Travelers Championship 2017 leaderboard: Jordan Spieth leads again, can join Tiger Woods with win

Jordan Spieth has ignited the Hartford crowds in his first ever visit to the Travelers. His Saturday finish was more of the same and sets us up for a fantastic final round.

This was the most hyped Travelers Championship in years thanks to a remarkably loaded field for an event the week following a major championship. And after three days, we’ll go to Sunday with a chance for one of the stronger finishes of the season.

Jordan Spieth was a big reason for all that pre-tourney hype. Spieth, along with Rory McIlroy, committed to the first Travelers of his career. Jason Day returned after a few years away. Justin Thomas was back. Bubba Watson, who has feasted here throughout his career, was also on hand. The depth at the top was incredible coming just four days after the “toughest test in golf.”

Some of that depth petered out early, but Spieth has been at the top of the leaderboard from the start. His caddie, Michael Greller, came back to Spieth after his first scouting of TPC River Highlands and told him the place was “tailor-made” for them. It’s looked like that since Thursday, when he began the championship with five birdies in his first eight holes.

Playing from the final group on Saturday, Spieth lost his lead at different moments, with Daniel Berger, Charley Hoffman, and Boo Weekley all making moving day charges. But Spieth got it back coming down the second nine to ensure he’d stay on the solo lead and playing from that final tee time again for the last round.

All season, Spieth’s ball-striking has been among, if not the best on Tour. His tee-to-green game, which had been a “weakness” -- that term is relative when you’re talking about a player at the top of the world rankings -- in prior years, has been a strength. But in 2017, it’s actually been Spieth’s putter, often reputed to be his strongest club, which has been the weaker spot. On Saturday, he displayed that entire tee-to-green game that some of the other superstars in the field would kill for right about now. There was the hole-out at the 6th.

There was the tee ball at the 11th, a par-3 playing just under 160 yards on Saturday. Spieth stood on the elevated tee and dropped one right on top of the flag to get his second straight birdie after making the turn.

There have been rough stretches for Spieth even though he’s stayed on top of the leaderboard for three straight days. There was an inexcusable double bogey on a par-5 yesterday. Today, he made back-to-back bogeys on the back nine to relinquish the lead, but only for a moment. That’s been the pattern this week after his almost perfect opening round 63. A rough stretch followed by a birdie run to hold onto his perch at the top.

The 15th hole at the Travelers is one of the best on the PGA Tour, a drivable par-4 that always plays under 300 yards. But it has beaten up the best in the world this week, who sometimes get stuck between clubs. We’ve seen several yank 3-woods into the water down the left and others scramble just to chip-and-putt their way to a par. Spieth left his tee ball out to the right on Saturday, and immediately started chastising himself as is his wont.

“Please try to play a little bit of golf. Please play golf!” Spieth shouted at himself as he walked off the tee within earshot of the CBS mics. But the response to his poorer tee ball was maybe the shot of the day, and one that looked like it should have gotten a better result. This somehow stayed out for eagle and left Spieth with just a tap-in birdie.

Another dart into the next and final par-3 yielded another birdie and got him to 11-under for the championship.

He came to the 18th green sharing a co-lead with the country-ass Boo Weekley, fisherman who also happens to be pretty good at golf. Given where his ball striking has been all year, it would not be surprising if we’re starting out on a “summer of Spieth” stretch. He just needs his putting to approximate what it has been in the past. His final stroke of the day did just that and capped the 66 that broke the tie with Weekley.

The Travelers lost Bubba and Day and Thomas to the cut line, and Rory has been pretty irrelevant thanks to his putting woes. But Spieth has been the draw they were looking for in his first visit, and really from the first hole on Thursday afternoon. The week after a major we’re supposed to get a reprieve from golf — go outside and take a walk. But Boo is always entertaining and a pairing with Spieth will make this a Sunday worth watching.

Spieth also has a chance to make some history in what could be one of the better final rounds the Travelers has seen.

Here’s your leaderboard after 54 holes at TPC River Highlands: