DUBLIN, Ohio — A careful shot of Jordan Spieth, buried in the rough gnarly thing at the memorial on Thursday, was to return to the side to the fairway. That’s what his caddy proposed.
That’s not how Spieth works.
“It’s really hard to tip me out,” Spieth said after opening in an evenly-earned 72 round of hard-earned round at Muirfield Village. “I might be less than anyone else playing a game of golf.
“It’s not morale enough and won’t make a terrible decision.”
It was what he faced at the par 5 fifth hole on Thursday after a tee shot that hit a tree and bouncing back slightly, creating a lie that lied to him against the long blade of grass.
What shall we do?
No explanation is required. Spieth offers it himself.
“If I get to the fairway, I can make a four,” he told Michael Greler, a caddy who has worked with him since US juniors in 2011.
The fairway was only 115 yards away – the lies were so bad. They reasoned that if he didn’t carry it to the fairway, he would have to lay it again for the water before the greenery. Spieth still thought he could go up and down it for par.
When he settled on the shot, Greller made a final pitch: “Why don’t you try hitting it there?” he told Spice, showing a tip out to the left.
“I don’t want to hit it right away,” Spieth said. “I’ve been hitting good shots and they’ve been absolutely tragic so far, so I can’t accept that.”
You cannot blame Greller for trying to speak to him with a sense of safety. This wasn’t the first time. Spieth knows that.
“His hands are tied to some of them,” he spices after his round, then revisiting the shot in the fifth hole. “I didn’t think I could get to the fairway and I spoke to him… I could still make pars either way. The reality is eight out of ten (hours) and I’m not going to cover it.
He hit it. The ball caught the first cut and barely returned to the fairway. It left him 128 yards into the hole, and his third shot was 25 feet below the hole.
Of course, Spieth stopped putting.
“We actually got to the fairway and made a birdie,” he said.