JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Jordan Spieth did some Jordan Spieth-like things again and even he knew it.
The 28-year-old Texan holed out two shots and made back-to-back eagles for the first time in his PGA Tour career. It added up to a course-record-tying 9-under 62 at Liberty National Golf Club in the second round of the Northern Trust.
“I think I was probably plus-8 Strokes Gained: Luck,” Spieth said of a made-up statistical category that needs to be created. “It was one of those days where just like everything was going my way.”
Spieth’s round started inauspiciously with a bogey at the first that had him concerned about the cut line before the fun started happening. After a birdie at No. 3, Spieth ripped a 327-yard drive that left him just 81 yards to a front hole location set in a bowl. Then he grooved a knock-down sand wedge that hit past the hole and spun back into the hole for an eagle.
“Uh, hello… maybe…yeah,” said CBS’s Dottie Pepper.
Spieth celebrated with a clenched fist and fetched his divot.
One hole later, at the 528-yard par-5, Spieth drove it way right but still had a good enough lie to rip his second shot at the green. His ball barely stayed dry and came to rest on the red paint of the penalty area. With his right foot on a stone wall, Spieth’s pitch from 85 feet landed in the middle of the green and crashed into the stick for an unlikely eagle. It was his 124th hole out since 2013, according to 21 Club’s Justin Ray and marked the second time in his career that he’s made multiple eagles in a round (third round, 2015 John Deere Classic) and the first time in 743 career rounds on Tour that he’s made back to back eagles. (Carlos Ortiz at the Sony Open and Tyrrell Hatton at the Palmetto Championship are the others to do so this season.)
“I didn’t play normal golf today,” said Spieth, who took just 21 putts and made just 55 feet of putts. “It was just kind of one of those days where you probably won’t get away with that throughout weekend. But just chipped the ball unbelievably well and then it led to at least some short par putts and then took advantage when they were for birdie.”
Spieth enjoyed his fifth career round of 62 or lower, but it was one shy of his season -best 61 during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
“When things are starting to well, you go on a run, right,” he said. “You get momentum and the ball finds the cup and when it’s not going well it seems to, it bounces the wrong way. I feel like I’m on the right side of some momentum right now and I just have to keep it going.”