After winning the John Deere Classic in 2015, Jordan Spieth took nine years to return to the TPC Deere Run and hopefully win on the historical golf course for the third time in his career. Spieth stumbled out of the gate as he opened the first round with a par bogey on the first two holes.

However, over the next 7-hole stretch on the front nine, the 3-time major winner recovered from his mishap and made two birdies, ending the round with 2 under 69, where two more birdies and one bogey were shot in the back nine. This has put Spieth at T90 on the leaderboard and well beyond the winning circle. Despite this, the 13-time PGA Tour winner still thinks he might win.

Jordan Spieth reminisces about his past John Deere Classic wins

After an ordinary first-round performance on the Silvis, Jordan Spieth sat for the post-round press conference, where he was asked about his approach on the first day, as he previously said that he was a different player now. The 30-year-old pro explained that he was fortunate that rain didn’t spoil his round. However, he still said, “I got off to a poor start.” 

Describing the 18 holes after making two bogeys and having the potential to be 2 over, Spieth added, “Playing that 11 stretch of 2-over, you can’t do that here. You lose ground as far as staying with the rest of the field.” But he was not hopeless of not winning the John Deere Classic again.

Recounting the first two times he won, the 30-year-old said, “The years I won I opened with 70 and 71 so I improved on that,” hinting that a similar result might also follow in this edition. Furthermore, Spieth detailed that he was expecting more birdies. However, he could not have the ball drop as easily as he thought.

Overall, it was not the way he expected the first round to finish but he was not disappointed and knew that he could improve over the next three days. But unlike Spieth, the golf fans did not believe that the two-time John Deere Classic winner could take a third silverware from TPC Deere Run.

Netizens shred Spieth’s hope of raking in a win

Jordan Spieth’s 2024 campaign has been a struggle. He has yet to enjoy being a part of the winning circle. The 30-year-old has either been buried deep in the leaderboard rankings or missed the cut altogether. This year, Spieth has missed as many as five cuts from the 17 events he played, his recent one going back to the Memorial Tournament, where he was 5-over.

Hence, Spieth’s hope of winning JDC was met with skepticism from one fan: “Make the cut first and then anything can happen.” Another fan reciprocated a similar stance on Spieth making the cut. They predicted the cutline for the John Deere Classic and said, “The cut is gonna be -6 probably. May want to worry about that.” 

From the last time Spieth won at the Quad Cities to the 2024 season, his performance has taken a drastic turn that no one had expected. Not even the pro himself. In the 2015 season, Spieth had raked in 5 victories, followed by another three in 2016. It would not be wrong to say that the 30-year-old was on the rise to be a top player on the PGA Tour. However, in recent years, Spieth has struggled to notch a win. As such, this fan took another dig at Spieth and how he was different. They said, “Different player now. Not as good as he once was.” 

When was the last time Spieth won on the PGA Tour? Well, it has been more than two years since the 13-time PGA Tour winner lifted a trophy. His last victory was at the 2022 RBC Heritage, where he defeated Patrick Cantlay in the playoffs. The two years of winless drought now follow Spieth. And with his current faltering form one fan disappointingly said, “Spieth has no chance to win this tournament.” 

Spieth carded 2 under 69 at TPC Deere Run which was the best opening round from the pro in the last four starts he has made on the PGA Tour this season. However, as revealed, he still is T90 on the leaderboard. After Hayden Springer shot a historic 12 under 59, it set Spieth 10 strokes behind the leader, with a low chance of catching up to that score. Thus, as the PGA Tour pro hoped that he would win JDC for the third time, this fan sarcastically said, “Yeah he’s only 10 back,” speculating that he wouldn’t be able to do it.

Over the course of the 2024 season, Spieth has truly struggled to shine on the PGA Tour. But at the John Deere Classic, where the field is diluted more than many other elevated events, the 30-year-old has a chance to win again and gain momentum for the rest of the season.