Jordan Spieth ties for 13th at the PGA to culminate a year of major letdowns

Reporting from SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. —  Jordan Spieth watched Jason Day win the PGA Championship last year while playing in the same final group with him. On Sunday at Baltusrol, the Texan’s view of the 2016 tournament was from the back of the green after he’d long since finished.

It said a lot about how Spieth’s four majors went this season, after he captured the first two and contended in all four last year.

It looked like he would win the Masters in April until his back-nine collapse, and then he tied for 37th in the U.S. Open, 30th in the British Open and closed with a 68 to tie for 13^th at six under at Baltusrol. Winner Jimmy Walker beat him by eight shots.

That’s something of a letdown.

“Masters, I was a couple of swings away from winning there,” Spieth said. “If I close that one out then it’s one of the best major seasons I’ll ever have. I’m not going to hang my head low on it. I made the cut in all of them, which obviously isn’t the goal for me. I contended in one and had a chance to win. I learned a lot from that experience and just wanted to put myself in that chance again.”

Playing preferred lies

The PGA of America decided to play “preferred lies” in the fourth round, allowing players to mark their ball and clean it on mowed areas such as the fairways and greens.

Major championships grudgingly do this, because it’s essentially considered an easier form of golf. Tiger Woods famously called it “lift, clean and cheat.”

The decision was made in this case because it would allow play to continue even in heavier rain conditions. The other result is that players didn’t have to worry about catching a “mud ball” in which mud gathers on one side of the ball and can make for an unpredictable flight.

“I think it’s such the right call,” Phil Mickelson said after shooting 68 to finish tied for 33^rd at three under. “There’s so much element of luck involved if you don’t do that.”

He later added, “We’re seeing some great golf and I think playing it up provides a chance to take the luck out of deciding the champion and also provides a possibility to go low.”

More Mickelson

At the start of the week, Mickelson was the last player to win a major at Baltusrol, the 2005 PGA Championship. There was anticipation that he could contend again after finishing second in the British Open two weeks ago.

Maybe his own expectations were too high.

“What I’m having a challenge with,” Mickelson said, “is that my expectations are so high because I’m playing the game with so much ease that when I get to the tournament I get a little tighter. I try to force the issue instead of going to play.

“I haven’t won in three years, but I’m finally playing well enough now to make those expectations realistic.”

Mickelson, 46, will get three weeks off — his longest summer stretch of down time in more than 20 years, he said. That will then set him up for the beginning of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and Mickelson’s hope is to play in all four events.

He hasn’t been in the top 30 to play in the Tour Championship the last two years, but headed into PGA week at No. 6 in the FedEx standings.

Good Grace

South African Branden Grace has quietly become a regular contender in majors, with four top-five finishes in the last seven. The 28-year-old shot 66-67 in the final two rounds to tie for fourth at nine under with Hideki Matsuyama and Brooks Koepka.

Having already played 10 holes of the final round when the leaders teed off, Grace was only one stroke off the lead when he arrived at the par-three 16^th. But he three-putted for his first bogey in 27 holes. He drove in the water at 18 and made par.

“When I tee it up now I feel I can win a major,” Grace said.

Notable

Daniel Summerhays, who finished alone in third at 10 under, shot 66 and left a birdie putt at 17 and an eagle putt at 18 inches short. He previously tied for eighth in this year’s U.S. Open.

Rich Beem, competing for the first time since the 2015 PGA, shot four over and tied for 73^rd. His final round of 71 including being mobbed by raucous fans after making a chip-in from a muddy lie at No. 5.

tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com