Jordan Spieth 2015 PGA TOUR Portrait

2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Q&A With Jordan After the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

QUESTION:  Good finish today.  4‑under par 68.  Got to feel pretty good about that.  Third week back after the break.  Game's starting to get into form. 

JORDAN SPIETH:  It is.  I putted a lot better this week.  That's what I struggled with last week. Phoenix, I ‑‑ it was rusty.  Last week, striking the ball pretty well and then this week, I really was kind of all over the place with my ball striking and my putting was saving me. 

So, that's good to know going into next week.  I'll work with my instructor on Monday, or tomorrow, at Riviera and we'll set things straight for the week.  And I grabbed a lot of momentum here on the weekend. 

Tough, tough to leave a couple out there, but after number 10 today, or after number ‑‑ yeah, after number 10 today, to rebound with a few birdies or four on the back nine was really nice. 

Obviously played here last year, had a good tournament.  How about the weather this week?
Yeah, this is incredible.  You would actually like to see it ‑‑ I would actually like to see it the other way.  This is nice to play for a year, but it's a little easier when the winning score is 12‑under versus 22. So, this wasn't exactly what you think of as Pebble Beach golf, but this is paradise the way it is now. 

You won the NCAA championship at Riviera there.  You got to feel good about that. 
Yeah, I really like Riviera.  It's one of my favorite courses I ever played.  I think it's an incredible track. 
It's greens that are ‑‑ poa annua greens, a little firmer than these were this week, but will putt very similar. 
A golf course that, if you're driving the ball well and playing it from the fairway, you can make some birdies out there. 
So, I'm looking forward to getting down there tomorrow, reliving some of those memories.  Played pretty well last year there, so a course I have a little experience on. 

When you go to see the coach on Monday, and he says to you, I'm assuming he says to you, okay, so you had three weeks, what do you want to work on, what will you say?
Well I've had, I've been texting with him.  Trying to get him‑‑ I tried to get him out when I missed the cut at San Diego to come out.  I wasn't able to get him to come out last minute there. 

But I got the slices, when I'm just taking a normal back and through swing the ball's cutting significantly and I very rarely ever have that.  And it doesn't hurt me as much when trouble's on the right as it does picking a line.  Normally, when I'm just playing a straight ball, I have to almost hold it off a little bit.  Now in order to hit a straight ball I have to make it feel like a big draw.  That's difficult to trust when any trouble is left.  So shots like 18, those holes are a little harder right now for me. 

But I think it's something simple.  So does he.  There hasn't really been an explanation.  I had had some really rough range sessions this week.  Kind of got me frustrated going to the first hole.  So it's kind of abnormal.  I just didn't feel like ‑‑ I had really a C ball striking week.  But short game was really strong.  And that's what kept me in it and able to get in the top‑10 without really striking the ball.

So you should feel like at that point you should have pretty much, if you putt like you did similar to here, you should have everything ready to go for next week. 
Yes, I feel really confident about the outcome next week.  It's going to be a course I think that fits my game well, if it is something simple.  If it's something that takes a little more to work on, then it may take me a couple weeks to get it down, but if it's something that he can say, in five minutes say, hey, try this and this and I've got the ball going a lot straighter, then it's just going to take repetitions and next week should be a good week.

What happened at 10?
I just, I lined up to hit a little baby fade down the fairway and I just whatever it was it started on the right side and went into the beach.  So, I went up and took a drop and had a putt for par and just missed it.  So I just made bogey.  But I slice that had driver pretty significantly into the water.

So that being said, to be able to come back as you did, you got to feel great about that part of the equation because I'm sure after you walked off 10 green ‑‑
Yeah, I wasn't happy.  I was a little steamy being 1‑under at that point.  Kind of sliced a hybrid on 2, took me out of the hole.  I was 1‑under through 10 at that point and you look up at the board and 1‑under on the day moves me from 10th to 20th. Last thing you wants to do is force it.  I stayed patient, I had a better mental attitude today than the last three days.  For whatever reason I got out here I was more calm, didn't get really frustrated, just knew that I didn't quite have it so I didn't need to expect to have it, I needed to just play the right shots and be the smart player coming in with the wedges.  Then I hit it really close on next hole, I made a putt on 12, and a putt on 13 all of a sudden I got them all back.