Two-time Watson Challenge champ takes lead with 1 round left at The National Golf Club
Andy Spencer is in a familiar place.
The former University of Kansas golfer from Prairie Village is a two-time winner of The Watson Challenge, a yearly tournament started in 2007 by the event’s namesake, Kansas City native and eight-time major winner Tom Watson. When he gets rolling in this event, which features some of the best golfers from the Kansas City area, he’s hard to catch.
In Friday’s second round at The National Golf Club of Kansas City, he was rolling.
Spencer shot a 7-under 65, nabbing five birdies and an eagle on a bogey-free scorecard as he surged out to a four-shot lead headed into Saturday’s final round. The Watson Challenge winner in 2017 and 2018, Spencer ignited on the back nine, getting his eagle on the 556-yard par-5 No. 15 and knocking in a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to clinch the tournament’s best round thus far.
After what he called a “drama-free” first round Thursday in which he shot 2-under, Spencer had a lot more fun this time around.
“I played great. I hit the ball really, really solid,” Spencer said. “I was flag-high a lot. Really good to control my distances. Once again didn’t put too much stress on myself out there, then the putter got hot on that back nine. So it was good to see.”
His shot of the day, unsurprisingly, came on No. 15. His tee shot landed on the left side of the fairway, and from there Spencer used his 5-iron to place the ball behind the flagstick within four feet for a tap-in. Par 5s in general came much easier for Spencer, who said Thursday that he didn’t think he’d played them as well as he wanted to.
“I played (the par-5s) in 4-under, which is kind of what you’re hoping for,” Spencer said. “Hopefully (I’ll) build on that for tomorrow and keep on hitting good shots and get myself looks down the last 18 holes.”
Thursday’s leader, Parkville resident Michael Letzig, fired 1-under 71 to be just one of three players — with Spencer and Ryan Argotsinger of Lee’s Summit — to shoot under par in both rounds. But Letzig thought his Friday round, which had him in sole place of second, left things to be desired, especially as Spencer was firing on all cylinders.
Letzig, a former PGA Tour pro, is accustomed to having a much better idea of his golf swing than the average human, which is why he mentioned after Friday’s round that things felt off in his game. At 5-under overall and trailing well behind Spencer, he said he was going to hit the range before he left The National to try and sort out his issues.
“Today was a real struggle as far as golf,” Letzig said. “I just never had any kind of rhythm out there, really. I wasn’t aiming at flag sticks, I was aiming at the middle of greens, because I wasn’t confident with where the ball was going. … I feel like my tempo was kind of weird with my swing, kind of even with my putter.”
Spencer, meanwhile, doesn’t have much to lament. Partnered with Letzig and Argotsinger (in third at 3-under) for a 10 a.m. tee time Saturday, he has plenty of breathing room as he aims for his third Watson Challenge title in four tries; last year’s Challenge didn’t happen because of COVID-19 concerns.
Watson — who shot 6-over 78 at age 71 on Friday — will hand out the trophy to the winner Saturday, which, if it’s Spencer again, may feel monotonous at this point.
So Spencer, a proven champion in this tournament, feeling the pressure to win again entering his final round?
“I think you’re lying if you say you don’t,” Spencer said. “But I just need to go out there on that front nine and focus one shot at a time, hit greens and just keep the ball in front of me.
“And I think if I do that, I’ll have some good success tomorrow.”