By Declan Walsh,Staff Writer
The number 58 marks the gold standard for Connecticut golf - that’s the 12-under score Jim Furyk posted in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship in Cromwell, still the PGA Tour record a decade later.
It’s also the gold standard for former World No. 1 Jordan Spieth and his similarly rigorous pizza rankings system, where 58 marks the 32-year-old’s “best-ever” pizza. With the Travelers Championship beginning Thursday morning, Spieth used the occasion to try a few legendary Wooster Street pies from Frank Pepe’s and Sally’s in nearby New Haven, along with a newer Elm City competitor in Big Green Truck Pizza.
“What I love about New Haven pizza, it just seems like there’s a lot of thought and care that goes into it, even if you’re going to go as simple as a cheese pizza,” Spieth said in a video posted to the PGA Tour X account. “Thinking about the ratio, the ingredients, they also seem to all want to have a little bit of difference to each other. It’s not, ‘We’re going to make pizza to have a pizza joint and make money. No, this is going to be an establishment for years and years.’”
The PGA Tour veteran explained that his biggest priorities for a pie are a thin crust and a proper bread-to-sauce ratio, and his rating system fittingly uses a golf scoring system, meaning that a lower score, closer to 58, indicates a better pizza. That said, here’s how Spieth rated each of the three New Haven pies.
Jordan Spieth rates pizzas.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 25, 2026
Enjoy.@FanDuel pic.twitter.com/ausu1iRbaJ
Sally’s — 65: Spieth praised Sally’s pie for an outstanding sauce and the perfect amount of oil. Trying a standard cheese pizza, Spieth explained that he struggles to award scores lower than 65 to any pie without topings.
“It’s a perfect ratio.”
Big Green Truck Pizza — 67: Compared to Sally’s, Spieth noted that the new-school challenger had a bit more flop, a thicker crust and a stronger oregano flavor.
Frank Pepe’s — 68: Spieth immediately identified a sweeter sauce on the Frank Pepe’s pie, noting the use of whole cherry tomato slices. He added that Frank Pepe’s used the most oil and offered the cheesiest pie, ultimately placing the original Wooster Street institution last out of the three contenders.
“If you’re looking to try to have a four-or-five-shot comeback, it’s not going to get you there. But if you have this every day, you’re always in contention.”
The fourth pizza offered to Spieth by the PGA Tour was a frozen grocery story pizza, which the golfer rated a 75. Notably, this came at the expense of other popular pizza establishments in New Haven, notably Modern Apizza, which drew some criticism online.
After a full afternoon of New Haven pizza staples, Spieth was off to an perhaps understandably sluggish start to the Travelers Championship this week, shooting three first-round bogeys to finish Thursday 1-over.