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After Further Review: Spieth paid ultimate compliment

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Each week, GolfChannel.com takes a look back at the week in golf. In this edition of After Further Review, our writers weigh in Jordan Spieth’s 10-shot runaway at the Hero World Challenge, the secrecy of the Ryder Cup task force and Cheyenne Woods earning her way onto the LPGA tour next year through Q-School.

During the third round of the Hero World Challenge, announcer Roger Maltbie on the NBC telecast summarized Jordan Spieth’s game thusly: “There’s no outstanding particular strength to his game. He’s not a power hitter, he’s not the straightest hitter, he’s not the best iron player, he’s not the best putter. But when you start putting everything together and his management of a golf course and of his game, it adds up to very efficient golf.”

Full disclosure: I was on the course at the time and didn’t hear the intonation nor the context of this comment. But the reaction of many observers hinted that it was somehow disrespectful to his talent level.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’d like to believe that analyzing a player as being consistent across the board is hardly an uninformed jab. Based on the statistics, Maltbie wasn’t wrong – although Spieth’s recent putting performances could pose a future argument to the opinion that he’s “not the best.”

The truth is, explaining that a player who doesn’t bomb it like Bubba Watson or hit towering iron shots like Rory McIlroy or own a mercurial short game like Phil Mickelson can still beat the world’s best players on guts and guile is far from an insult. In some ways, it’s the ultimate compliment. – Jason Sobel

Steve Stricker, one of the most affable and accommodating PGA Tour types in front of a microphone, was asked a relatively innocent question about this week’s initial meeting of the U.S. Ryder Cup task force. His answer seemed to set the standard for how the 11-member task force plans to handle its business.

“My lips are sealed, buddy. I’m not going to be the one spilling the beans,” he smiled.

There are government secrets that aren’t as well protected as the possible contents of this week’s meeting. After enduring one its most high-profile and public losses at this year’s Ryder Cup the PGA of America plans to find the answers in private. – Rex Hoggard

The LPGA got another nice jolt Sunday to end a season filled with wonderful jolts.

Cheyenne Woods, niece to Tiger Woods, might be the only woman in the game who has the potential to “move the needle” more than Michelle Wie. Six months after Wie won the U.S. Women’s Open, Woods made news at LPGA Q-School on Sunday by winning her tour card. She’ll join the LPGA as a full member next year.

In a year where the LPGA delivered one compelling storyline after another, Q-School didn’t disappoint as an exclamation point on the year. Woods will be among a really strong rookie class joining the tour in 2015. Australia’s Minjee Lee, UCLA’s Alison Lee, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, England’s Charley Hull, South Korea’s Ha Na Jang and Japan’s Sakura Yokomine will vie for what should be an intense battle for Rookie of the Year. – Randall Mell

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Spieth on verge of second win in as many weeks

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WINDERMERE, Fla. – Jordan Spieth flew from Japan to Australia to Dallas the last two weeks, took a day off and then came over to Florida for the Hero World Challenge.

His game traveled with him.

One week and half-a-world away from his six-shot victory in the Australian Open, Spieth was practically flawless Saturday at Isleworth. He opened with three straight birdies and capped his day with a 50-foot birdie putt for a 9-under 63 and a seven-shot lead over Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson.

”Felt strong coming off last week,” Spieth said. ”Job is not done this week, but I’m a believer in my own momentum. I’m going to go out tomorrow with a very similar strategy to today. If the putts go and the breaks go my way, hopefully shoot a round like today. If not, I’m still going to have to shoot under par to win this golf tournament.”

Spieth was at 20-under 196.

He said he has never been 20 under on any course through 54 holes, and he has never finished a tournament that many under par. That gave him a target for Sunday, when he goes after his second straight victory.

Tournament host Tiger Woods was 20 shots behind and in dire need of his antibiotics taking effect. Woods lost his voice overnight and had nausea on the practice range and the golf course. He felt slightly better at the end of his round when he made three straight birdies for a 69.

He remained in last place.

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Bradley made four straight birdies around the turn on his way to a 65. He will play in the final group with Spieth.

”I’ve got to shoot a low one and get some help from Jordan,” said Bradley, who has not won in more than two years. ”He’s such a good player. I don’t expect that. I’m going to have to shoot a really low one.”

Stenson, who played in the final group with Spieth on Saturday, recovered from a sluggish start with four birdies over his last eight holes for a 68.

”I don’t think anybody is going to catch him tomorrow unless he’s having a really bad day,” Stenson said. ”Seems to be a one-horse race going into Sunday. He’s a very solid player and playing solid golf at a very young age.”

Stenson recalls Spieth making a spirited charge at the Swede in the Tour Championship last year. He also is aware that Spieth finished one shot out of a playoff in Japan and won in Sydney against a field that included Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.

”We’re going to see a lot of him in the years to come,” Stenson said.

Spieth elected to return Saturday morning to complete the rain-delayed second round instead of finishing in darkness. He had clear vision in the morning – not only of his chip to 5 feet to save par, but of Steve Stricker’s 50-foot birdie attempt across the green.

Spieth had about the same putt later in the day, only going in the opposite direction of Stricker’s putt. That at least gave him an idea of the speed, though he had imagined a 3-foot circle around the hole that he would have accepted to walk off with par.

This turned out even better. The putt dropped for an unlikely birdie, and Spieth raised his putter as it dropped. He was all smiles walking off the green.

”I put my putter up, which usually means it will find a way to lip out,” Spieth said.

No chance on this day.

He opened with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 1, got a good bounce with his 7-iron on the par-3 second to about 8 feet, and then made birdie on the par-3 third. After that, his iron play and his short game – always exquisite – were so good that he didn’t need to make any big putts.

Wrapping up his second full season as a pro, Spieth gets a new experience on Sunday – playing with a big lead.

”I think I’ve got to have a number tomorrow to go out and really chase,” he said. ”I haven’t finished in the 20s (under par) before ever in my career, and I think most of the guys that are in this event have somewhere. So that would be a good goal, to go out there and shoot under par. Hopefully, it’s good enough.”

Bradley will be chasing with a short putter, as he has done this week ahead of the Jan. 1, 2016, ban on the anchored stroke used for his belly putter. Bradley in the 2011 PGA Championship was the first player to win a major using a belly putter.

”I’ve had five years and hours and hours of practice that are now taken away from me,” he said. ”But it’s fun to come out here and prove to everybody and myself that it’s not a big deal. This is probably the best three days of putting I’ve had in a couple of years.”

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Spieth leads Stenson as darkness suspends Round 2

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WINDERMERE, Fla. – Despite a slow start in Round 2, Jordan Spieth remains atop the standings at the halfway point of the Hero World Challenge. Here’s how things look at Isleworth, where Spieth led Henrik Stenson by two shots when play was suspended because of darkness:

Leaderboard: Jordan Spieth (-11 through 17 holes), Henrik Stenson (-9), Patrick Reed (-8), Justin Rose (-8), Bubba Watson (-7), Rickie Fowler (-7), Jimmy Walker (-7), Zach Johnson (-7)

What it means: Spieth made the turn in even par despite relatively benign conditions, and he lost his lead as a result. Thanks to a back-nine surge, though, he regained the pole position as he looks to win for the second time in as many weeks following his rout at the Australian Open. With play delayed by afternoon rain, Spieth opted not to finish his final hole and will complete play in the morning.

Round of the day: Call it the Tiger Bump. Playing alongside the former world No. 1, Reed caught fire at Isleworth, setting a new competitive course record with a 9-under 63. Reed played his first seven holes in 6 under and made the turn in 29, moving from next-to-last to a tie for third.

Best of the rest: Rose had a tumultuous front nine, with six birdies, one bogey and a double bogey.  It added up to a 3-under 33, and the Englishman added five more birdies on the back nine to cap an 8-under 64, one that included two separate stretches of four straight birdies.

Biggest disappointment: Most players were deep into red figures Friday, but Graeme McDowell failed to get anything going in the second round. McDowell made just two birdies during a round of 1-over 73 that dropped him to 3 under for the week, eight shots off the pace after he began the day just two behind Spieth. 

Main storyline heading into Saturday: Spieth appears comfortable with the lead, and he is certainly in command of his game right now. Reed is closing in fast, though, and the world No. 2 still lingers just off the pace. It’s all shaping up for a compelling finish this weekend, as Spieth looks to win again on a course where he captured his first collegiate title in 2011.

Shot of the day: Tiger Woods was 208 yards out on the par-5 13th when he authored the best shot of his latest comeback. Woods hit a 5-iron that rolled to within six feet of the hole, setting up an eagle that helped propel the five-time champ to a 2-under 70.

Quote of the day: “I never played with Tiger before besides in a practice round at the British. It was good to finally be able to play with him, especially in competition.” – Reed.

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Woods playing with almost entirely new bag at Hero

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WINDERMERE, Fla. – Not only did Tiger Woods arrive at this week’s Hero World Challenge with a new “swing consultant,” but almost an entirely new bag.

Woods, who announced last week he had started working with Dallas-based Chris Como, will play the new Nike Golf Vapor Speed prototype driver, Vapor Speed 3- and 5-woods, Vapor Pro blade irons and has been experimenting with the company’s RZN Black golf ball.

Only his putter, Nike’s Method model, is the same club that was in his bag the last time he played at the PGA Championship in August.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy switched to the Vapor Speed driver at the Ryder Cup in September and put the Vapor Pro irons in play the next week at the Dunhill Links Championship.

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