Jordan Spieth off to the start he
needs with a 65 to share the lead in PGA Tour playoff opener
[August 14, 2026]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Spieth believes he's playing
better golf and he finally got a score to show for it Thursday. He
was bogey-free for a 5-under 65 that gave him a four-way share of
the lead in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and boosted his hopes of
extending his season.
Rocket Classic champion Michael Thorbjornsen, Jake Knapp, Michael
Kim and Kurt Kitayama also opened with 65s in the sweltering heat at
the TPC Southwind. Spieth and Kim are outside the top 50 in the
FedEx Cup who advance to the BMW Championship next week.
This is the second straight year Spieth, at No. 54 and winless in
more than four years, has been on the bubble going into the
postseason. He was at No. 48 a year ago and fell out of the top 50.
He said the difference is the way he feels he is playing, even
though he is the only player from the top 70 who qualified who has
yet to register a top 10 this year.
“I'm just in a very different place about the game of golf than I
was the last couple seasons heading into this event,” Spieth said.
“Again, if it’s going to work out, great. If it doesn’t, I know next
year is going to be an awesome year for me. So it takes a lot of the
stress off of this week.”
Kim is at No. 61 and likely would need to finish at least 11th to
have a chance to move on.
But it's just one round, and it was crowded at the top. Seven
players, including defending FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood,
Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland and Adam Scott — were at 66. Four
others were another stroke back.
So much emphasis is on getting into the top 50 because that locks up
all the $20 million signature events for next season. Spieth has
been on the outside the last two years and knows what's on the line
this week.
More than half the field, however, already is assured of heading to
Bellerive in St. Louis for the BMW Championship. For the likes of
Woodland and Scott — both just inside the top 30 — a good week could
lock them up for the Tour Championship and a shot at playing for the
FedEx Cup.
It all comes with a reward of getting in all the majors.
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Jordan Spieth uses a towel to wipe his face during the first round
of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Thursday, Aug. 13,
2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
“My only feeling has been make the most of this
week, then it's all upside for me,” Scott said. “There's so much to
gain from a good week right now, not only for the remainder of this
season. It’s possible to lock up a spot in the Tour Championship
this week, but also what it does into next year, the signatures and
all the majors.
“It sets me up for what can be a year on my terms, which will be
nice.”
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world
who has played the TPC Southwind more times (seven) without winning
than any other course on the PGA Tour, opened with a 68. He was
playing alongside Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who skipped last
year knowing that his result had no bearing on his position the rest
of the playoffs. McIlroy finished bogey-bogey-double bogey for 74.
The attention falls to Spieth, who won three legs of the career
Grand Slam before his 24th birthday. But he had wrist surgery at the
end of 2024 and has struggled to contend.
He opened with eight pars, finally got a putt to fall, and then ran
off four birdies in a five-hole stretch, including a 40-footers on
the par-3 14th. Mostly, no bogeys on the card was a plus.
“I just tried to come into this week and just be as patient,
nonreactive as possible, dumb it down to try to win the golf
tournament and not worry about anything else,” Spieth said. “Just
knowing that I’m a lot better golfer than I’ve been in a very long
time and continue to believe in that. If low scores come, they come.
If they don’t, it doesn’t change the fact that I know that I’m
better than I’ve been in a long time.”
Jackson Koivun, who won the 3M Open in his third start as a pro and
narrowly got the final spot in the postseason at No. 70, played as a
single and shot 71. The 69-man field is due to Daniel Berger
choosing not to play, and there are no alternates.
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