Saturday 29 August 2015 00:22, UK
Jordan Spieth carded his worst round of the season with a bogey-filled four-over 74 in the opening round of The Barclays.
Spieth, making his first appearance since replacing Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings, reached the turn two under before collapsing during an error-strewn second half to his round at Plainfield CC.
The 22-year-old started on the back nine and followed a 12-foot birdie at the 10th with another gain at the 16th, only to lose ground with a blemish at the first and a three-putt bogey on the par-four second.
The American slipped further when he sprayed his tee-shot at the short third into the water on his way to a double-bogey five, although he briefly stopped the run of dropped shots with a birdie at the fourth.
After going from bunker to bunker and bogeying the seventh, the two-time major champion closed his opening day by three-putting the last from 30 feet.
"After the tee shots, that is the worst round I've played in years," Spieth said. "It was really a very unique round for this year. I hit my first 11 fairways today and that's really hard to do out here.
"I'll do what I've done best and bounce back and I'll come back tomorrow strong. I'm not a fan of the course but I've also won on course that I didn't think fit me very well so I still know I can still shoot a low round.
"I played the front nine in two under and should have really been four or five. Typically when I hit the fairways, I'm not over par. That's what was weird about the round."
The 22-year-old, who needs a tied-14th finish or better this week to stay as world No 1, lies nine shots adrift of playing partner Bubba Watson, who despite two late blemishes held a share of the early lead alongside Camilo Villegas and Spencer Levin.
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