Jordan Spieth laid waste to the Phoenix Open with a sizzling career low 61 and storm his way to a share of the lead on day three of the Phonenix Open.

Spieth, and looking for a first victory since the 2017 Open Championship, was at his best in not dropping a shot on the TPC Scottsdale layout.

And the 27-year old Spieth did it in style with 10 brilliant birdies, including three in succession from the 15^th hole, in a 10-under par 61 and head the field by a stroke at 18-under par.

Spieth was then joined by compatriot Xander Schauffele who signed for 65.  Schauffele, the second-round leader, made a 7-foot birdie putt on 17 to tie Spieth, then missed an 11-footer on 18.

Leader at @WMPhoenixOpen. pic.twitter.com/GOVyL7g57U

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 6, 2021

“I am still certainly not at 100%, not feeling like I have my A-game, but I feel like it’s trending that direction, which gives me a lot of confidence,” said Spieth.

“I felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would be today. It was weird. I had a number of either text messages or people that were around me saying, Great job. Great playing. But I was like, I’m in seventh place and I’m four back.

“For me, that was like, Okay, solid start. Historically. So I really wanted to come out and feel comfortable. Just feel really patient. I felt like I was going to try and shoot two more 4-under rounds and anything on top was bonus was my goal coming into the weekend.

“Clearly accomplished that had as of now, and I wouldn’t mind sticking to that being the same game plan tomorrow.”

What is bizarre is that Spieth’s current scoring average heading to Phoenix was 72.058.

Spieth had reached World No. 1 in finishing runner-up to Aussie Jason Day in the 2015 PGA Championship and remained atop of the rankings to March the next year.

However, since then Spieth has slowly slipped down the rankings to arrive in Phoenix as World No. 92 and with victory projected to see the American climb back to No. 40.

“I mean, it really actually felt normal. It’s not felt normal this week because we haven’t been used it this and we come from California last week,” Spieth added.

“Then all of a sudden today when you kind of get in the thick of things and the crowd was feeding off and really willing those putts in with me, it actually kind of felt like nothing had happened. That was pretty neat.

“So tomorrow, again, the biggest thing for me is going to be to walk slowly, be patient, deep breaths, trust what I’m trusting. Just set a goal for the day for a score to shoot and play the holes the way they’re supposed to be played. Hit to the middle of the greens when you’re out of unfortunate position.

“You don’t have to do anything special. If you get a few putts to go, things obviously work out”.