Jordan Spieth opened his third round at Riviera with three birdies on his first six holes, and had moved to second-place on the Genesis Invitational leaderboard. But when 35 mph gusts of wind arrived off the Pacific, the 27 year old Texan’s chances blew away like the empty bag of chips that tumbled by him on the 8th green.
Spieth finished his final 12 holes with six bogeys, five pars, and one birdie, en route to a 2-over 73. He was five off the pace on 4-under par, and tied for 11th, alongside Jason Kokrak (74), and Wyndham Clark (73).
With a victory seemingly out of reach, Spieth still has something to play for on Sunday: an invite into next week’s WGC-Workday Championship.
To punch his ticket to Bradenton, Florida, he will need to finish at least solo 4th-place to move inside the world top 50. Otherwise, he’ll have failed to qualify for a WGC event for the first time in his iconic career.
