This is not a drill, Jordan Spieth is back in contention!
The three-time major winner is winless since 2022, but looks to be in fine form so far in 2026. He’s five shots back of the lead at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, putting himself in the mix at the weekend.
But usually, a score of 10-under par after the second round would put you much closer to the lead at Pebble Beach. Due to the weather conditions this week, the course is soft and playing very easily for the best players on the planet.
That means it’ll be very difficult to pull shots back on the weekend, unless the course gets much harder, which is exactly what Spieth predicts will happen.
Jordan Spieth says Pebble Beach will ‘show more of its teeth’ this weekend
Pebble Beach has been easy so far, allowing the leaders to reach a score of 15-under through two rounds. But Spieth expects that charge to stop on the weekend.
He said, “I haven’t really looked that closely at the leaderboard, but I thought that yesterday was a good day to be out here. Got decently challenging towards the end here today, but the greens are so receptive and they’re not super fast out here right now, just from I think the weather that we got on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“So whether it’s soft — whenever greens are soft, scoring is low. It’s just the way it is. And when they’re firm, scoring goes up. So I don’t expect it to stay that way with what’s forecasted and being a south wind. Some of these easier holes that are on the front nine become challenging.
“So you’re going to really have to control the ball well, keep it under the hole and have good speed control. Pebble’s going to show more of its teeth the next two days and I still probably imagine the winning score to be right around 20.”
We want to see the best players in the world challenged at courses like these, so bring on the weather!
Jordan Spieth says how the wind will impact Pebble Beach this weekend
When the wind picks up at Pebble Beach, what were easy holes in the calm become nearly unplayable. Players were hitting their drivers just over 100 yards on the par-three seventh hole during the week.
Spieth went into detail about how the wind is going to impact play this weekend: “Instead of driving it up right next to it on four, that will be into. And then six is going to be a monster, driver, three-wood just up the hill.
“And seven’s going to change dramatically from a little sand wedge to who knows what guys might have to hit over the next two days there. Five, it always is a pivotal par-three when the pins are going in the back of the green but now it’s going to be kind of right in your face off the right.
“Yeah, it’s really the whole front nine, right? Like nine, guys were driving it down to the bottom. Now you’re gonna have to hit two- or three-irons into nine, 10 instead of wedges. The wind makes such a difference here.
“Obviously, then you turn the other way and you get the downwind holes. When it’s windy,
that doesn’t necessarily make it easier when it’s down. If you can control your distances in both
directions, you should still get enough chances with receptive greens.”
Whoever wins this week will be the player who can master the conditions, and with all his experience, Spieth is in prime position to do that.
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