Ex-Longhorn Jordan Spieth Shoots 73 in Opening Round of PGA Championship

Spieth, one of three Longhorns in the field, remains in contention to make the cut for this weekend's final two rounds

Jordan Spieth shot a 1-over par 73 on Thursday, as the former Texas Longhorns golfer pursued the final leg of the career grand slam in the first round of the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.

Spieth, who is coming off a tie for ninth at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, is six shots off the first-round pace, set by Corey Conners, who has a two-shot lead on the field at 5-under par.

Spieth had an up-and-down round on Thursday, starting with a birdie at No. 3 and following that with a bogey two holes later. Even par at the turn, Spieth never could string together enough putts to sustain momentum. He had a bogey on No. 10 but bounced back to birdie from less than two feet on the par-5 No. 11. Back at even par, Spieth sustained another bogey at No. 14, a par-3, but clawed his way back to even par for the round with a birdie on No. 16, making a four-footer.

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Spieth then logged a bogey at No. 18 to finish the round.

There are plenty of great golfers in front of Spieth and behind Conners. Former U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is one of six golfers two shots behind Conners at 3-under. Koepka won back-to-back PGAs in 2017 and 2018 and underwent knee surgery in March.

Phil Mickelson leads a host of players at 2-under. At age 50, Mickelson is seeking his second PGA Championship crown.

Two other former Longhorns are in the field. Scottie Scheffler is also even par after the first day of the event, while Dylan Frittelli is 1-over par. Like Spieth, they are in the hunt to make the cut on Friday.

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Spieth is seeking a win that would make him the sixth player in pro golf history to win all four legs of the grand slam (The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship) in a career. The other five players are Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, and Ben Hogan.

Spieth has played some of his best golf in years the past three months, which includes a win at the Texas Open — his first win in nearly four years — along with four other Top 10 finishes in stroke play events and a Round of 16 appearance in the WGC-Dell Match Play event in Austin, Texas.

Spieth is playing just his second tournament since testing positive for COVID-19 shortly after The Masters.

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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.