ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 6, 2026

Jordan Spieth

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. When you got in, how do you think you just kind of capitalized on the opportunities you had?

JORDAN SPIETH: It showed I've been working a bit on kind of working on playing and looking at things, mentally working on my game quite a bit. I thought I had a chance to go off the rails after No. 2 today. I mean, just two horrendous breaks in a row to start. And it's a course made up of horrendous breaks. You try not to front load 'em on the first two holes. You know it's going to happen. But I'm 2-over and outside the number for the weekend, when I was looking, feeling pretty good about the way I've been playing and stuff. And you just can't force anything, so it's like you don't want to fall too far behind because you can't really make it up very easily if you have to. I thought I did a really good job of staying in there, setting a goal for where I wanted to be through -- I wanted to get, you know, set like four- or five-hole goals out there. So I stayed focus and said, forget about everything else except for the next hole and how to play the next three 1-under. Then I accomplished my goal. I wanted to get -- at one point it was to try to get three by 18 fairway. And I got three and I was in 18 fairway. And I hit a terrible putt or I could have stolen another one. All in all, I feel like I'm playing better than I'm scoring here. Some of that is a reflection on leaving putts short. Some of that is like I had a couple pretty bad plug lies that were a yard from being a good look for birdie, and I couldn't even get the bunker shot where the ball would have gone had it flown another yard. That stuff happens out here probably more than anywhere else on a pretty stressful course. And I was happy to play the last 16 holes 3-under. If I play the next 36 6-under, same kind of rate there, I'm going to finish really strongly here.

Q. What did you hit into 16?

JORDAN SPIETH: I hit a hybrid out of the bunker, yeah. That was one of my better shots I remember hitting in a long time.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was 231 into the fan off the left. I hit a hybrid. I was trying to hit it on the right half of the green, but I got a bit fortunate, it drew a little bit and ended up 10 feet away.

Q. Is that why you were a little bit frustrated missing the eagle putt because you knew you hit a really good shot there?

JORDAN SPIETH: I just -- no, it was just because -- there's no friction on the greens, yet they're not wicked fast. Now I just have not adjusted. I've left 15 putts short in 36 holes. The one on 18, it's like there's no friction on the ground, I have to play a cup of break, but I don't want to hit it that hard because I've hit enough of them where there's zero friction and it means it's not going to break. They're just tough. The wind plays a big role.

Q. Where else is it like that?

JORDAN SPIETH: I think this is the only place. Occasionally U.S. Opens can get like this. And then I guess the old, before they overseeded last week. Then it could get like this at THE PLAYERS in May. But no one else really leaves it dormant and let's it die any more, dormant Bermuda. Everybody over seeds. This is pretty much it that's left I think.

Q. You mentioned the hybrid. The iron on 17 seemed like you smoked that one. Good one on 18. So how do you feel like you struck it coming in, how will you build on that tomorrow to maybe make a little run?

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, like I said, I've been playing really well. I feel like -- I haven't looked at the stats, but I was telling Michael walking up to 17 green, I feel like for the shot and spot I've been trying to hit, I've gained four strokes gained approach and I'm probably at level, just in, you know, side wind, guessing wrong, or a couple ones that ended up where I couldn't get 'em up and down because they plugged or whatever. But shots, you know, like, Wow, that's exactly what I was hoping to do. That happens a lot out here. You're just hoping when they do you make par when you guess wrong. But with this east wind you get a lot of crosswind holes, more than you're used to out here. Some of those shots into the green, with the level of precision that's needed, it's just, if you draw one and cut the next club up, I mean, there's no difference in how far they go. So you just have to be committed to what you're choosing. I've been committed. I made a couple lapses in concentration. But, yeah, I mean, I think I've, I think my best golf is in front of me this week, based on the way I feel about my game.

Q. At 1-under do you feel, I mean Dan already birdied 1, but with the way things can get out here, if you have a real good morning round, is there any way to kind of get in this thing?

JORDAN SPIETH: I think if you can be -- well, if there's only one guy, then you never know. But if there's, if you're within, say if you're within four of the next two guys, you know, ideally you're within five of the leader. So I think the course is playing the same or harder than yesterday. So hopefully scores come down a little bit, and you just have a group of guys that are you know, 5-, 6-under is second place and maybe the leader is at 8 or something like that. But when you're ahead, it's one of those, I can play to the center of greens, which is the way you're supposed to play anyways. So if he's in control of the ball, putting it nicely inside of six, seven feet, you know, he may not drop any.

They do give you, if you hit the fairway on 12, and the fairway on 4, they give you, you get a few greenside opportunity up-and-downs for birdie. But there's enough -- I don't know how many courses it's like where, if you miss the fairway, on most of the holes it feels like it's almost a full-shot penalty. So I guess the reason I'm saying that is because if the wind picks up and it continues to firm out, then anybody's in it that's under par.