Jordan Spieth has a knack for getting himself into terrible trouble. Of course, he’s on TV a lot, so golf fans tend to see him wild, mean and sometimes life-threatening liesbut still, the guy seems to be a magnet for clutter.
Case in point: the par-4 12th hole at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks course, where, in the second round of Valero Texas Open on Friday, Spieth blocked his drive into the fairway to the right of the fairway. When Spieth and his caddy, Michael Grellerarrived at the woods — this was on Spieth’s third hole of the day — they found Spieth’s ball stuck next to a loose obstacle that didn’t look, well. . . all that loose. It was either a large rock or a small stone and it would take the strength of both to move it.
“Wanna try to do it together on (the count of) three?” Spieth told Greler.
The scene was reminiscent of a famous (infamous?) Tiger Woods episode at the 1999 Phoenix Open. That’s when Woods, in the fourth round, missed a shot several feet from a thigh-high rock. After a rules official confirmed that the rock was not attached to the desert floor below him, Woods and his caddy, Fluff McCowan, recruited no fewer than a dozen fans to help remove the obstruction from Woods’ intended flight line.
Spieth and Greller moved their handicap with much less fanfare, moving the rock just inches to clear Spieth’s ball.
“When you’re Michael Greller, when you wake up, you have no idea what to expect,” one commenter joked.
But Spieth wasn’t done bending the sanity of his rules.
After he and Greller had moved the rock, they discovered Spieth’s ball near the fire ants, which meant he could seek relief under Rule 16.2: Dangerous Condition of Animals. According to this rule, such a condition “exists when a dangerous animal (such as venomous snakes, stinging bees, alligators, fire ants or bears) near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player if he or she were to play the ball as it lies. Rules people can remember Bryson DeChambeau looking for – and being denied — the same relief form at the 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Invitational. Jew.
However, Spieth was awarded a favorable decision. When a leading official quickly acknowledged that fire ants were in play, Spieth eased up to a club, putting himself in a much more manageable position than he had been just minutes earlier.
A PGA Tour spokesman confirmed the sequence of events, saying in a statement: “There was a large rock next to the ball and since it was not firmly embedded and could easily be moved, it was considered a free obstruction by definition and was allowed to move. In addition, there were fire ants in that location, so it was given a 16R.”
As Spieth calmed down, an on-air commentator said, “This could end up being a massive break.”
To which another commenter responded: “I’d say 90 percent of the field would have just gotten a layup — never even considered doing such a thing.”
However, Spieth still hadn’t seen much of the green. From his new lie, he safely returned to the fairway and made a bogey 5.
Still, Spieth’s rules savvy will likely save him at least one shot — and it’s a shot that could be consequential. Spieth signed for a one-under 71 on Friday and, as of this writing, is sitting at two-under, in position to play the weekend.
