Bobbleheads add to Jordan Spieth hype at Byron Nelson

Steven Bowditch set the 72-hole scoring record a year ago in winning the AT&T Byron Nelson.

He had a dominant week, posting four scores in the 60s and pulling away from one of the world’s top-10 players, Dustin Johnson, in the final round. His 18-under 259 cleared the field by four strokes as he won in his adopted hometown.

But Bowditch is hardly the storyline as reigning champion.

As expected, Dallas native Jordan Spieth is the man people are talking about and will be at the center of attention with the PGA Tour making its annual two-week stop in the Metroplex — beginning with the Nelson on Thursday and ending with the Dean & DeLuca Invitational next week at Colonial.

Spieth is hosting a free youth clinic at the TPC Four Seasons practice facility at 5 p.m. Tuesday, something that is surely going to draw interest. That, however, might not generate the most buzz.

Why?

Well, the tournament and its title sponsor, AT&T, announced Monday that they will be giving away Spieth bobbleheads on Saturday. The first 8,000 fans to arrive will receive the complimentary bobblehead with a few likely destined for eBay.

AT&T, which has sponsored Spieth since 2014, had a similar promotion at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

Spieth, the No. 2 player in the World Golf Rankings, is looking to get back on track this week in his hometown tournament. He missed the cut at The Players Championship last week, his first tournament in more than a month since tying for second at the Masters.

“I’ll go back home to Dallas, where I can hopefully gain momentum there,” Spieth told reporters after missing the cut at The Players. “That’s an event that, growing up, I’ve always wanted to win and haven’t really had a chance to win since I was 16, 17 — so it’s funny when I say that.”

Spieth had an impressive 16th-place finish in his Nelson debut as a 16-year-old in 2010, but the Dallas Jesuit graduate hasn’t finished in the top 20 the four times he’s played it since. He finished tied for 30th last year.

Texas two-step

Only 15 players have swept the DFW tournaments. Adam Scott was the last with a victory at Colonial two years ago.

Several former Colonial champions have the opportunity to join that list this week. Zach Johnson, David Toms and Boo Weekley are all competing in the Nelson and looking to add that trophy to their Colonial plaid jackets.

Record watch

As stated, Bowditch set the 72-hole record a year ago at 259. That was aided by a rain-altered format the final three rounds that turned the par-4 14th into a pitch-and-putt par-3 of barely 100 yards.

That record seems safe for now. But could we see another record broken such as a sub-60 round?

The 18-hole record is a 60 — by Arron Oberholser (second round, 2006, Cottonwood Valley) and Keegan Bradley (first round, 2013, TPC Las Colinas).

With rain expected throughout the week, the greens should be softer and more attackable for the players.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Bobbleheads add to Jordan Spieth hype at Byron Nelson."