{"id":508316,"date":"2026-03-07T01:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T01:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508316\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T01:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T01:41:12","slug":"tommy-fleetwood-jordan-spieth-fight-to-make-cut-justin-thomas-misses-but-positive-in-return-to-baked-out-bay-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508316\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth fight to make cut, Justin Thomas misses but positive in return to baked-out Bay Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

3H AGO<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3 Min Read<\/p>\n

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Latest<\/p>\n

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Justin Thomas holes out from 29 feet for birdie on No. 2 at Arnold Palmer<\/p>\n

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A<\/p>\n

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Written by Alistair Cameron<\/p>\n

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Reigning FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood rallied on the back nine at Bay Hill Club & Lodge to earn himself a tee time for the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. <\/p>\n

The Englishman, who offset one birdie with a bogey to open the first nine on Friday, circled three birdies on the back nine to get back to 1 over par for the tournament and inside Friday’s projected cutline. <\/p>\n

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Tommy Fleetwood hits 192-yard approach to 3 feet, sets up birdie on No. 15 at Arnold Palmer<\/p>\n

Despite his two top-10s to start the year, a candid Fleetwood was honest about his game the day prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday was really disappointing, because it was just an odd day where I was just, you know, crap,\u201d Fleetwood said bluntly after the second round, but had an upbeat mindset to take into the weekend. \u201cLast year I made the cut on the mark here. I played really well over the weekend. Just got to keep that in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

A year ago, he fired two rounds in the 60s, almost creeping his way into the top-10 by making the most of the easier morning conditions, so there\u2019s still plenty on the table for Fleetwood to think about.<\/p>\n

Much has been said in years past about Bay Hill\u2019s difficulty, with the green complexes representing what some have called \u201ca mini major.\u201d This year is no different.<\/p>\n

\u201cOccasionally, U.S. Opens can get like this,\u201d Spieth said on the conditions the greens already exude. <\/p>\n

The 32-year-old battled back inside the cutline on Friday despite starting with back-to-back bogeys. Spieth was also one to card three birdies on the back nine, and the Texan finished in red figures at 1-under heading into the weekend. <\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/p>\n

Jordan Spieth sinks 23-foot birdie putt on No. 11 at Arnold Palmer<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense on-site in Orlando that the surfaces are showing off their usual shine earlier than many would have expected. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis afternoon\u2019s going to be great to watch,\u201d Fleetwood said when asked about the greens. \u201cI\u2019m glad I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c… It\u2019s the first major setup, in terms of firmness, the rough and how it plays,\u201d Fleetwood added. <\/p>\n

Justin Thomas may have picked the hardest place to make his return to golf.<\/p>\n

Just take Rory McIlroy’s words when he found out it would be at Bay Hill: “Oof.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas made his season debut this week after spending almost six months away from competitive action, having undergone microdiscectomy surgery towards the end of 2025. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’m trying as hard as I can to get myself a little bit of grace with how long I haven’t played, and how difficult this course can be,\u201d Thomas said after carding his second 7-over 79 in as many days. \u201cAt the same time, I expect more out of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the score wasn\u2019t what he had hoped for, getting the repetitions under his belt was maybe more useful for Thomas. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy body feels great, which is a huge positive.\u201d Thomas. <\/p>\n

Shane Lowry joined Thomas on the wrong side of the cutline after making a mess of Bay Hill’s final hole on Friday evening when his approach shot came up short of the green. With his ball nestled between the iconic rocks lining the water, Lowry needed an up-and-down to make the weekend, but his chip shot rattled off the hosel of his club 38 feet from the flag. The Irishman was unable to make the putt, enduring more heartbreak after his near miss just a few days ago at PGA National. <\/p>\n

Others with time to spare this weekend include a pair of world No. 1s in Jason Day and Justin Rose, along with three-time TOUR winner Ben Griffin.<\/p>\n

When asked whether Thomas would be calling somewhere local to book a tee time in the next few days, he was quick to joke, \u201cI ring my agent, put him to work every once in a while, I got to make sure he’s still on his game.\u201d <\/p>\n

For a two-time major champion like Thomas, many in Orlando would be happy for him to join their weekend foursome. <\/p>\n

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Mar 5, 2026<\/p>\n

Thomas struggles to 79 in TOUR return at Arnold Palmer Invitational<\/a>Latest<\/a>\"Image\"Image<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3H AGO 3 Min Read Latest *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]> Justin Thomas holes out from 29 feet for birdie on No.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-508316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}