Jordan Spieth attended the John Deere Classic on Saturday at age 59

Jordan Spieth clearly has a soft spot for TPC Deere Run, where the Texan claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2013. Two years later, Spieth won his second John Deere Classic.

And given his successful career in Silvis, Illinois, it’s not surprising that Spieth is considering the job, a sentiment he confirmed after shooting a 67 on Friday.

“It’s probably one of the bottom half easiest courses. It’s a great course. When it’s soft, it’s one of the easiest courses we play,” Spieth said after his second round. “Yeah, I can make a move, but everybody’s going to make a move. So I’m going to try to beat the field average by four or five strokes, but I’m going to have to shoot 8- or 9-under to do that.

“So it’s not like it’s a piece of cake. You still have to hit nice shots.”

In Saturday’s third round, Spieth did exactly what he said he would do, using a red-hot front nine to shoot a 63 and move back into the tournament after 54 holes. Spieth is at 14 under, and while he’s not atop the leaderboard, he can tell from where he sits. It was his best round of the 2024 PGA Tour season.

After birdieing the par-5 second, Spieth made five straight birdies on Nos. 4-8 to turn 6-under 29. Two more circles on Nos. 10 and 12 officially put Spieth on 59 watch. But a bogey on the 13th halted his momentum, and he would play his final five holes on 1-under to cement his 8-under 63.

John Deere Classic: Photos | Ranking

“I just want to improve my back nine score tomorrow compared to today,” Spieth told the media after signing his card. “You know, that’s definitely something when I make the turn, no matter what I do on the front end, I’m going to be sitting there and thinking, man, I want to score the 4-under that I should have done yesterday.”

His previous nine starts this week have been a struggle. Spieth has missed three cuts and has finished in the top 40 only three times. But he has always loved links golf and will be heading overseas after John Deere for the Scottish Open and The Open. If he finds something in his game, he could be a good bet at The Renaissance Club and Royal Liverpool.

Absolutely perfect 🎯
@JordanSpieth continues with another birdie on hole 10.

He is 1 back. photo.twitter.com/bDpJK7HcNx

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 6, 2024

The charge moved him up 46 spots and briefly into a tie for the lead before the bogey on 13. When asked about a break on the back nine, Spieth insisted it was just a two-hole stretch.

“So really the calm point was just those two holes, right? If I par there and birdie 14 from where I was, I’ll shoot 32 on the back and a 61. So everything’s probably going to be a calm point from a 29,” he said. “It was just those two that I would have liked to play over, but 14 just — both of those have to do with how soft the greens are. They made the shots harder somehow because the greens are softer than where I was.

“It’s a great golf course. The only downside is sometimes you hit some nice shots that just — someone can hit from a tougher position and end up in a better spot. That’s golf. It happens everywhere.”