Jordan Spieth’s ‘done it before,’ but can he do it again after slow start at John Deere?

Before Thursday, Jordan Spieth had not played in the John Deere Classic since 2015. He won that year, the second of his two titles at the tournament (2013).

It’s that experience, however dated, that gives Spieth hope after a lackluster first round at this year’s event. Spieth shot a 2-under 69, leaving him 10 shots behind leader Hayden Springer. which marked the 14th of the Tour^He sub-60 score.

In 2013, Spieth opened with a 70 and then shot three consecutive 65s before winning a playoff. In 2015, he opened with a 71 and then shot 64-61-68 before winning another playoff.

Eleven of the last 14 John Deere Classics have been won by a total of at least 20 under par. Spieth knows he has a long way to go to break a drought of more than two years without a win. But…

“I’ve done it before, so I can do it again,” Spieth said.

On Thursday, entering the back nine at TPC Deere Run, Spieth hit his second shot into the water on the par-5 11th.^He and made a bogey. He then made four birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn, before playing his final seven holes in 1 over par.

While Spieth gained strokes off the tee in Round 1, he lost strokes around the green and putting.

“The years I won, I opened with 70 and 71, so I improved on that, but, yeah, overall, I was obviously looking to get a few more,” he said. “It seemed like I had it all under control for a while; unfortunately, I couldn’t get them to fall.”