Wendell Barnhouse is a nationally-known and respected columnist who has spent over 20 years covering collegiate athletics. He has reported from 25 Final Fours and more than three dozen bowl games and has written about the Big 12 and its schools since the conference's beginning. Barnhouse will be updating the Big 12 Insider on happenings and behind-the-scenes information about the conference.Jordan Speith, a freshman on Texas' national championship golf team, is plus 7 through three rounds at the U.S. Open. Here is a portion of the transcribed interview with the media Saturday after Spieth's round of 69 Saturday.
Spieth is the second low amateur. Beau Hossler a 17-year-old junior who has committed to UT, is the low amateur at plus 3, just four shots off the lead.
Q: What is it about the course or setup that makes it so
tough?
Spieth: Off the tee, it's the most
demanding. The course is really fast. Balls are bouncing in the
fairway. And they're severely sloped. Even though it's an average
yardage of 25 yards you're hitting into throughout the course, you really only
have ten yards to hit it in.
You're trying to place a drive out there that's going to carry 275 in a ten
yard space. So everyone is going to miss fairways. You pick and
choose which side you miss it on. And one it up from there.
Q. What was your state of the game coming in? You were kind of
struggling, and not happy with sectionals?
Spieth: I'm kind of going
through a little change. I've been off with my swing for a good two
months now. Been trying to work it back. I kind of got into some
tendencies after taking some time off. I've been working hard with
Cameron, my instructor. He's been out here. It's been a struggle
off the tee with my longer clubs, trying to shorten my swing and stay back on
it.
It's tough to trust when I really only have one ball flight right now.
Especially when you get into a U.S. Open. You've got to hit it in that
area.
Q. What do you feel like has compensated for maybe not hitting as well
as you'd like?
Spieth: Well, my 3 to 8 footers have
been strong this week, and that's what you have to do in a U.S. Open, hang in
there. I've had quite a few par putts, even the 4‑footers that look like
they're not that hard on these greens, you've got to be careful about how hard
you're hitting them. They go a certain speed, and then they die, and they
roll an extra foot, especially the downhillers, staying patient on my putter
and short putts have been going in.
Q. Have these past four weeks and then sectionals and getting in as an
alternate, has that felt like a rush?
Spieth: Yeah, after NCAA's and
sectionals, I didn't think I was going to make it in originally. Actually
in between sectionals and the first round here I'd only practiced three
days. So I'd taken off five in there and that's not exactly typical U.S.
Open. Prep is taking off five days and practicing three in different
increments, they weren't even in a row.
Coming in, I wasn't hitting it great. I didn't hit it great the first
couple of rounds, which is fine. I'm not too mad at that because I'm
working on some stuff. The biggest thing is not to get too down on
yourself, because when you do, you make some high numbers. I'm still
going through this tournament with nothing worse than a bogey. That's
pretty special.
