Jordan Spieth clocked out at the office at about 8:30 Friday morning. A short day, long on productivity.
Spieth, who had completed 12 holes Thursday in his rain-delayed first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club, returned early Friday to complete his round. He played almost flawlessly, going two under in six holes to finish at seven-under par and alone atop the leaderboard at the time. He sat three shots behind Justin Thomas and Adam Scott after play ended Friday.
The 11-time winner on the PGA Tour didn’t win any events last year, and in three this year he has missed a cut and finished tied for 35th and 45th. But he’s seeing improvement.
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“From San Diego to Pebble was significant progress, from Pebble to here has been significant progress just in the way I feel hitting the ball,” he said.
“I’m looking to try and make progress each day … because it didn’t sustain through the weekend at Pebble.”
Last week in Pebble Beach, Spieth shot 66-68 in the first two rounds, then 74-75 on the weekend. Two weeks earlier at Torrey Pines, he opened with a 65, followed by three 72s.
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Spieth wants to avoid tailing off like that again.
“I played beautifully today on those six holes,” he said. “I got off to good starts my last couple events, and I need to continue to work hard to improve each day here instead of kind of getting complacent and assuming that my game’s there.”
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J.B. Holmes hugs his son Tucker and wife Erica after winning on the 18th hole the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Justin Thomas hits above a bunker on the second hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes, Justin Thomas, and Adam Scott, walk up a hill on the 18th hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes tries to hit out of a bunker on the seventh hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Tiger Woods tees off at No. 10 during the fourth round of the Genesis Open.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Phil Mickelson tees off at the 10th hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes tees off on the 18th hole during the final round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
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Tiger Woods puts at No. 9 during the third round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes holds the winner’s trophy on the 18th green after the conclusion of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club.
(Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
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Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Phil Mickelson is greeted by fans as he walks to the practice tee before his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Scott watches his tee shot on the 2nd hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. He birdied the hole.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Jim Furyk chips onto the the second green from a hillside above the green during the third round of the Genesis Open.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the second hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Scott putts for eagle on the first green during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Adam Scott waits to putt under an umbrella during a downpour on the 16th hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas puts his jacket on his head during a downpour on the 2nd hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans take selfies as Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas walk by during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Rory McIlroy hits out of the green side bunker on the 11th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Matt Kuchar hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas hits his approach shot onto the second green during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tiger Woods lines up his putt on the 14th green during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - FEBRUARY 15, 2019: Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Spectators stand in the rain as they wait for Tiger Woods to tee off on the 18th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tiger Woods waits to hit out of the rough on the 17th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas chips out of the rough on the 18th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Jordan Spieth hits out of the rough on the 13th hole during the first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Last year’s winner, Bubba Watson, hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Genesis Open.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Long hits out of the green side bunker on the 9th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Phil Mickelson hits out of the rough on the 11th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans react as co-leader Jordan Spieth just misses a birdie on the 18th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A caddy juggles oranges as he takes refuge in a snack hut with the sign guy during a downpour in the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Spieth planned to take things easy before starting his second round Saturday morning.
“Light work and then rest,” he said, “be prepared for 27 to 30 holes tomorrow and potentially another 27ish on Sunday. .... I think less is more. ... It’s all about trying to save as much energy as possible.”
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A stream might run through it
One of the unique characteristics of Riviera Country Club is that, despite the barranca (or deep gully) that meanders throughout the course, there is no water on the Pacific Palisades layout. That wasn’t always the case.
A creek used to flow at the base of that barranca, but serious flooding in the late 1930s and again in 1969 eventually led the club to install a large concrete pipe underground to carry water through to the exit point on the sixth hole.
If Riviera President Megan Watanabe’s wishes come true, that will change. Watanabe said Friday that the club is awaiting the various approvals from the City of Los Angeles to get the water back to the surface, rebuild the creek and make it a feature of the course that was part of George C.Thomas’ original design.
“About three years ago, the city came to us,” Watanabe said. “They were interested in putting the water back on the course; they wanted to clean the water before it got to the ocean. We were delighted. Of course, there is a lot of politics involved, so we’re just waiting on them. But we’re ready.”
Watanabe said the club would hire an individual to design the creek as quickly as possible once it got the go-ahead.
Mike James is a former Sports editor of the Los Angeles Times. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., James came to The Times from the Hartford Courant in 1985, took a hiatus from the print world in 2000 to work as coordinating producer at FoxSports.com and managing editor of the nightly news report on Fox Sports Net. He returned to The Times in 2002 and, after three years as deputy Sports editor, became Sports editor in 2009.
