Tommy Fleetwood and Jordan Spieth had plenty at stake when they stepped onto TPC Southwind on Thursday. One was back at the scene of a painful near-miss from a year ago, while the other was fighting to keep his FedExCup Playoffs hopes firmly on track. Memphis heat was supposed to make things challenging for them at the $20 million St. Jude Championship. However, the Englishman said that the partnership they had built, made it a whole lot easier for him.

“We’d have had a really good battle ball score actually, probably. I don’t know what it would be, but Jordan is always great to play with. I had a really good time with him. He played great,” Tommy Fleetwood said at the post-round press conference when asked about his pairing with Jordan Spieth and their combined score of nine-under.

“It’s always helpful when you have momentum in the two-ball really, so that was nice. Especially on hot days and we’re really grinding it out, it was nice to be kind of stress free for the most part. All of that sort of makes a difference.”

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Their Ryder Cup history and Open Championship pairing built rapport that eased the round. Spieth recalled the atmosphere at The Open in Fleetwood’s hometown.

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“It felt like a Ryder Cup, but for one guy,” Jordan Spieth told The Athletic. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything else like that.”

They have also faced each other at the 2018 and 2023 Ryder Cup events, and Fleetwood defeated Spieth in both instances. They have also met in 2021 Ryder Cup in a singles match, where the game was tied.

On Thursday, Spieth carded a bogey‑free five‑under 65, starting with one birdie on the front nine and adding four more on the back. Fleetwood followed with a four‑under 66, highlighted by an eagle on the par‑five third and three birdies, offset by a single bogey at the 13th.

Spieth’s round put him in a share of the lead with Michael Thorbjornsen and Kurt Kitayama, while Fleetwood tied for fourth.

The positions can change, though, as many golfers are yet to complete their rounds.

Their momentum was actually really good. While Fleetwood was on a roll in the front nine, Spieth did so in the back nine. No other pair had such a fine touch today.

For instance, Michael Thorbjornsen is a co-leader currently after a round of five under 65. However, his partner, Sepp Straka, only managed a two-under 68. Similarly, Kurt Kitayama had Nicolai Hojgaard as his partner. Hojgaard played a round of three-over 73.

Even the popular pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy was not that impressive today. While the World No. 1 had a decent run with a two-under 68, the Northern Irishman hit a round of four-over 74.

Both of them had their own motivations. Spieth is currently 54th in the FedEx Cup standings. So, a strong finish could get him in the top 50 and make him eligible for the second playoff event, the BMW Championship. Tommy Fleetwood, however, is playing after a tied-for-third finish last year, and he himself admitted that it helped him this year.

Tommy Fleetwood opens up on using near-miss finish as a motivation

The Englishman carded rounds of 64-63-67-68 at the St. Jude Championship 2025. He carded a 15-under 265 to finish at T3.

When asked about how that motivated him, Fleetwood said, “I think it’s more — it’s always nice coming to a golf course where you have like positive memories of good shots, good feelings on tees and into greens and stuff. I think that’s always a help.”

He said that he has had two to three really good results in Memphis. But while he was motivated, he acknowledged that it doesn’t necessarily mean he could finish well this year. According to him, he could only prepare the best and try and get into that good position yet again. However, it all depends on whether his golf is good enough this year to get him there.

Tommy Fleetwood also said that he likes coming back to TPC Southwind and playing there, which is exactly what Scottie Scheffler said when asked about the St. Jude Championship losing its premier status in 2028.

Fleetwood’s positive memories of TPC Southwind gave him another reason to feel comfortable in Memphis, but his opening-round performance showed that the present was just as promising.