Augusta National giveth nevertheless it additionally taketh away. Just ask Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion, whose status as a Masters specialist took a couple of large blows on Friday when he recorded a 9 at the 15th on his method to an 79.
This just isn’t the primary time that Spieth – who has recorded 4 top-five finishes at the season’s first main since changing into its second youngest winner 9 years in the past – has come a cropper on the par-five, which is often thought-about a birdie gap. In 2017, he additionally took a quadruple-bogey on the 550-yarder and this reprise has seen him make a little bit of Masters historical past.
Justin Ray, the arch statistician from the Twenty First Group, reported that he’s the one participant within the final 20 years to publish a number of scores of 9 or worse on a gap at Augusta. The graphic charting of his nonagonal woe is a few journey.
His drive was barely tugged, however nothing disastrous and he hit his second to put up distance. Spieth flew the inexperienced, however along with his short-game, no dramas. Except his chipped fourth rolled previous the opening and stored going… and going… and going… all the way in which into the lake in entrance of the inexperienced. After taking a penalty drop he once more flew the inexperienced along with his sixth and relatively understandably he left his chip brief on this event, earlier than two-putting.
It might have been worse. Seven years in the past, one other former winner in Sergio Garcia took a 13 on the 15th, having visited the water 5 instances. The Spaniard really holed a 12-footer to make sure that he solely had the ignominy of recording the joint-worse rating on any gap within the Masters aside from the worst.
Spieth didn’t look within the temper to take any comfort, nonetheless, and additionally bogeyed the 17th however made a spectacular par – courtesy of an audacious chip – on the 18th to interrupt 80.
Still, solely 5 gamers within the 89-man shot increased within the first spherical, together with reigning Open champion Brian Harmon with an 82. And Spieth was staring at his second missed Augusta minimize in three years.
