Jordan Spieth has been involved in his fair share of controversial issues during his time on the PGA Tour.
Spieth has achieved huge success on the PGA Tour since he turned pro 13 years ago, with 13 wins to his name including three major championships.
The 32-year-old is a box office star and he always provides genuine entertainment for the fans, regardless of how he is actually playing.
During his time as a professional, Spieth has been involved in numerous ruling disputes, and he was actually the reason why the PGA Tour changed one specific rule back in 2024.
At the Genesis Invitational at Riviera last year, the American signed for an incorrect scorecard because he was in a rush to visit the bathroom!
He was subsequently disqualified but not long after, the PGA Tour amended the rule to allow players a 15-minute window to correct any mistakes they may have made on their scorecard.
A year earlier, Spieth was penalized after inadvertently breaking a PGA Tour rule at the Hero World Challenge in 2023 when he, along with playing partner Henrik Stenson, teed off the incorrect tee box.
However, perhaps the most bizarre ruling incident he was involved in came way back in 2015 before he had even won his first major championship.
Why Jordan Spieth’s bizarre saliva request was declined during a PGA Tour event
Back in 2015 at the WGC – Cadillac Championship, Spieth made a truly bizarre request to experienced rules official Andy McFee.
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Early on in his third round, the three-time major champion devised a plan to combat the lightning-fast greens at the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral.
However, he had to wait a while before he received an answer, as his request was so unusual that it had never even been discussed before.
When speaking after his third round 73 at the Blue Monster, Spieth explained what he requested from McFee during his round.
He said: “I had been curious all week, and only because my putter is maybe old, but when I get onto greens like this week at Trump Doral it gets all shiny on the bottom and it makes it very difficult for me to set the putter down.
“I had that problem also in Abu Dhabi and didn’t do anything about it, and then I felt it again in the second round here yesterday so much so I struggled because I could get my alignment right.
“So that’s why I called a rules official in on the third green as I wanted to check if I could lick my finger and then apply the saliva to the bottom of the putter. Though I had been doing that in practice and I wanted to check with the rules official if I was allowed to do that in practice.
“So I didn’t know whether it was legal or not.
“But then when I mentioned this to the rules official (McFee) he said he didn’t know and this was after I had asked about a dozen people since Abu Dhabi including my coach, commentators and other professionals but nobody knew the answer.“
Response given to Jordan Spieth after ‘putter saliva’ request
Spieth continued to explain the ongoing rules dispute throughout his third round in Miami back in 2015.
The Dallas native said: “The rules official said he knew I could wipe the bottom of my putter with a towel but then he asked me why I needed to put saliva on the bottom of the putter. I said to him my intentions were for the putter to sit better on these greens.
“Also there have been times when I am putting from the one spot on the practice putting green I will pour a little water on the spot where I place my putter so that the putter doesn’t slide.
“I didn’t think it was legal and I know I couldn’t put any saliva on the face of the putter but then he didn’t know, and he went and radioed all the other officials and they didn’t know the answer to my question.
“It was then a call was placed to the USGA but before he found out the answer, he was coming up to me on each hole to say that they were still awaiting an answer.
“I was finally informed that if the intention is to use an outside influence to help you play, and that’s why I never did it as I could see it that way, but then I could also see it another way as it is just like spitting on your clubs to clean them and what you may do if you don’t have a caddie.”
So there you have it. If you are playing on super-slick and shiny greens, you ARE NOT permitted to spit on the bottom of your putter in order to gain more traction on the surfaces.
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