots off the early lead and, surprisingly, was highlighted by a pair of impressive bogeys.
The first such score came on the par-3 12th, where Spieth flared an iron into an awkward lie above a bunker and needed to sink a 15-footer to avoid a double. Then on the par-4 18th, his tee shot sailed out of bounds down the right side, but a re-tee led to a 21-foot make from the fringe for a round-saving bogey that brought the Greensboro crowds to their feet.
“That birdie with the second ball is nice,” Spieth said. “I look at the card, and I don’t really think of it as an out-of-bounds ball. I just feel like I actually stole something coming in, so hopefully that’s momentum for tomorrow.”
Spieth needed only 23 putts to complete his round, making every single putt he faced from 19 feet and closer. It’s the sort of performance that harkens back memories of his major tear in 2015, or his 2017 campaign that saw him lift the claret jug.
But Spieth’s putting this season is actually better statistically than it was four years ago, and it’s almost up to his career best from 2016 – this amid a season that has produced only one top-5 finish. It’s been a remarkable bounce back on the greens for Spieth, who ranked 123rd last season in strokes gained: putting, and entered this week ranked sixth in the same category.
“That’s a pretty massive turnaround, and I needed it,” Spieth said. “I mean, there were times that I just went to sleep not having any idea what was going on with the putter, knowing that the next day was going to be a struggle on the greens no matter what, just that kind of stuff.”
Of course, the putter alone hasn’t been able to lift Spieth to success this season. He enters the regular season finale at 67th in the points race, undone by too many foul balls like the one he uncorked Thursday on the 18th tee. But having turned his putter around in a matter of months, Spieth remains confident that a similar surge for the other 13 clubs is within reach as he looks to win for the first time in more than two years.
“I know that as I’m climbing out of a similar type of situation on my long game right now, I know that there will be a time when I kind of look back and laugh at it,” he said. “So that helps me stay patient with it, continue the process. There’s certainly some parallels to it.”
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