Spieth Leads At Travelers Golf Championship

By ESPN

Sometimes the stars never align. The timing can't be worked out. A professional golfer might be perfectly suited for a specific golf course -- and vice versa -- but due to scheduling, it just doesn't happen. One never meets the other.

That was the case for Jordan Spieth and TPC River Highlands, host of this week's Travelers Championship. With its risk-reward holes and premium on shot-making, the course always would have suited Spieth's eye, except for one little problem.

He had never been here.

That's changed this week, as Spieth is competing on this course for the first time, quickly learning the symbiotic relationship, to the tune of an opening-round 7-under 63 that gave him sole possession of the overnight lead.

"I thought it was a really good golf course for us," he said after a round that included eight birdies against just a single bogey. "You kind of maneuver the ball both ways ... Poa annua greens, historically, aren't my best, and so today was a big confidence boost. The rest of the golf course I really love."

Though he proved that statement on Thursday afternoon, he really found out a few days earlier.

Michael Greller, Spieth's caddie, arrived here before him this week and took a quick spin around the course on Monday, checking it out and gauging whether it would suit him.

"It's just a great Jordan course; it's fun, straightforward," Greller explained. "The course fits his eye. It's a TPC course. You hear all the good things, and you come here with good vibes from what everybody has told you. If you don't like it, there's something wrong with you, I think."

"I saw Michael on Tuesday before we played any holes," Spieth recalled. "And he said, 'This course is tailor-made for you.'"

While it paled in comparison to Jim Furyk's record-setting 58 in last year's final round, Spieth's opening 63 gave him a 1-shot advantage in his first competitive round at this event.

It also was the continuation of some good mojo, imported from Erin Hills last week.

Though he struggled at times during the U.S. Open, Spieth closed with a 3-under-par 69 that helped carry momentum into this one.

"That was a round just like this," he said. "I thought I played as well or even better in that round than I did today, and that kind of showed me that things are where I think they are. I had a couple putts go in there early. I birdied the first two holes with two made putts on Sunday at the Open, similar to today's round."

On Thursday, Spieth birdied the first two holes, three of the first four and five of the first eight to rapidly climb a leaderboard that so far doesn't include too many imposing names. He ended on a high note, as well, hitting his approach on the final hole to 4 feet and calmly sinking the birdie attempt.

Not all of his putts were that easy, of course.

During the round, Spieth converted birdies from 14, 19 and 22 feet. And he made 15 of 17 from inside 10 feet.

Despite his reputation as one of the game's best on the greens, he has struggled with the flatstick lately. All of which means this recent turnaround could spell bad news for any other player with a design on winning this tournament.

"I put in so much time worrying about kind of what feeling, what technique I wanted at Erin Hills, and this week, we spent less time on the greens," he said. "I don't think that's something that would normally work, but it was something where we've been more feel based this week knowing that on Poa annua anything can kind of happen. So my expectations may have been a bit lowered, which helps you putt better."

He credited his birdie on the first for getting it all started.

"That one going in on the first was big for me, and then I made one on the fourth that was a putt that required a lot of precision, kind of a right-edge putt. If you get it started outside, it misses -- inside, it could break off -- and I thought when that one went in is when I really started to feel good with the putter."

It was a match made in heaven -- well, at least Hartford.

This course is seemingly perfect for Spieth, and Spieth believes he can continue playing well on this course.

Sometimes the stars never align. This week, they just might be aligned perfectly for him.