Bubba Watson sizzles at Barclays, Jordan Spieth struggles
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Bubba Watson charged into a tie for the early first-round lead at The Barclays on Thursday while newly crowned world number one Jordan Spieth struggled to his worst score of the year in relation to par.
New Zealand`s Danny Lee and American Jason Dufner opened with 66s in the first of the PGA Tour`s four lucrative FedExCup playoff events.
Spieth, however, was let down by his usually stellar short game as he limped to a 74 in his first competitive round since he replaced Rory McIlroy at the top of the rankings by finishing second at last month`s PGA Championship.
"After the tee shots, that is the worst round I`ve played in years," Masters and U.S. Open champion Spieth, who hit 11 of 14 fairways on a challenging Plainfield layout, told reporters.
"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.
"Typically when I hit the fairways, I`m not over par. That`s what was weird about the round."
Spieth covered his front nine in a promising two-under 34 but then ran up five bogeys, a double at the par-three third after his tee shot found water and a lone birdie after the turn.
The best putter in the game recorded two three-putt bogeys as he carded his worst score since a first-round 75 at the Players Championship in May.
Asked how he would respond, the 22-year-old Texan replied: "I do what I have done best, bounce back. I come back tomorrow strong.
"I know I can still shoot a low round if I hit the shots I need to hit ... hopefully see a few more putts go in."
Left-hander Watson, who played with Spieth and PGA Championship winner Jason Day of Australia in a high-profile grouping, surged to the top of the leaderboard with five birdies in his first nine holes.
He picked up two more shots before a poor swing at the par-three sixth and a three-putt at the tricky ninth cost him two bogeys in his last four holes.
"All in all, it`s a good round but the back nine ... if I just make a better swing on the par-three and then a two-putt, it`s not too bad," said Watson.
"I missed the cut the last time I played here so we are ahead of the curve right now," he grinned.