There is a reason why Jordan Spieth almost has his own brand when it comes to the journey he takes his fans on over the course of a round of golf.
Despite being a three-time major champion, Jordan Spieth seems to put himself in some weird and wonderful spots on the golf course on a consistent basis. Few will forget when Spieth made a par at the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year, despite using his putter as a left-handed club for his second shot from off the fairway.
And, unfortunately, one of the most iconic moments from this past week’s Memorial Tournament involved Spieth hitting an approach shot on the first hole of his final round which narrowly went over the heads of some of those in the galleries.
Spieth was not too deep into the rough for his second shot. However, the ball emerged like a bullet, only just clearing some fans – many of whom took evasive action and ended up on the ground at Muirfield Village.
What Smylie Kaufman told the crowd at The Memorial Tournament before Jordan Spieth’s scary approach shot
Somehow however, Spieth still managed to make a par on his way to finishing in a tie for seventh. It was his best result in a signature event this year.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman provided some details regarding the lie Spieth was faced with, as well as what he told the crowds watching on.
“When he hits that opening tee ball, I’m like, oh boy, here we go. And I go check out the lie, the ball was pretty good, above his feet, and there was this really weird tuft of grass behind it. I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal. I thought it was a decent enough lie where I really thought he could get it to the green,” he said.
“And when I got there, they were probably still 150 yards away from the ball, and I told all the people on the rope line to move back. I’m like, ‘he’s going to be going right over you guys’. And then, of course he hits the shot, and clearly it looks like he caught that piece of grass that I didn’t think was going to be a problem at all. It came out very low, obviously almost killed a guy. But when I saw the video back, those people totally moved back where they weren’t supposed to.”
Jordan Spieth’s Ryder Cup hopes assessed after his best signature event result
While we are deep into major championship season, many players will have one eye on the Ryder Cup later this year.
Spieth is one of those who has plenty of work to do if he is going to ensure that he is on Keegan Bradley‘s team at Bethpage. He is currently 25th in the standings.
Spieth has been a part of every single Ryder Cup side since 2014. However, he has relied on a captain’s pick for the last two Ryder Cups. And that looks set to be the case once again this year, with the Texan having a mountain to climb if he hopes to make the top six.
But speaking about Spieth’s chances of being involved later this year, Kaufman insisted that he is one player Bradley would be foolish not to take.
“When you look at the group of players he’s going to be bunched in with, he’s going to stand out. He’s going to stick out like a sore thumb. It’s going to look very attractive to put Jordan on the team. And I think he will eventually be picked for this team. I think that he’s driving it good enough, and the numbers will be kind to him from a data standpoint, that he’s put enough good weeks together,” he added.
If Bradley was tempted to take the six players just outside the automatic spots, he would have four rookies on his team in total. So someone like Spieth – who would not need to be perfect in matchplay – could be ideal to bring in.
He is certainly someone who would relish being on the biggest stage in the game again.
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