SAN ANTONIO — In a touching moment with cancer survivor Kendall Ramos on Tuesday before the Valero Texas Open, Jordan Spieth asked the 14-year-old if she liked doing physical therapy.
She answered by saying, “it’s only up from here.”
“That’s the attitude I’m going to take this week,” Spieth responded. “Once I hit it in the trees, inevitably, I’ll be like, well, I can only get better from here, right?”
Spieth’s comment proved prophetic, although it wasn’t the trees at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course that dropped him to that line of thinking.
Instead, Spieth’s faux pas came on the sixth green with the reigning tournament champion just four strokes off the lead.
Spieth was a little long with his approach at the 404-yard par-4, but was in good position to save par after a nice chip put him to around two feet.
That’s when the former Texas Longhorn lost his focus.
After making double, Spieth sat at 2 under, just barely above the projected cutline.
He had gotten into good position by virtue of a 34 on his opening nine — the back — and then had a pair of birdies after the turn to get within striking distance of the leaders.
Putting has been one of the wildcards for Spieth, who finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting back in 2015-16, but has dropped to 141st on Tour in that stat this season.
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