A mishit. Then another, off a tree.
A Michael Greller giggle.
Verbal frustration.
The rules. Then a ruling.
Another mishit, again off a tree.
More verbal frustration.
Whew. This Jordan Spieth experience had a little bit of everything. Though we’ve grown accustomed to his adventures, this was still a trip. Playing the final round of the final tournament of the PGA Tour’s regular season, Spieth gave us a parting memory.
The sequence at the Tour Championship began at the start. Spieth’s tee shot on Sunday on hole one at East Lake Golf Club sailed left. His ball finished a yard right of a boundary fence. There, he took a stance. He took practice swings. He hit.
Spieth’s ball hit a tree. It dropped about 10 yards forward, just inside a support pole of the boundary fence.
There was more.
Spieth called for a rules official. He wasn’t sure if the ball’s location was O.B. At this point, Greller, Spieth’s longtime bagman, laughed.
“Greller’s laughing,” laughed analyst Craig Perks on the PGA Tour Live broadcast.
There was more.
As Spieth waited, he grew frustrated. It was hot. He wasn’t in contention; he started Sunday 20 strokes behind leader Viktor Hovland. He wiped sweat from his brow with his right forearm. He leaned forward, onto a club. He stood back up. “Really?” he moaned.
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There was more.
Official Ken Tackett came. He told Spieth his ball was out of bounds. Spieth put up little fight. Here was the complete exchange, as captured by PGA Tour Live mics.
Said Spieth: “I don’t know if this is qualified as inbounds or out here.”
Said Tackett: “It’s a boundary fence.”
Said Spieth: “I know, but it goes here. So I don’t know if the pole is a fence or not.”
Said Tackett: “It’s the fence. This — the golf course sod …”
Said Spieth: “It’s out of bounds?”
Said Tackett: “It’s out of bounds.”
Said Spieth: “OK.”
There was more. Almost done.
Spieth dropped. “Not the start that the viewers and Jordan wanted,” Perks said on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. Spieth talked over the distance with Greller. Spieth hit.
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Spieth’s ball glanced off the tree. This time, it dropped into the fairway, about 60 yards from the hole.
There was still more.
At this point, Spieth shouted.
“Come on, Jordan!”
Whew.
From there, Spieth pitched onto the green, and he two-putted for a triple-bogey seven.
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