Former Longhorn golfer Jordan Spieth often steals the show with a playstyle that usually produces an abundance of highlight reel moments, along with shots that even weekend golfers could relate to. In fact, his on-course flair has a nickname. It’s called “Spiething.”
It’s a term that’s gained so much notoriety that fans are now starting to print it on t-shirts. One member of the crowd at the Valero Texas Open was seen sporting one before Spieth teed off on Friday morning.
He was just one of many fans lined up in the crowded galleries at TPC San Antonio, hoping to revel in the Spieth experience. But instead, they witnessed a fireworks show from his two playing partners.
Robert MacIntyre and Ludvig Åberg shot six and five under, respectively, during their Thursday round at the Oaks Course, and they stole the show again during their second rounds on Friday.
MacIntyre shot the round of the day, an eight-under 64, powered by an otherworldly approach performance gaining 5.655 shots in that category. On the other hand, Åberg shot his second consecutive five-under 67, highlighted by a hole-out eagle from 120 yards on the par-four sixth hole.
It’s not often that Spieth doesn’t get the loudest roars in his home state of Texas, but as the Europeans skyrocketed to first (-14) and second place (-10) on the leaderboard, the crowd support started to shift in their favor.
Spieth’s performance during the first two rounds wasn’t terrible by any means, shooting a pair of one-under 71s, but it’s far from what he expects at a course he has such great history at — a win and four top-10 finishes.
The good news? His score of two under will be enough to make the cut on the number, meaning he has two days to rectify his mistakes from his first 36 holes of play. That’s plenty of time to get back to “Spiething.”
Two other former Longhorns, Beau Hossler and Doug Ghim, also made the cut and will play two more rounds in San Antonio.
Before this tournament, Hossler missed the cut in four of his last seven outings. But a T21 finish last week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open has seemingly given him a boost of confidence heading into this week.
His scores of 71 and 70 to open up his week don’t necessarily light up the scorecard, but his underlying ball-striking numbers show that he’s on a clear path to improvement.
Ghim has also been struggling leading up to this tournament, missing the cut in three of his last seven tournaments. He opened up his Texas Open with a steady three-under 69, but stumbled to the finish line in his second round, completing a round of one-under 71 after a brief weather delay.
Hossler will enter the weekend at three under for the tournament, while Ghim sits one ahead of him at four under.
The third round of the tournament will commence once the second round concludes on Saturday morning. Rain and potential thunderstorms are expected to be a factor.
