Jordan Spieth gets slow play penalty, still shoots 68 in Abu Dhabi
Jordan Spieth is four back of Bryson DeChambeau at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship after the first day of play.
By
Kyle Porter
•
1 min read
Jordan Spieth's first official round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship was a success. Or it was mostly a success. "Success" is hard to define for the best player on the planet. Spieth shot a four-under 68 and is T7 after 18 holes.
"You know, I didn't drive the ball well, which is really the key out here," said Spieth. "So to shoot 4-under with the way I felt with my driver is spectacular. Yes, I'm very pleased with that. I need to play the par 5s better."
Spieth missed six of the 14 fairways. On top of that, he was hit with a slow play penalty for taking too long on a putt about midway through his round with Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. If he gets another one, he will be fined $2,800.
"It didn’t make any sense to me,” Spieth told Golf Channel. “It didn’t affect the round, but Rory and Rickie were surprised as well.”
Spieth bounced back, though, and birdied three of his final 10 holes for the 68. He's four strokes back of leader Bryson DeChambeau.
“The thing that always impresses me anytime I do watch Jordan or I get to play with Jordan is obviously his putting is exceptional, but his speed on the greens,” McIlroy told Golf Channel. “The ball is always traveling at a speed towards the hole that either has a chance to go in or if it doesn't go in, is going to only go two or three feet past.”
Spieth was also complimentary of McIlroy's stellar 66 and the group as a whole.
"It was great," Spieth said. We were saying walking off the last green there, we wish that we could play this group all the time. It's very rare to get it, so we're soaking it in. It's fun feeding off each other. We obviously all watch each other, whether we're playing in tournaments together or not. Competitive within the group but friendly competitive, you know."
