Jordan Spieth misses first Masters cut in heartbreaking fashion

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It started as a hilarious press conference exchange.

“Sorry to take you back again to the earlier,” the interviewer commenced.

Jordan Spieth gave him a glimpse. “That could be a superior or bad issue, but you are apparently going the bad route,” he claimed, deadpan, drawing laughter from the crowd.

This was Masters Tuesday at Spieth’s pre-tournament press convention. He sounded confident. He sounded thrilled. He did not look place off by the concern that adopted, an enquiry into the very long-time period destruction wrought by Spieth’s notorious double-bogey 7 on the 12th gap Sunday of the 2016 Masters.

“Since I’ve gained, I never really feel any harm from it at this position,” he said. “Ideally I get in that predicament once again, and it can make me engage in the correct shot, and I win the golfing tournament for the reason that of it. For a few of a long time I unquestionably thought about it, was questioned about it a ton, but that only lasted a pair of decades.”

Spieth included that he’d exorcised his demons at No. 12 in 2018, when he produced a again-9 cost in direction of the guide that showcased some 12th-hole heroics.

“I manufactured birdie on the hole on Sunday [in 2018] to get to it’s possible 6 below or one thing by way of 12 and ended up finding to nine less than by 16, and it was just kind of that like minute where by I was like, ‘All suitable, I received this gap back.’ So I don’t think a full large amount of it.”

Spieth’s record at the Masters, he reported, assisted simplicity the heartbreak. He now owns a inexperienced jacket. He entered this week with a preposterous 5 leading-three finishes in 8 occupation begins. There was not a lot rationale to permit No. 12 haunt him. Augusta Countrywide was the place he performed better than any other course on the earth.

“It does not even occur into my head any more,” he mentioned.

How Spieth must very long for Masters Tuesday.

On Friday, our hero was in high-quality situation as he headed to Augusta National’s back again nine. He sat at one particular in excess of par, just a handful of strokes off the guide and nicely apparent of the reduce line. The wind was swirling but Spieth was battling — and he’d now manufactured it as a result of No. 11, the hardest take a look at on the training course.

Then he stepped to the 12th tee. In Spieth’s presser he suggested that he may well experience this exact shot once more and gain the tournament for the reason that of what he’d learned. You just cannot earn the Masters on the 12th gap on Friday. But you can absolutely lose it.

At influence, Spieth knew a little something was erroneous.

“Go,” he begged. “Go, go, go!”

It did not go. Spieth’s ball did not even make the entrance bunker. Rather it hit the bank and rolled back into Rae’s Creek. He turned to caddie Michael Greller, dismayed.

“I just received straight — absolutely gusted,” he mentioned.

He took a fall brief and remaining of the green, finding his favored yardage. It didn’t get the job done. Spieth’s subsequent shot landed limited and correct, barely threatening the eco-friendly, and spun again into the water. The stakes have been reduced, the problems were more durable, but the consequence was the very same as in 2016: Spieth experienced deposited two balls in Rae’s Creek, torpedoing his event hopes.

The reality that Spieth acquired up and down from there was some compact consolation. Six is decidedly superior than 7, immediately after all. Even now, abruptly he was four around for the event and squarely on the cut line.

Spieth held steady from there. He deposited his strategy at No. 13 in the water but received up and down for par. He built pars at 14, 15, 16 and 17, way too. He achieved the 18th tee in will need of a ultimate par four above was certain to make the lower though five about experienced an outside chance.

What happened next took place immediately: Spieth found the still left fairway bunker, chopped it out, skipped the green, raced a chip earlier the hole and skipped the comebacker. Double-bogey 6. Next-round 76. Skipped minimize.

Now what? It wouldn’t be quite appropriate to solitary out Spieth as No. 12’s only sufferer 6 gamers made double bogey or even worse on Friday by yourself. A great deal of pros have fallen target to the intricacies of Amen Corner, which includes Tiger Woods, who built a 10 at No. 12 the previous time he played the match. If you are giving Spieth the reward of the doubt, he played the course’s most confounding hole at arguably the most confounding time of the day, with winds swirling and balls splashing.

Spieth did not talk to reporters just after his round. But it was very clear that his gap served as a cautionary tale to individuals close to him.

“I was fortunate adequate to strike third on that hole right now. I saw Jordan spin a person up in the air and strike it in the drinking water,” mentioned Viktor Hovland, Spieth’s participating in lover.

“In front of us, Jordan strike two in the h2o, so that was not a great visible,” added Rory McIlroy.

In other words, as considerably as Spieth’s competitors felt for him, they were generally glad his problems weren’t theirs. On the mistaken aspect of the slice line, which is how it goes.

He’ll be back.

Dylan Dethier

Golfing.com Editor

Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for Golfing Magazine/Golf.com. The Williamstown, Mass. indigenous joined Golfing in 2017 right after two years scuffling on the mini-excursions. Dethier is a 2014 graduate of Williams University, in which he majored in English, and he’s the writer of 18 in The us, which information the 12 months he put in as an 18-yr-aged residing from his car or truck and taking part in a spherical of golfing in just about every state.